Private Chlamydia Testing Near You

What chlamydia is, and why it is so easy to miss

Chlamydia is a bacterial infection, and it is the most commonly reported STD in the United States: more than 1.6 million cases were reported to the CDC in 2023, and the real number is higher because most infections are never diagnosed. It passes between partners during vaginal, anal and oral sex, and it does not care how many partners you have had. One exposure is enough.

What makes chlamydia different from the infections people worry about most is that it is quiet. The large majority of people who have it feel completely fine. When symptoms do show up – burning when you pee, unusual discharge, pain or bleeding during or after sex, pain low in the abdomen, or in men a tender or swollen testicle – they are easy to put down to something else. That is why the infection spreads so easily, and why testing, not symptoms, is how people find out.

Why it is worth finding early

Left alone, chlamydia keeps working. In women it can move up into the uterus and fallopian tubes and cause pelvic inflammatory disease, which is one of the leading preventable causes of infertility and ectopic pregnancy. In men it can cause epididymitis, a painful infection near the testicle, and in either partner it can pass to a new partner who then carries it on. Having chlamydia also makes it easier to catch or pass on HIV.

Prompt treatment reduces the risk of complications, and chlamydia is one of the simplest infections to cure. That is why the CDC recommends yearly screening for sexually active women under 25, for older women with risk factors such as a new partner or more than one partner, and for men at higher risk – even when nothing feels wrong – and a test any time a partner tests positive.

How the test works

Our chlamydia test is a nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT), the most accurate type available. It looks for the genetic material of the bacteria itself, so it finds the infection whether or not you have symptoms. All it needs is a small urine sample – no swab, no exam, no undressing. At the lab you sign in at the kiosk with your name and date of birth, give the sample in a private restroom, and you are done in about five minutes.

A urine test checks for urogenital chlamydia. It does not rule out infection in the throat or rectum, so tell your care advisor about any oral or anal exposure and they will explain whether additional testing or a different provider is appropriate. And if you are not sure what you were exposed to, the Chlamydia & Gonorrhea test checks for both from the same urine sample, since the two infections so often travel together.

Before you go: The only preparation: don’t urinate for about an hour before you go in. The test uses the first part of the stream, and a gap of an hour or more gives it the most to work with. Nothing else to do – no fasting, no swab, no undressing. Every test we offer is FDA-cleared and run in a CLIA-certified laboratory, the same tests a hospital or doctor’s office would order.

When to test

If you have symptoms, test now. If you had an exposure and feel fine, timing matters, because every infection takes a certain amount of time to show up on a test and testing too early can give you a false all-clear. The timing for chlamydia and every other test is on our When to Get Tested page, or call (866) 872-1888, tell a care advisor what happened and when, and they will tell you exactly which day to go in.

After a positive result: treatment and partners

A positive result means you have a common, curable infection, and for most people the next step is simply a prescription. If you have severe pelvic or testicular pain or a fever, get prompt medical care rather than waiting; if you are pregnant, tell the physician, because the antibiotic choice is different and a test of cure about four weeks after treatment is recommended. A member of our care team calls you, explains the result, and arranges a consultation with a physician who sends a prescription to the pharmacy you choose – no clinic visit. Treatment is a course of antibiotics, usually seven days and sometimes a single dose. Avoid sex until you have completed a seven-day course – or seven days have passed after single-dose treatment – and any symptoms have resolved. Partners must also have been treated, or you will simply pass it back and forth.

Your recent partners need to know so they can be tested and treated too; the care team can tell you how to have that conversation. The CDC also recommends testing again about three months after treatment, mainly because re-infection from an untreated partner is common; if symptoms continue after treatment, call sooner. When that time comes, call and we will set it up.

Getting tested privately

We do not bill your insurance. Your testing information is handled confidentially by the physicians and laboratories providing your care. Your lab visit does not announce why you are there: our partner labs collect samples for many different kinds of testing, and to other people in the waiting room you are simply another person having a routine lab visit. The charge on your card shows as RSC Health, and your result goes only to your private online account. Order online, or call (866) 872-1888 and a care advisor will place the order with you and find a lab near you – you can usually be at the lab within the hour.