Oral chlamydia is an infection in the mouth or throat caused by Chlamydia trachomatis bacteria. It is transmitted through oral sex. This is the same bacteria that causes genital or anal chlamydia, which are more common.
People often suspect they have chlamydia when they experience genital and urinary symptoms, such as painful urination or vaginal discharge. But those who get it through oral sex don’t always associate the symptoms with the disease because they can easily be attributed to other conditions.
This article takes a closer look at the symptoms and causes of oral chlamydia. It also explains how this STD is diagnosed, treated and prevented.
Polywell / Sydney Saporito
How do you get chlamydia by mouth?
A person can get chlamydia orally by having oral sex with someone who is infected. This includes oral-penile sex, oral-vaginal sex, and oral-anal sex.
Chlamydia trachomatis it can also be spread from the throat of someone with chlamydia to the penis of someone without infection. Interestingly, research shows that chlamydia is unlikely to be transmitted from the throat to the vagina or rectum.
All current evidence shows that chlamydia cannot be transmitted through kissing.
Certain risk factors can increase a person’s risk of developing chlamydia, including:
Oral chlamydia is much less common than genital chlamydia. Research shows that about 10% of people who visit an STD clinic have genital chlamydia, but only about 1.5% have oral chlamydia.
There are many misconceptions about the different ways you can get chlamydia. Here are some of the ways you can avoid getting infected with chlamydia:
- Using a public toilet seat
- Towel sharing
- Hugging or kissing
Symptoms of Oral Chlamydia
It can be hard to tell if you have oral chlamydia, as it usually causes no symptoms. If there are symptoms, the main one tends to be a sore throat. This symptom can be confused with any number of other conditions, from allergies and colds to strep throat and acid reflux.
Oral chlamydia can take one to three weeks to appear after intercourse. This is another reason why many do not make the connection between their symptoms and this infection.
When oral chlamydia symptoms occur, they often include:
How dangerous is oral chlamydia?
Oral chlamydia can sometimes lead to secondary oral infections. Because the body is so busy fighting chlamydia, it is less able to fight other infections that contribute to gum disease such as gingivitis and periodontal disease. Dental pain, bleeding gums and tooth loss are among the complications of these diseases.
Arguably, the biggest concern is that people with oral chlamydia can spread the infection to others. Depending on which part of the body is affected, chlamydia can lead to complications such as:
In addition, having chlamydia increases the risk of HIV. This is because chlamydia triggers an inflammatory response that attracts white blood cells, called CD4 T-cells, to the site of infection.
These are the very cells that HIV targets for infection. Because of this, chlamydia end up “helping” HIV to create an infection.
Oral Chlamydia Diagnosis
Taking a swab test is the most accurate way to find out if you have oral chlamydia. After cleaning the mouth and throat, the healthcare provider will send the sample to a laboratory for evaluation using a technology known as nucleic acid amplification testing (NAAT).
NAAT tests amplify the genetic material of bacteria (or in other cases, viruses) to positively determine the cause of an infection. The test is sensitive to even small numbers of bacteria and can usually return results within one to two days.
NAAT patches can also be used on the vagina, cervix or rectum. In addition, NAAT technology is used for detection Chlamydia trachomatis in a urine sample.
Testing for chlamydia outside the genitals or rectum is not a routine part of STD screening. This explains why oral STDs often go undiagnosed and untreated.
Although oral chlamydia is not very common, it could be a sign that you also have vaginal, penile, or anal chlamydia. If you suspect you’ve been exposed to chlamydia or any other STD, get tested — even if symptoms are mild or absent.
How is oral chlamydia treated?
Oral chlamydia will go away after a course of antibiotics, as will genital or rectal chlamydia. There are several treatments recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):
- Preferred treatment: 100 milligrams (mg) of doxycycline taken by mouth twice a day for seven days
- Alternative cure: 1 gram (g) of Zithromax (azithromycin) taken by mouth in a single dose or 500 mg of Levaquin (levofloxacin) by mouth once daily for seven days
Avoid sexual intercourse during your treatment and for at least seven days after treatment is completed. This includes all types of sexual intercourse, including oral sex, vaginal sex, and anal sex.
If you have been diagnosed with chlamydia, all sexual partners should be informed and treated. Re-infections are common when this is not the case. Chlamydia reinfection increases the risk of complications such as PID and ectopic pregnancy.
What happens if chlamydia is not treated?
Untreated chlamydia can lead to many potentially serious complications, including:
- Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID)
- Epididymitis (inflammation of a tube near the testicle)
- Reactive arthritis (joint pain and swelling caused by infection)
- Ectopic pregnancy (the implantation of a fertilized egg outside the uterus)
Prevention
Abstinence is the only way to completely avoid oral chlamydia. In addition, you can reduce your risk by reducing the number of sexual partners you have.
Regular use of condoms or dental dams can also reduce the risk of either passing on or getting STDs like chlamydia. This includes not only external (male) condoms but also internal (female) condoms.
If you don’t have a dental dam, you can simply cut a condom lengthwise and open it flat.
The US Preventive Services Task Force recommends screening for all sexually active women age 24 and younger, as well as women age 25 and older who are at increased risk of infection.
Summary
Oral chlamydia occurs when the Chlamydia trachomatis bacteria infect the mouth. You can get chlamydia orally through oral sex. It is the same bacteria that causes chlamydia in the genitals or anus.
Symptoms include sore throat, fever, fatigue, mouth sores and swollen tonsils or lymph nodes, but many cases show no symptoms at all. Bacteria can be detected by testing a sample of fluid collected during an oral swab.
Antibiotics are needed to treat the infection. Without them, oral chlamydia can lead to secondary oral infections, toothache and gum disease. More importantly, people with undiagnosed oral chlamydia can spread the infection to others.
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