Symptoms and treatment of Syphilis

Description

Syphilis is an infection caused by bacteria. More often, it spreads through sexual contact. The disease begins as a pain that often painless and usually appear on the genitals, rectum or mouth. Syphilis is passed from person to person through direct contact with these sores. It can also be transmitted to the baby during pregnancy and birth and, sometimes, through breastfeeding.

After the infection occurs, the syphilis bacteria can remain in the body for many years without causing symptoms. But the infection can become active again. Without treatment, syphilis can damage the heart, brain, or other organs. It can be fatal.

Early syphilis can be cured, sometimes with a single injection of a medicine called penicillin. That is why it is key to obtain a health care check-up as soon as you notice any of the symptoms of syphilis. All pregnant people should be tested for syphilis at their first prenatal visit too.

Symptoms

Syphilis develops in stages. The symptoms vary with each stage. But the stages can overlap. And the symptoms do not always occur in the same order. You can be infected with the syphilis bacteria without notice any symptoms for years.

Primary syphilis

The first symptom of syphilis is a small sore called a chancre (SHANG-kur). The pain is often painless. Appears in the place where the bacteria entered the body. Most people with syphilis develop only one chancre. Some people have more than one.

The chancre is often formed around three weeks after coming into contact with the syphilis bacteria. Many people who have syphilis don't notice the chancre. That is because it is generally painless. You can also hide inside the vagina or rectum. The chancre heals on its own within 3 to 6 weeks.

Secondary syphilis

You can get a rash, while the first chancre heals or a couple of weeks after it heals.

A rash caused by syphilis:

Often there is itching.
It may seem harsh, red or reddish brown.
Could be so weak that it is difficult to see.

The rash usually begins on the trunk of the body. That includes the chest, abdomen, pelvis and back. In time, it could also appear in the limbs, palms of the hands and soles of the feet.

Along with the rash, you may have symptoms such as:

Warty sores in the mouth or the genital area.
The loss of hair.
Muscle aches.
Fever.
The sore throat.
The tiredness, also called fatigue.
The loss of weight.
Swollen lymph nodes.

Symptoms of secondary syphilis may go away on their own. But without treatment, it can come and go for months or years.

Latent syphilis

If you do not receive treatment for syphilis, the disease is transmitted from the secondary stage to the stage of latency. This is also called the hidden stage because you do not have symptoms. The latent stage can last for years. Your symptoms may never return. But without treatment, the disease can lead to serious health problems, also called complications.

Tertiary syphilis

After the stage of latency, up to 30% to 40% of people with syphilis who do not receive treatment have complications known as tertiary syphilis. Another name for it is late syphilis.

The disease can cause damage to the:

Brain.
Of the nerves.
The eyes.
Heart.
The blood vessels.
Liver.
The bones and joints.

These problems may occur many years after the original, the infection is not treated.

Syphilis, which extends

At any stage, untreated syphilis can affect the brain, spinal cord, eyes, and other parts of the body. This may cause serious or life-threatening health problems.

Congenital syphilis

Pregnant women, people who have syphilis can transmit the disease to their babies. Birth, babies can become infected through the organ that provides nutrients and oxygen to the uterus, called the placenta. The infection may also occur during childbirth.

Newborns with congenital syphilis may not have symptoms. But without prompt treatment, some babies can get:

Sores and rashes on the skin.
Fever.
A type of discoloration of the skin and eyes called jaundice.
Not enough red blood cells, called anemia.
Inflammation of the spleen and liver.
Sneezing or stuffed, runny nose, called rhinitis.
Changes in the bone.

Later symptoms can include deafness, problems of the teeth and the saddle nose, a condition in which the bridge of the nose collapses.

The infants with syphilis may also be premature. They may die in the womb before birth. Or die after birth.

When to see a doctor

Call a member of your health care team if you or your child has any of the symptoms of syphilis. These could include any unusual discharge, pain or rash, particularly in the area of the groin.

Also get tested for syphilis if:

Have had sexual contact with someone who has the disease.
Have another sexually transmitted disease such as HIV.
You are pregnant.
Regularly have sex with more than one partner.
Having sex without protection, which means sex without a condom.

Causes

The cause of syphilis is a bacterium called Treponema pallidum. The most common form of syphilis is spread is through contact with an infected person, pain, vaginal, oral or anal sex.

The bacteria enters the body through small cuts or scrapes in the skin or in the moist interior of some parts of the body.

Syphilis is spread during its primary and secondary stages. Sometimes it is also contagious in the early latent period, which happens within a year of contracting the infection.

Less commonly, syphilis can be spread by kissing or touching an active sore on the lips, the tongue, mouth, breasts or genitals. It can also be passed to babies during pregnancy and childbirth, and sometimes through breast feeding.

Syphilis cannot be spread through casual contact with objects that an infected person has touched.

