Syphilis
Is a sexually transmitted disease, caused by infection from bacteria Treponema pallidum, studies indicate the injury of more than 56 thousand people with syphilis in the United States of America, and affects women and men alike, but the infection rates said in recent years among women, Although they are increasing in men, especially after the spread of homosexuality. The appearance of small, painless lesions is the first sign of syphilis. These ulcers may occur either on the sexual organs or on the rectum or inside the mouth, and are not usually observed by the patient. It is often difficult to diagnose syphilis, and the patient may not have symptoms for years. Early diagnosis of the disease is of great benefit. The long-term survival of the patient has several complications that may affect vital organs in the human body, such as the heart and brain. Syphilis among people is transmitted through direct contact with bedsores, it does not move through the use of the same toilet, or the patient wear clothes, or even when you use the vessels of its own food.
Stages of Syphilis
Syphilis occurs in stages that differ among themselves in the symptoms that appear on the patient. These stages may interfere with each other. Symptoms may not appear on the order, and some patients have no symptoms for years. The stages of syphilis are as follows:
- Primary syphilis : It shows the ulcer for syphilis, which is the first symptom of the injury and the size of small and painless, and appear at the entry point of bacteria to the body. In most cases, the patient has a single ulcer, although some patients experience many ulcers, and these ulcers appear about three weeks after the disease. It may be difficult for many patients to note these ulcers, not accompanied by any pain, and may disappear in the vagina or rectum. It is usually cured alone for three to six weeks.
- Secondary syphilis : Enter the patient at this stage within weeks after the recovery of the ulcer, and shows the patient in which the skin rash includes the trunk start, but soon to cover the entire body up to the soles of the hand and foot. This skin rash does not usually cause itching, but may be accompanied by warts in the mouth and sexual areas. Some patients may experience other symptoms, such as hair loss, muscle aches, fever, sore throat, and swollen lymph nodes. These symptoms may disappear within a few weeks and sometimes continue to appear and disappear for a whole year.
- Syphilis : The patient moves from the secondary stage to the latent after not treating the disease as required, and may continue for years without any symptoms, either disappear symptoms completely and not felt by the patient again, or to move the patient to the stage III.
- Tertiary syphilis : It is also called the late stage of syphilis, the stage where complications of syphilis occur in patients who have not undergone the required treatment, and tested by 15 to 30% of syphilis patients. The disease affects various organs of the body, such as the brain, heart, nerves, eyes, muscles, bones, liver, and blood vessels.
- Congenital syphilis : Newborns are infected with syphilis, as the disease is transmitted either through the placenta or at birth. Most newborns with syphilis have no symptoms, although some suffer from a rash on the soles of the feet and hands. Late symptoms of hearing loss, tooth abnormalities, or nose may also occur.
Syphilis treatment
Syphilis is treated in its primary and secondary stages using penicillin in the form of injections. It is the most widely used antibiotics and is very effective in the elimination of syphilis. People who are allergic to penicillin may be given oral antibiotics, such as doxycycline, ceftriaxone, and azithromycin. In the case of complications of syphilis on nerves, the patient then requires penicillin intravenously, and therefore need to stay in the hospital, unfortunately can not reverse the neurological damage caused by syphilis.
During the treatment phase, the patient should not have any sexual contact until all the syphilis caused by syphilis is cured. The husband must also undergo treatment, and they must abstain from sex until their treatment is completed. Safe sex with condoms is the best way to prevent syphilis. It is also advisable to avoid sex with many partners, as well as to use condoms for oral sex, as well as for screening sexually transmitted diseases on a regular basis. Syphilis can also be transmitted through needles, so be careful when using it.
Syphilis complications
Syphilis can lead to multiple complications, if the patient is not treated properly. The most significant of these complications are as follows:
- The appearance of protrusions or tumors : They appear either on the skin, bone, liver or on other organs, in the final stage of the disease. And usually disappear after undergoing antibiotic treatment.
- Suffering from problems at the nervous system level Such as stroke, meningitis, hearing loss, vision problems, dementia, or loss of sensation of heat.
- Heart and circulatory disorders : The most prominent suffering from swelling and irritation of the wall of the aorta and other blood vessels, and may also damage the valves of the heart.
- HIV infection : When suffering from syphilis, the chance of transmission of the virus that leads to AIDS increases by two to five times the normal person.