Chlamydia Treatment, Diagnosis, and Prevention
Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs)Chlamydia

Chlamydia Treatment and Prevention

Chlamydia Treatment and Prevention
Everyday Health
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Updated on January 26, 2026
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Chlamydia is a common sexually transmitted infection (STI). It’s simple to test for and easy to cure, but it often doesn’t cause symptoms, so it can be easy to miss. Untreated chlamydia is highly transmissible and can lead to complications, so it’s important to know how to protect yourself and your partners.

Chlamydia Treatment Options

Chlamydia is commonly treated with one of these antibiotics:

  • Doxycycline If your doctor prescribes doxycycline, you’ll take one pill daily for a week. Though it costs somewhat more than azithromycin, it’s now the preferred treatment for chlamydia in the United States, due to growing antibiotic resistance to azithromycin.
  • Azithromycin If prescribed azithromycin, you’ll likely take only one dose. This is the preferred treatment for pregnant people.
  • Erythromycin This is recommended for infants, who can get the infection in the womb or after birth. Without treatment, they can develop conjunctivitis, which can cause blindness, or pneumonia, which can be fatal.

While these drugs are generally affordable, sites like GoodRx and Optum Perks may offer discount coupons to help reduce out-of-pocket costs.

Remember, it’s important to take all of your medication as prescribed, even if you’re feeling better. If you have questions about your prescription, your doctor or pharmacist can provide support.

What to Know During and After Treatment

If you’re diagnosed with chlamydia, you'll need to tell all of your sexual partners. This conversation may be uncomfortable, but it’s essential. They’ll need the same treatment you’re receiving.

In most states, a doctor or other healthcare provider can give you the medicine that your partners need to take. Then you can deliver it to those partners. This practice is called “expedited partner therapy” or “patient delivered partner therapy.”

Put Sex on Hold During and After Chlamydia Treatment

Until each infection clears, you and any affected partners are contagious. For example, if you finished treatment but your partner hasn’t, it’s possible for them to reinfect you.

If you’re given a single dose of antibiotics to treat chlamydia, abstain from sex of any kind for a full seven days after taking the medicine. If you’re taking antibiotics for a week, wait the full seven days of your treatment and until your symptoms are gone.

Medication stops the infection and can keep you from spreading the disease. If you still have symptoms for more than a few days after you stop taking your medicine, go back to see your doctor or other healthcare provider so they can check you again.

Get Retested Following Treatment

Many people get more than one chlamydia infection. Anyone with chlamydia should be retested about three months after they were first diagnosed and treated. Go to be retested even if you think your sex partners were successfully treated.

Untreated chlamydia can lead to complications, especially in women. This can include issues like pelvic inflammatory disease or blocked fallopian tubes, which can cause infertility.

Can You Cure Chlamydia Without a Doctor?

Chlamydia treatment is only available with a prescription, but you may be able to get care online instead of going into a doctor’s office.

“Online STI care can be a great option if you have mild to moderate common symptoms, think you may have been exposed, or simply want routine screening,” says Shannon Chatham, DO, a board-certified family medicine physician and the medical director of Wisp.

She says that a telehealth provider may be able to diagnose you during a virtual visit, or they may order a lab referral for testing to make sure you get the right care. They can also help you determine if an in-person visit is necessary.

“Some STIs, related complications, or more severe symptoms may require in-person evaluation or treatments that can’t be safely provided online,” Dr. Chatham says.

Preventing Chlamydia

The only way to totally avoid getting chlamydia and STIs in general is to forgo having any kind of sex — vaginal, anal, or oral.

If you do have sex, you can lower your chances of getting chlamydia with these practices:

  • Use condoms or dental dams for any sexual contact.
  • Wash shared sex toys thoroughly.
  • Limit sexual contact to one monogamous partner.

The Takeaway

  • Chlamydia is easily managed with antibiotics like doxycycline and azithromycin.
  • Make sure that all partners receive treatment and abstain from all sexual activity during treatment to avoid reinfection.
  • Because untreated chlamydia can lead to severe complications such as infertility, ongoing screening and timely intervention are essential.
  • Online STI care and telehealth can be convenient options for diagnosis and treatment, but severe symptoms may necessitate an in-person healthcare consultation.

Additional reporting by Samantha Felix.

EDITORIAL SOURCES
Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy. We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.
Resources
  1. Chlamydia. Cleveland Clinic. February 6, 2022.
  2. Chlamydial Infections. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. July 22, 2021.
  3. Expedited Partner Therapy. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. July 16, 2024.
  4. Passos LG et al. The Correlation between Chlamydia Trachomatis and Female Infertility: A Systematic Review. Revista brasileira de ginecologia e obstetrícia. May 16, 2022.
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Kara Smythe, MD

Medical Reviewer

Kara Smythe, MD, has been working in sexual and reproductive health for over 10 years. Dr. Smythe is a board-certified fellow of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and her interests include improving maternal health, ensuring access to contraception, and promoting sexual health.

She graduated magna cum laude from Florida International University with a bachelor's degree in biology and earned her medical degree from St. George’s University in Grenada. She completed her residency in obstetrics and gynecology at the SUNY Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York. She worked in Maine for six years, where she had the privilege of caring for an underserved population.

Smythe is also passionate about the ways that public health policies shape individual health outcomes. She has a master’s degree in population health from University College London and recently completed a social science research methods master's degree at Cardiff University. She is currently working on her PhD in medical sociology. Her research examines people's experiences of accessing, using, and discontinuing long-acting reversible contraception.

When she’s not working, Smythe enjoys dancing, photography, and spending time with her family and her cat, Finnegan.

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Milly Dawson

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With decades of experience serving organizations and media outlets that promote health, Milly Dawson brings passion, energy, and precision to conveying ideas with accuracy, elegance, and humor. She has written for various websites and publications, including Good Housekeeping, Woman's Day, Yoga Journal, Scientific American, Healthgrades, Arthritis Today, and the Health Behavior News Service.

For Dawson, the topic of health is a wide umbrella. It includes feeling connected, being part of a caring community, and having opportunities to express one’s gifts and interests. She brings an international perspective to public health issues, having served as a foreign service officer with the United States Information Agency.

She has master's degrees in psychology and public health, and is an advanced Toastmaster at the silver level. She volunteers with the New Image Youth Center in Orlando, Florida, and the League of Women Voters of Orange County, Florida.

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