What should you know about oral chlamydia from kissing?

Chlamydia is a bacterial sexually transmitted infection. It commonly spreads through vaginal, anal, or oral sex with an infected partner. A throat infection may cause no noticeable symptoms, so kissing is often blamed when the actual exposure was another form of sexual contact. Testing is the way to clarify infection rather than trying to judge from symptoms.

Genital chlamydia can present with painful urination, unusual vaginal discharge, or bleeding between periods, although symptoms are not present in everyone. Untreated infection can travel upward and contribute to pelvic inflammatory disease.

Arrange STI screening if you had unprotected sexual contact, a partner has tested positive, or a clinician recommends testing. Tell the service which kinds of contact occurred so samples are taken from the relevant site. Avoid sex until you have received medical advice and completed any prescribed treatment; partners may also need assessment.

Do not share antibiotics or use leftover tablets. Take prescribed antibiotic treatment exactly as directed, and ask when it is safe to resume sexual contact.

Arrange prompt medical care for pelvic or lower abdominal pain, fever, pain during sex, unusual bleeding, or feeling increasingly unwell. Seek urgent help for severe abdominal pain, fainting, vomiting, or heavy bleeding, because these symptoms need an examination and may have causes beyond chlamydia.

Ask which sites should be tested, when testing is reliable after exposure, whether partners need treatment, how long to avoid sex, and what symptoms should trigger a review.