When his wife of 10 years went to the doctor, Alistair* was more than a little taken aback when she was diagnosed with chlamydia.
His first thought was that she must have caught the STI after cheating — that is until she hit him with: ‘Do you have anything you need to tell me?’
Confused, his wife, who was also told she had BV, went onto claim that she may have contracted the infection after borrowing a friend’s sex toy in December.
She even questioned whether Alastair had been unfaithful.
Unsure what to believe, Alistair took to Reddit for advice. ‘Things haven’t been great the past few years but we are both actively working on making our relationship better’, he wrote.
‘I, genuinely, have never touched another person during our relationship.’
‘I desperately want to believe that this is a mistake or because of the sharing of sex toys,’ he continued.
But it’s made him consider some red flags in their relationships and confessed his wife has become ‘increasingly attached to her phone’.
‘[She’s] posting numerous stories on snapchat per day, messaging people on snapchat,’ he added. ‘At this point I fear I’m just over analysing, but I’m not sure where to go from here.
‘We’ve always had a great sex life, we have children, cars, a house together. It would be extremely difficult to untangle our lives, not to mention very financially impactful.
‘I guess I’m clinging onto the hope that this is somehow not what it very obviously seems to be.’
Can you get chlamydia from a sex toy?
In short, yes you can.
Dr Donald Grant, GP and clinical adviser at The Independent Pharmacy, tells Metro: ‘It’s quite likely that an individual sharing a sex toy with someone suffering from an STI could catch the condition, especially if the toy remains unwashed.
‘Chlamydia, gonorrhoea, HIV, and herpes can all be transmitted through bodily fluids, so anyone with these STIs runs the risk of passing it on to anyone sharing their toys.
‘Cuts or other breaks in the skin can increase the likelihood of contracting an STI in this manner, making transmission easier.’
So Alistair’s wife’s story is plausible, however she would have had to use that sex toy pretty soon after her friend to catch it from her.
‘Thankfully, most STIs, including chlamydia, can’t survive for long outside the human body,’ Dr Grant adds. ‘Bacteria from most of these infections die in a few minutes, but some can persist for a couple of hours.
‘Typically these STIs lose their viability quickly, reducing the risk of transmission.’
The doctor advises anyone using sex toys to clean them with soap and water after each use, and suggests not sharing your vibrators.
The doctor does point out that Alistair’s and his wife’s symptoms could easily have been dormant for a decade or longer, and that dormant chlamydia would still show up on an STD test.
Chlamydia and bacterial vaginosis (BV)
Having unprotected oral, anal or vaginal sex with someone who has chlamydia is the most common way to catch the STI, according to Dr Grant.
This is because it’s passed through semen and vaginal fluid.
What are the symptoms of chlamydia? ‘Symptoms of chlamydia include; painful urination, changes in discharge, pain in the lower back and stomach, nausea and pain during sex,’ Dr Grant explains.
‘However, the infection can also be symptomless, meaning regular testing is one of the most effective ways to uncover and treat the STI.’
What is the treatment? ‘To treat chlamydia, a doctor will prescribe antibiotics such as doxycycline,’ he adds. ‘People should avoid engaging in sexual intercourse until the treatment has finished.
‘In general, the medicine is effective at targeting and removing the infection.’
What is bacterial vaginosis (BV)? Bacterial vaginosis is a common cause of unusual vaginal discharge that smells strong and fish or becomes a greyish-white colour and gets thin and watery, according to the NHS.
But BV can also be symptomless for half of women who have it. It’s not an STI but it can increase your risk of contracting an STI like chlamydia.
What causes BV? It’s a change in the natural balance of bacteria in your vagina, which is more likely to occur if you’re sexually active, have a new sexual partner, have an IUD or use perfumed products around your vagina.
Your GP will usually treat you with antibiotic tablets, gels or creams.
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