Chlamydia symptoms typically appear within one to three weeks after a person becomes infected. Early symptoms of the disease can include pain while urinating and abnormal discharge (mucus or pus) from the vagina or penis. If left untreated, the chlamydia infection may move inside the body, possibly causing pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) in women and epididymitis in men. PID is very serious because it can cause scarring of the fallopian tubes (which can lead to infertility), as well as a condition called ectopic or tubal pregnancy (which can be fatal to the mother). In men, untreated chlamydial infections can potentially cause pain, fever, and sterility. However, not everyone with the infection experiences chlamydia symptoms. In fact, chlamydia is sometimes called the "silent" disease, since you can have it and not know it.