How To Take An Anal Chlamydia Test At Home

Did you realize that certain sexually transmitted infections and diseases can affect areas of your body beyond just your genitals? It’s true. Chlamydia, for example, is one of the most common infections that can affect your mouth and rectal regions.

Even worse, these infections are often not detected by standard STD testing. That’s where three-site extragenital testing comes in.

Today, let’s discuss how to take an anal chlamydia test at home.

How Do You Get Anal Chlamydia?

We all (hopefully) know that testing for common sexually transmitted infections is a critical step for maintaining good health. But when is an anal chlamydia test necessary? If you have engaged in oral or anal sex, you can contract chlamydia in the mouth or rectum.

As we mentioned above, standard genital-only testing may not discover these strains. A special test is required to diagnose oral and rectal chlamydia. Worse yet, these tests are often not given at a clinic unless you ask for them or mention your specific sexual activities to the clinician.

If you’ve engaged in anal sex with a man, you should get an anal chlamydia test. You should take an anal chlamydia test if someone with chlamydia performs oral sex on your anus or touches their mouth and then your anus. Remember, you can be infected with chlamydia in the anus even if the man doesn’t ejaculate. That’s because the bacterial infection is spread in semen (cum), pre-cum and vaginal fluids. It’s easy for chlamydia to permeate the skin around the anus and your anal canal if you have unprotected anal sex.

Any exchange of bodily fluids with someone who has chlamydia and is in direct contact with your anus— mouth and finger action included—could cause a rectal chlamydia infection.

Understanding the Symptoms

As with many STIs, chlamydia does not always display visible symptoms. However, if they are present, there are a few that can serve as a telltale sign of infection. When it comes to standard “genital chlamydia” there are a bunch of variable symptoms for both men and women. You can learn more about these common signs via ourchlamydia resource page.

Everyone has a rectum. So, in this case, we’re all on common ground. This means that we’ll all need to use a rectal chlamydia test. These are the most common detectable signs of chlamydia in the rectum:

Anal chlamydia symptoms in women

• Inflammation that causes rectal pain
• Anal discharge
• Rectal bleeding
• Lower abdominal pain, nausea, or a fever if the infection spreads

Anal chlamydia symptoms in men

• Rectal pain due to inflammation
• Mucus discharge from the rectum
• Rectal bleeding
• Pain in the testes and scrotum area if the chlamydia infection spreads

It is important to note that you are at a higher risk of getting or giving HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, if you have untreated chlamydia.

Women and Anal Chlamydia

Women are more likely to get anal chlamydia if their partners don’t wear condoms during anal sex. Both parties might be less strict about using condoms since they’re less concerned about pregnancy. Make sure your partner slips on a condom during any kind of sex. However, using latex condoms is the best way to prevent getting anal chlamydia. When you’re transitioning from vaginal sex to anal sex, or vice versa, put a new condom on every time.

What is Extragenital Chlamydia Testing?

As stated above, if you engage in oral or anal sex, a standard genital-only test won’t cut it. A run-of-the-mill test will only screen your genitals. If you want to track infections in your mouth or rectum, this isn’t enough. In this case, you’ll need a special test that goes above and beyond. By this, we’re talking about an oral and rectal chlamydia test. This is more simply known as extragenital testing.

An extragenital test kit screens all three possible areas of infection: the mouth, rectum and genitals. For obvious reasons, our extragenital test kits are often called three-site tests. In addition to chlamydia, this test also screens for gonorrhea in these three areas. Since these sexually transmitted infections are often found together, testing for both at once saves time and money.

Extragenital testing is available as an individual purchase or as part of myLAB Box’sTotal Box. The Total Box is the most comprehensive at-home test kit, which tests for all of the most common STIs.

Chlamydia is one of the most insidious sexually transmitted infections, or STIs. It’s also one of the most common. Fortunately, it’s relatively easy to detect and treat. Of course, in order to truly know whether you have this infection, you’ll want to learn the value of oral and rectal chlamydia tests.

Combo Pack: myLAB Box’s Gonorrhea and Chlamydia Test

Testing for STDs can be stressful and confusing. For example, chlamydia and gonorrhea often share many of the same symptoms. For anyone looking to understand their status, myLAB Box offers a combo pack that tests for both common infections at the same time. This is especially helpful since Chlamydia is the 2nd, and Gonorrhea is the 4th, most common new sexually transmitted infection in U.S. It couldn’t be easier!

How an Anal Chlamydia Test Works

Fortunately, ordering and using any myLAB Box test kit from home, including the three-site extragenital chlamydia test, couldn’t be easier. Screening can happen at any time and from any place. It only takes five minutes to complete the anal chlamydia testing process and collect a sample.

• Order an STI testing kit (you even get free shipping!)
• Collect a sample using the easy-to-follow instructions
• Send the sample off for testing (more free shipping!)
• Receive your lab-certified results online in just days

Don’t Ignore Potential Symptoms

We mentioned earlier that a chlamydia infection may not show any symptoms. At times, some people may mistakenly believe that they only have a case of the common cold, or even a sore throat.

However, it is important not to leave a potential chlamydia infection undiagnosed or untreated. In the long run, it can lead to more serious health complications. For example, it is possible for chlamydia to damage a woman’s reproductive system. When left untreated, the infection can spread to the fallopian tubes and ovaries. Sadly, this can eventually result in infertility.

As you can see, even if you have taken a chlamydia test, it is still well worth it to also use an oral or rectal chlamydia test. On the plus side, this infection is highly curable once it is diagnosed. A short treatment of antibiotics should clear it up in no time. The only hitch is that you need to test! So there you have it!

Don’t stress, just test.

References

1. Danby CS, Cosentino LA, Rabe LKm et al. Patterns of Extragenital Chlamydia and Gonorrhea in Women and Men Who Have Sex with Men Reporting a History of Receptive Anal Intercourse. Sexually Transmitted Diseases. 2016.
2. Geisler WM, Wang C, Morrison S, et al. The Natural History of Untreated Chlamydia trachomatis Infection in the Interval Between Screening and Returning for Treatment. Sexually Transmitted Diseases. 2008.
3. Geisler WM. Diagnosis and Management of Uncomplicated Chlamydia trachomatis Infections in Adolescents and Adults: Summary of Evidence Reviewed for the 2010 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Sexually Transmitted Diseases Treatment Guidelines. Clinical Infectious Diseases.. 2010.