Can You Get Chlamydia From Kissing?

You cannot catch chlamydia from kissing, even if the person you kiss has chlamydia in the throat.

If you’re kissing and using tongues, you’ll be exchanging saliva. However, chlamydia is not transmitted through saliva. You will not get chlamydia from tongue kissing.

Chlamydia is usually spread through contact with infected body fluids that include semen, pre-ejaculatory fluid and vaginal secretions but not saliva.

Chlamydia usually affects a person’s genitals as they get it whilst having sexual intercourse. However, you can get chlamydia in your throat after performing oral sex or anal rimming on an infected partner.

Reassuringly though, you can still kiss someone with chlamydia in their throat and not be infected with chlamydia yourself.

To contract chlamydia, you would need to:

• Have unprotected vaginal, anal or oral sex.
• Share unwashed sex toys or not cover them with a new condom each time you use them.
• Have your genitals come into contact with your partner’s genitals. You can get chlamydia without sexual penetration, an orgasm or ejaculation.
• Get infected semen or vaginal fluid in your eye.

Although you cannot catch chlamydia from kissing, throat chlamydia is transmitted by giving oral sex to a person who is infected. Often, it is an asymptomatic infection, meaning it shows no symptoms so you could have chlamydia and not know.

Early chlamydia in the throat may present as a sore throat. However, this is usually dismissed as a common cold or viral. A sore throat is often accompanied by other symptoms of chlamydia. If you suspect that you may have contracted throat chlamydia, it is important to get tested.

Other common STI’s can be caught from kissing. These include herpes, syphilis and cytomegalovirus.

Herpes

Herpes is caused by the herpes simplex virus (HSV). There are two different but similar viruses called herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) and herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2).

Oral herpes (HSV-1), also known as cold sores, is usually contracted from kissing. Genital herpes (most commonly caused by HSV-2), is less likely to be passed on by kissing but is most often spread through vaginal, anal, or oral sex. Both can by asymptomatic, or cause sores and blisters in or around the mouth for cold sores, or around the genital or anal area for genital herpes.

HSV-1 can be asymptomatic or cause very mild symptoms that can be easy to miss. An outbreak can cause cold sores or blisters in and around your mouth. Some people notice tingling, burning, or itching in the area before sores appear.

Unfortunately, there is no cure for HSV. But treatments are available to help manage symptoms of both HSV-1 and HSV-2 and help prevent or shorten the length of outbreaks.

Syphilis

Syphilis is a bacterial infection that spreads through direct contact with a syphilis sore. These sores can develop on your genitals, in your mouth, or on your lips.

It isn’t usually transmitted by kissing. More often it is spread through genital, oral or anal sex. However, if syphilis causes sores around your mouth and/or lips, the bacteria can be transmitted to someone else.

Syphilis won’t go away on its own and should be treated with a course of antibiotics.

Cytomegalovirus

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is very common. It can be spread through direct contact with bodily fluids that contain the virus including saliva, urine, semen, blood, tears and breast milk. It can therefore be passed on by kissing. Most people with CMV are unaware that they have it.

If you get a CMV infection, you will have it for life, and it can reactivate. There is no cure for CMV, but most people do not need treatment.

If your immune system is healthy, it usually prevents CMV from causing severe infection or illness. However, babies, children and adults with reduced immune function may get CMV symptoms and will need antiviral medications to help manage it.

People with chlamydia often won’t know that they have it, as many people with chlamydia don’t show any symptoms. At least half of men and 70% of women have no symptoms.

If you do have symptoms, they normally show within one to three weeks of infection.

Chlamydia symptoms in men include:

• A whitish, cloudy or watery discharge
• Testicle pain and swelling
• Pain when urinating
• Burning or itching in the urethra tube that carries urine out of your body

Chlamydia symptoms in women include:

• A change in vaginal discharge, often yellow and smelly
• Pain when urinating
• Lower back or stomach pain
• Pain whilst having sex
• Bleeding between periods or after sex

For both men and women, you may experience discomfort and discharge in your anus (if you had anal sex without a condom) and pain, redness and/or discharge in your eye (conjunctivitis). Chlamydia in the throat is also possible, and is contracted via oral sex, not kissing. Symptoms include a sore throat, spots towards the back of the mouth and sores in and around the mouth.

If you have any chlamydia symptoms, you should seek medical advice, see your GP, or local genitourinary medicine (GUM) clinic as soon as possible to have a chlamydia test.

The best way to prevent chlamydia, is to avoid unprotected sex with someone who has the disease. Here are some steps you can take to protect yourself:

• Always use condoms correctly every time you have sex. Both male latex condoms and female polyurethane condoms are effective. If you’re unsure how to use a condom properly, ask your pharmacist or doctor for guidance.
• Reduce your risk by limiting the number of sexual partners you have. If you have a vagina, avoid douching. Douching can upset the balance of healthy bacteria, increasing your risk of infection.
• Get tested regularly for chlamydia and other STIs, such as HIV and herpes. Regular testing is crucial for prevention, early detection, and timely treatment. Tests are available free at sexual health clinics, genitourinary medicine (GUM) clinics or your GP surgery. You can also order a home test kit.

If you test positive for chlamydia or if it’s very likely you have the infection, you will be given a course of antibiotics. You should start this as soon as possible. Chlamydia is unlikely to go away without treatment, and can cause health problems if left untreated. Over 95% of people will be cured of chlamydia if they take their antibiotic medication correctly.

Chlamydia treatment for men and women is the same. The recommendations to treat chlamydia is doxycycline and should be taken twice daily for 7 days. Azithromycin is an alternative treatment if doxycycline is not suitable and is taken over 3 days. 

Doxycycline is the most effective chlamydia treatment. Both come in tablets or pills and are swallowed whole with water. If you have chlamydia symptoms they usually disappear within a week or two after completing the treatment.