Chlamydia can be contract through
unprotected vaginal, anal, or oral sex (Condoms are 98% effective at protecting against most STDs and STIs (sexually-transmitted infection), but they are not 100% effective) If you have sex with people who have chlamydia, you are at severe risk of contracting it yourself through any potential route.
That being said, even if someone has had unprotected sex with an infected person, that does not automatically mean they have chlamydia. The estimated transmission rate is variable, and can be influenced by a number of factors. Your
susceptibility to chlamydia is increased if you are sexually active before the age of 25, have multiple sexual partners, do not use a condom consistently, or have a family history of sexually transmitted infection.
Professor Victoria von Savoszky from Ohio State University
asserts that the transmission rate from a one-time unprotected exposure is approximately 25 percent. The male-to-female transmission rate from one sexual instance is about 40 percent, while the female-to-male transmission rate is thought to be 32 percent.
The infection can travel through these routes:
It is important to note that chlamydia travels through infected sperm, vaginal fluid, or genital tissue contact. However, ejaculation is not necessary for transmission to occur.
- Unprotected oral sex
- The disease can spread through oral contact if infected tissues in the mouth reach the penis. It is much more rare for it to be transmitted this way, as the mouth and throat regions are much less susceptible than genital regions.
- When considering this, mouth-to-vagina, mouth-to-anus, and mouth-to-penis are all potential but unlikely routes for contraction.
- Unprotected vaginal sex
- Unprotected anal sex
- Sharing sex toys: Sharing sex toys is a dangerous method of transmission. If a sex toy comes into contact with infected semen or vaginal fluid and is then used by an uninfected person, the sex toy becomes a mean for infection.
- Sperm coming into contact with the eye: Unprotected sex can lead to chlamydia in other body parts, including the eye. Eye infection is characterized by redness, pain, and discharge. It can occur if infected sperm/fluid comes into contact with the mucous membrane in the eye. This can cause tissues in the eye to become inflamed and reddened, and sometimes emit discharge.
- Mother to baby: If pregnant women are infected prior to pregnancy, it increases the risk of the baby developing chlamydia as well.
