Advice

Sex during STI treatment?

yo
Question

So my girlfriend and I have and are three days into the treatment for chlamydia. Is it okay to have sex with a condom, or not?

Whenever you or a partner⁠ are being treated for an STI⁠ or any infection⁠ , it's best to hold off all sexual⁠ activity until you are sure everything is clear and healed up. Even if your symptoms seem to have disappeared, it can take your bodies a while to completely clear the infection and get back to normal. If one of you were to be clear and the other not, it's also possible that you might pass the infection back. Also, many infections can cause irritation, so engaging in sexual activities that create friction can further inflame the already fragile tissue. While condoms would obviously help prevent transmission, they won't help with the friction and irritation issue.

So, you really want to wait until your treatments are finished and you are both clear and healed. If you didn't ask at your appointment, you will want to call the office of the health care provider who provided the diagnosis and treatments and ask how long they advise waiting before engaging in any sexual activities. Up until you get the go ahead from them though, you'll want to avoid sexual activities involving your genitals⁠ or your partners'.

Similar articles and advice

Advice
  • Heather Corinna

If you had a partner before him for oral, vaginal or anal sex, that could be who you got it from and your current partner managed not to contract it from you (now or yet), or contracted it so recently that he isn't testing positive yet. Or, your current partner's test wasn't accurate, or he said he…