So you can't catch using the same bathroom, bathtub, clothes, kitchen utensils, doorknobs, swimming pools or hot tubs.

Once cured, the syphilis does not return on its own. But you can become infected again, if you have contact with someone of the plague of syphilis.

Risk factors

The risk of contracting syphilis is higher if you:

Having sex without protection.
Having sex with more than one partner.
Living with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS if not treated.

The chances of contracting syphilis are also higher for men who have sex with men. The increased risk may be related, in part, with less access to health care and lower use of condoms among this group. Another risk factor for some people in this group include the recent sex partners find through social media apps.

Complications

Without treatment, syphilis can cause damage throughout the body. Syphilis also increases the risk of HIV infection, and may cause problems during pregnancy. The treatment can help to prevent the damage. But it is unable to repair or reverse damage that has already occurred.

The small bumps or lumps

Rarely, in the late stage of syphilis, bumps, called gummas may form on the skin, the bones, liver or any other organ. More often, gummas disappear after treatment with medications called antibiotics.

Neurological problems

Syphilis can cause many problems in the brain, its deck or the spinal cord. These problems include:

The pain of a headache.
Stroke.
Meningitis, a disease that inflames the protection of the layers of tissue that surrounds the brain and spinal cord.
Confusion, personality changes, or trouble concentrating.
Symptoms similar to dementia, such as loss of memory, judgment, and decision-making skills.
Not being able to move certain parts of the body, is called paralysis.
Difficulty achieving or maintaining an erection, it's called erectile dysfunction.
Bladder problems.

Eye problems

Disease that spreads to the eye is called syphilis of the eye. It can cause:

Eye pain or redness.
Changes in vision.
Blindness.

Ear problems

Disease that spreads to the ear is called otosyphilis. Symptoms may include:

The hearing loss.
Ringing in the ears, called tinnitus.
Feeling like you or the world around you is spinning, called vertigo.

Heart and blood vessel problems

These may include the protrusion, and the inflammation of the aorta — the body's major arteries and other blood vessels. Syphilis can also damage the heart valves.

HIV infection

The syphilis sores on the genitals, increase the risk of contracting or transmitting HIV through sex. A plague of syphilis can bleed easily. This provides an easy way for HIV to enter the bloodstream during sexual intercourse.

Pregnancy and childbirth complications

If you are pregnant, you could pass syphilis to her unborn baby. Congenital syphilis greatly increases the risk of spontaneous abortion, fetal death or that of her newborn baby to death within a couple of days after the birth.

Prevention

There is No vaccine for syphilis. To help prevent the spread of syphilis, follow these tips:

Have safe sex or no sex. The only sure way to avoid the contact with the syphilis bacterium is not to have sex. This is called abstinence. If a person is sexually active, safe sex means a long-term relationship in which you and your partner have sex only with each other, and none of the two is infected. Before you have sex with someone new, you should be tested for syphilis and other sexually transmitted infections (Stis).
Use a latex condom. Condoms can reduce your risk of catching or spreading syphilis. But condoms only work if covered with an infected person, the syphilis sores. Other types of birth control does not reduce your risk of getting syphilis.
Be careful with alcohol and stay away from street drugs. Drinking too much alcohol or taking drugs can get in the way of his judgment. Either can lead to unprotected sex.
Do not use douches. You can remove some of the healthy bacteria that normally present in the vagina. And that can increase your risk of contracting sexually transmitted infections.
Feeding with caution. Syphilis can be passed from a father to a baby during breastfeeding, if the wounds in one or both breasts. This can happen when the baby or pumping equipment touches the sore. To prevent this from happening, pump or hand express breast milk breast with sores. Do this until the sores heal. If your pump touch a sore, get rid of the milk that just pumping.

A drug called doxycycline may be an option for preventing hiv infection among people who have a higher than average risk of contracting syphilis. High-risk groups include men who have sex with men and transgender women.

Taking doxycycline within 3 days of sexual activity reduces the risk of infection with the bacterium that causes syphilis. Your healthcare provider may prescribe doxycycline, and any test that you need while you are taking the medication.

Partner notification

If the tests show that you have syphilis, their partner should know what they can do the test. This includes their current partners and any other that we have had in the last three months to 1 year. If it is infected, then you can get treatment.

After learning that you have syphilis, your local health department may contact you. An employee of the department talk with you about private ways to tell their partners that they have been exposed to syphilis. You can ask the department to do this for you without having to reveal their identity to their partners.

Or you can contact the partners along with an employee of the department, or simply tell your partners yourself. This free service is called partner notification. You can help to limit the spread of syphilis. The practice is also addressed to those in a situation of risk for the advice and the right treatment.

And since you can get syphilis more than once, partner notification, reduces the risk of becoming infected again.

Screening tests for pregnant people

You can be infected with syphilis and not know it. And the disease can have fatal effects on unborn babies. For this reason, public health officials recommend that all pregnant people evidence of the disease.

