Chlamydia Testing in College Park, MD

Among the number of reasons why people are worried about getting an STD test performed is that they fear it will be embarrassing or require uncomfortable swabbing. Thanks to significant improvements in testing technology, many STDs can be detected via a blood or urine test. Urine tests are primarily used to detect chlamydia.

Testing chlamydia requires testing for the antibodies of the chlamydia bacteria Chlamydia trachomatis with a blood test using a small sample of blood. Although chlamydia is not a blood-borne disease, the body creates antibodies to fight off various diseases and infections, which are found in the blood. Although the test detects the presence of chlamydia antibodies, these antibodies could be the result of a previous chlamydia infection and would result in a false positive.

There has been a rapid test developed by researchers for Chlamydia. Chlamydia trachoma is the most prevalent sexually transmitted bacterial infection in the world. The number of diagnoses in has risen steadily since the mid-1990s, spiking in the millions in 2005. If left untreated, the disease can result in complications such as pelvic inflammatory disease, ectopic pregnancy (when an egg is fertilized outside of the womb, typically in the fallopian tube) and infertility. However, the disease often goes undiagnosed as up to 70% of infected women do not show symptoms.

How long it takes for the results to show up depends on the test performed and on your specific health as an individual. Urine tests take about 2 to 5 days to show a positive or negative result, positive meaning it was found and negative meaning it wasn’t. If the blood is analyzed on site, blood tests can come back with results in a few minutes. However, if sent off to a lab, they can take a week or more. To show a positive or negative, swab results take about 2 to 3 days.

Your doctor will likely prescribe one of the following to help treat the infection:

– Azithromycin (Zithromax) This antibiotic is usually taken in one big dose and is also referred to as Z-Pal.
– Doxycycline (Oracea) This antibiotic is usually taken twice a day for a week.
– Erythromycin (Erygel) This antibiotic is normally taken frice (four times) a day for a week.
– Levofloxacin (Levaquin) This antibiotic is taken once a day for a week.
– Ofloxacin (Floxin) This antibiotic is given in doses that are taken twice daily for a week.

If you or someone you know needs to be tested for chlamydia, come to Express Healthcare today! Our kind and compassionate healthcare professionals are experienced in testing for chlamydia and other STIs and provide confidential, discreet results, so you can feel comfortable knowing that your test results are private. Contact our office today to talk with a member of our specialist team. Go online or simply give us a call to book an appointment with us today! We are conveniently located at 4701 Melbourne Place College Park, MD 20740. We serve patients from College Park MD, New Carrollton MD, Berwyn Heights MD, White Oak MD, Seabrook MD, Laurel MD, Springdale MD, Mitchellville MD and surrounding areas.