About Chlamydia

What are the symptoms?

• Most people infected with Chlamydia do not have any symptoms; they feel and look perfectly well. However if you, or friends, ever experience the following symptoms you should ask to be tested:

Women:

• A change in your menstrual bleeding, periods becoming heavier or more painful than usual, or bleeding between periods.
• Lower abdominal pain, or pain felt deep inside during or after sex. This can suggest that the infection has spread into the womb.
• A change in the vaginal discharge, it may become discoloured, offensive smelling, or excessive.
• Burning or a frequent need to pass urine.

How is it diagnosed?

• Dorset County Chlamydia Screening asks for self-taken samples to test for Chlamydia.
• Women will need to supply a self-taken vulvo-vaginal swab (using the swab in the way you insert a tampon).
• The test is very accurate providing the sample has been taken properly.

What do I do next?

• Get tested and treated for Chlamydia by Dorset County Chlamydia Screening.

• When do I get a result?

• • We can contact you with your results by letter, phone or text.
  • We will aim to contact you with your result no more than two weeks after you have taken the test. We will not contact anyone else with your result unless you wish us to.

About the test

Step 1.

You will have a swab, a request form and a specimen tube which you will need to label with your name, date of birth & reference number from the front of the request form.

Step 2.

Remove the larger swab from the pack being careful not to touch the cotton bud end (use the second swab if you make a mistake). Hold the stick about ¾ of the way down.

Step 3.

Put your self in a comfortable position for you to insert the swab into your vagina, perhaps sitting on a toilet seat with your knees apart or standing with your foot resting on the toilet seat. If you use tampons you may wish to use the same position as you would when inserting a tampon. Once comfortable, point the cotton bud end of the swab at your vagina opening and gently insert, as if inserting a tampon. Twirl the swab for approximately 10 seconds ensuring it is touching the inside wall of the vagina. Then remove the swab slowly.

Step 4.

Remove the red cap from the sample container, being careful not to spill the liquid inside. Using both hands, snap the swab stick into 2 so that the swab fits into the container. Be careful not to touch the cotton bud end during this process. Place the swab in the container and screw the red cap on, tightly.

Step 5.

Place the specimen tube in the plastic bag attached to the form. Do not seal the bag until you ensure that your name, date of birth & reference number from your request form is on the container. Hand it into the person running the screening session.