Syphilis || Symptoms Diagnosis And Treatment

Syphilis

 

 Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection (STI) caused by a type of bacteria known as Treponema pallidum. In 2016, more than 88,000 cases of syphilis were reported in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The rate of women with syphilis has been declining in the United States, but the rate among men, particularly men who have sex with men, has been rising. 

 

 The first sign of syphilis is a small, painless sore. It can appear on the sexual organs, rectum, or inside the mouth. This sore is called a chancre. People often fail to notice it right away.

Syphilis can be challenging to diagnose. Someone can have it without showing any symptoms for years. However, the earlier syphilis is discovered, the better. Syphilis that remains untreated for a long time can cause major damage to important organs, like the heart and brain.

Syphilis is only spread through direct contact with syphilitic chancres. It can’t be transmitted by sharing a toilet with another person, wearing another person’s clothing, or using another person’s eating utensils. 

Syphilis is a tricky disease with four stages. In the primary stage, the main symptom is a sore. Sometimes syphilis is called the "great imitator" because the sore can look like a cut, an ingrown hair, or a harmless bump. The secondary stage starts with a rash on your body, followed by sores in your mouth, vagina, or anus.
 
Symptoms usually disappear in the third, or latent, stage. This stage can last for years or the rest of your life. Only about 15% of people with untreated syphilis will develop the final stage. In the late stage, it causes organ and nerve damage. It can also cause problems in your brain.
 
Your doctor can give you antibiotics to treat syphilis. The earlier treatment starts, the fewer antibiotics you'll need and the more quickly they work.

Stages of syphilis infection

The four stages of syphilis are:

• primary
• secondary
• latent
• tertiary

Syphilis is most infectious in the first two stages.
When syphilis is in the hidden, or latent, stage, the disease remains active but often with no symptoms. Tertiary syphilis is the most destructive to health.

Primary syphilis

The primary stage of syphilis occurs about three to four weeks after a person contracts the bacteria. It begins with a small, round sore called a chancre. A chancre is painless, but it’s highly infectious. This sore may appear wherever the bacteria entered the body, such as on or inside the mouth, genitals, or rectum.

On average, the sore shows up around three weeks after infection, but it can take between 10 and 90 days to appear. The sore remains for anywhere between two to six weeks.
Syphilis is transmitted by direct contact with a sore. This usually occurs during sexual activity, including oral sex.

Secondary syphilis

Skin rashes and a sore throat may develop during the second stage of syphilis. The rash won’t itch and is usually found on the palms and soles, but it may occur anywhere on the body. Some people don’t notice the rash before it goes away.
Other symptoms of secondary syphilis may include:

• headaches
• swollen lymph nodes
• fatigue
• fever
• weight loss
• hair loss
• aching joints

These symptoms will go away whether or not treatment is received. However, without treatment, a person still has syphilis.
Secondary syphilis is often mistaken for another condition.

Latent syphilis

The third stage of syphilis is the latent, or hidden, stage. The primary and secondary symptoms disappear, and there won’t be any noticeable symptoms at this stage. However, the bacteria remain in the body. This stage could last for years before progressing to tertiary syphilis.

Tertiary syphilis

The last stage of infection is tertiary syphilis. According to the Mayo Clinic, approximately 15 to 30 percent of people who don’t receive treatment for syphilis will enter this stage. Tertiary syphilis can occur years or decades after the initial infection. Tertiary syphilis can be life-threatening. Some other potential outcomes of tertiary syphilis include:

• blindness
• deafness
• mental illness
• memory loss
• destruction of soft tissue and bone
• neurological disorders, such as stroke or meningitis
• heart disease
• neurosyphilis, which is an infection of the brain or spinal cord

Diagnosis

Syphilis can be diagnosed by testing samples of:

• Blood. Blood tests can confirm the presence of antibodies that the body produces to fight infection. The antibodies to the bacteria that cause syphilis remain in your body for years, so the test can be used to determine a current or past infection.



Spinal Tap

• Cerebral spinal fluid. If it's suspected that you have nervous system complications of syphilis, your doctor may also suggest collecting a sample of cerebrospinal fluid through a procedure called a lumbar puncture (spinal tap).

Through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, your local health department offers partner services, which will help you notify your sexual partners that they may be infected. That way, your partners can be tested and treated and the spread of syphilis can be curtailed.

Treatment

When diagnosed and treated in its early stages, syphilis is easy to cure. The preferred treatment at all stages is penicillin, an antibiotic medication that can kill the organism that causes syphilis. 

 If you're allergic to penicillin, your doctor will suggest another antibiotic.
A single injection of penicillin can stop the disease from progressing if you've been infected for less than a year. 

If you've had syphilis for longer than a year, you may need additional doses.

Penicillin is the only recommended treatment for pregnant women with syphilis. 

Women who are allergic to penicillin can undergo a desensitization process that may allow them to take penicillin. 

Even if you're treated for syphilis during your pregnancy, your newborn child should also receive antibiotic treatment.
The first day you receive treatment you may experience what's known as the Jarisch-Herxheimer reaction.

Signs and symptoms include a fever, chills, nausea, achy pain and headache. This reaction usually doesn't last more than one day.