Diagnosis

You may be able to use a test that is available without a prescription, sometimes called a test at home to see if you have syphilis. If the test shows that you have syphilis, you should consult a health professional to confirm the diagnosis and start the treatment.

Your health care team can find the syphilis by means of the analysis of samples:

Blood. Blood tests can confirm the presence of proteins called antibodies. The immune system makes to fight infections. Antibodies against the bacterium that causes syphilis remain in the body for years. So blood tests can be used to find a current or past infection.
Fluid from a sore. A laboratory study of this fluid under a microscope to confirm that syphilis caused the pain.
The fluid that surrounds the brain and the spinal cord. Another name for this is the cerebrospinal fluid. If your medical team thinks that you have problems with the nervous system of syphilis, may recommend testing of this fluid. A needle is used to take a sample of cerebrospinal fluid between two of the bones in the back. This procedure is called a lumbar puncture.

Remember, your local health department can offer services of partners. These help to inform their sexual partners that they may be infected. Their partners can be evaluated and treated, to limit the spread of syphilis.

Treatment

Drugs

Syphilis is easily cured when it's found and treated in its early stages. The treatment of choice in all stages is the penicillin. This antibiotic can kill the bacteria that cause syphilis.

If you are allergic to penicillin, your health care team can suggest another antibiotic. Or can you recommend a process that safely helps your body get used to the penicillin over time.

The recommended treatment for primary, secondary, or early latent syphilis is a single injection of penicillin. If you have had syphilis for more than a year, you may need additional doses.

Penicillin is the only recommended treatment for pregnant people with syphilis. People who are allergic to penicillin can follow a process that allows them to take the medicine. The procedure is called desensitization to penicillin.

It is performed by a specialist called an allergist or immunologist. It involves taking small amounts of penicillin every 15 to 20 minutes for about 4 hours.

Even if you are being treated for syphilis during pregnancy, the newborn should be tested for congenital syphilis. A baby infected with the syphilis bacterium receives antibiotic treatment.

The first day of treatment, you may have what is known as the Jarisch-Herxheimer reaction. The symptoms include fever, chills, nausea, pain in the pain and the headache. Most often, this reaction does not last more than a day.

The follow-up of treatment

After treatment for syphilis, your health care team will probably be asked to:

Regular blood tests and examinations to make sure that the treatment with penicillin is working. Follow-up tests you need will depend on the stage of syphilis in which they are.
Do not have sexual contact with new partners until the end of the treatment. The blood test must show that the infection has been cured, and sores, he should have disappeared.
Tell your sexual partners so that they can be tested and receive treatment if necessary.
Get tested for HIV.

Coping and support

Discover that you have syphilis can be very annoying. You might get angry if you feel you have been betrayed by a partner. Or you may feel embarrassed if you think that has infected others.

Hold off on the placing of any guilt. Don't assume that your partner has been unfaithful. One or both of you may have been infected by a former partner.

Preparing for your appointment

Many people do not feel comfortable sharing the details of their sexual experiences. But it is important to have a private conversation with your health care team about this information, so that you can get the right care.

What you can do

Be aware of any pre-appointment restrictions. At the time of making the appointment, ask if there is something that you need to do beforehand.
Write down the symptoms that you have. Include any that do not seem to be related to the reason why you made the appointment.
Make a list of all medications, vitamins or supplements you take. Include the amount you take, also called the dose.
Write questions to ask their health care team.

Some basic questions to ask include:

What is the medical name of the infection that I have?
How is it spread?
They keep me from having children?
If I get pregnant, what can I give my baby?
It is possible to catch this again?
Could have taken this from someone who had sex with only once?
Could give to someone to have sex with that person only once?
How long have I had it?
I have other health conditions. How can I best manage them together?
I have to stop the sexual activity, as long as I am being treated?
Does my partner have to be treated?

What to expect from your doctor

Give your health care team, a full report of their symptoms and sexual history. This helps the computer to figure out how to best care for you. Here are some of the things that can be made:

What symptoms made you decide to enter? How long have you had these symptoms?
With whom you have sex?
We currently have a sexual partner, or more than one?
How long have you been with your current partner or partners?
Have you ever injected yourself with drugs?
Have you ever had sex with someone who has injected drugs?
What can you do to protect yourself from sexually transmitted infections (Stis)?
What to do to prevent pregnancy?
A doctor or nurse has told you that you have chlamydia, herpes, gonorrhea, syphilis or HIV?
He has been in treatment for genital discharge, genital herpes, pain when urinating, or an infection of the sex organs?
How many sexual partners have you had in the last year? In the past two months?
When was your most recent sexual encounter?

What you can do in the meantime

If you think you might have syphilis, it is better not to have any sexual contact until you have talked with your health care team. If you have sexual activity before you see your health care team, follow safe-sex practices such as condom use.