Chlamydia Stigma & Confidentiality 

You may feel ashamed or embarrassed and self-conscious about having to discuss your sexual activity and behavior with people that you don’t well enough to trust. You may also be worried about parents or other people finding out about your personal details and sexual health without your agreement first. These feelings are normal and most people will have the same concerns about going for testing and about the possibly that they may have caught a sexually transmitted infection. This is a part of going through the process of testing and treatment for Chlamydia or any other sexually transmitted infection. There are many reasons and circumstances why people acquire sexually transmitted infections. The trained health professionals that you encounter should be non-judgmental and treat whatever you tell them as confidential information. In fact they were probably hired because of their understanding, caring and trustworthy attitudes.

You are not going to be punished by health care providers who are confidential and non-judgmental. You are being responsible if you are considering taking the test for Chlamydia and preventing the spread of the infection to others.

You may find it particularly difficult to talk face to face with strangers about your sexual health even though they are trained medical professionals. You may feel that your standards or other people’s standards, like those of your partner don’t match your ideals. You may also feel that other people will view your standards as lower than expected or lower than they actually are in reality.

There are many options for where and how you can get tested and treated for Chlamydia

Fortunately there are several situations where you can take the test for Chlamydia and you don’t have to talk face-to-face with anyone or wait around in clinics or your doctor’s surgery if you do not want to do this.

You will be able to be tested for Chlamydia;

• At home
• At your NHS doctors surgery/office
• At a clinic
• At a private doctors surgery/office
• At college

You may also find health professionals promoting testing during nights out in nightclubs. They may offer incentives to take the testing.

Supporting you through the testing and treatment process

If you want or need to be tested at a NHS clinic or doctors surgery you can chose to bring along a friend of close relative whom you trust to support you through the process. They know and trust you and can help you feel more comfortable and less self-conscious.  They may also help you to explain your situation to the health professional if you are very embarrassed or shy. It may also help you to see the same doctor/nurse or receptionist at any follow-up appointments e.g.) when collecting results or during re-testing. You can ask to see the same doctor or healthcare professional. This may prevent you from feeling like you have to explain yourself over again when seeing a different same health professional.

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