Syphilis is a serious disease, which is characterized by damage to the skin, mucous membranes and internal organs of a person.
It is classified as classic sexually transmitted diseases. Unprotected sexual intercourse with an unreliable or casual sexual partner can cause syphilis.
Symptoms of syphilis vary widely, and the manifestations of the disease largely depend on its period. Previously, this infection was considered incurable, but nowadays it is successfully treated with antibiotics.
As syphilis is transmitted
In most cases, syphilis infection occurs during sexual intercourse in the vagina, mouth or rectum. Treponema penetrates the body through minor defects in the mucosa of the genital tract.
However, there are cases of infection by household means - the disease is transmitted from one partner to another through saliva with a kiss, through objects of common use on which there is a dry detachable containing pale treponema. Sometimes, the transfusion of infected blood can become the cause of infection.
Pathogen
A moving microorganism from the order spirochete, pale treponema is the causative agent of syphilis in women and men. It was discovered in 1905 by German microbiologists Fritz Schaudin( German Fritz Richard Schaudinn, 1871-1906) and Erich Hoffmann( German, Erich Hoffmann, 1863-1959).
The incubation period
On average, it is 4-5 weeks, in some cases the incubation period of syphilis is shorter, sometimes longer( up to 3-4 months).Usually it is asymptomatic.
The incubation period may increase if the patient has taken some antibiotics due to other infectious diseases. During the incubation period, the test results will show a negative result.
Symptoms of syphilis
The course of syphilis and its characteristic symptoms will depend on the stage of development on which it is located. In this case, the symptoms in women and men can be very diverse.
It is generally accepted to distinguish 4 stages of the disease - beginning from the incubation period, and ending with tertiary syphilis.
The first signs of syphilis make themselves felt after the end of the incubation period( it proceeds without symptoms), and the onset of the first stage. It is called the primary syphilis, which we will discuss below.
Primary syphilis
The formation of a painless chancre on the labia in women or the glans penis in men is the first sign of syphilis. It has a solid base, smooth edges and a brownish-red bottom.
Sores are formed at the site of penetration of the pathogen into the body, it may be other places, but most often chancres are formed on the genitals of a man or a woman, since the main way of transmission of the disease is through sexual intercourse.
After 7-14 days after the onset of a solid chancre, the nearest lymph nodes begin to grow. This is a sign that triponemes with blood flow are carried throughout the body, and affect the internal organs and systems of man. The ulcer heals independently within 20-40 days after the onset. However, this can not be regarded as a cure for the disease, in fact the infection develops.
At the end of the primary period, specific symptoms may appear:
- weakness, insomnia;
- headache, loss of appetite;
- subfebrile temperature;
- pain in muscles and joints;
The primary period of the disease is divided into seronegative, when the standard serological reactions of the blood are negative( the first three to four weeks after the onset of a solid chancre) and seropositive when the blood reactions are positive.
Secondary syphilis
After the first phase of the disease, secondary syphilis begins. Symptoms that are typical at this point - the emergence of a symmetrical pale rash throughout the body, including the palms and soles. It does not cause any painful sensations. But it is the first sign of secondary syphilis, which occurs 8-11 weeks after the appearance of the first ulcers on the patient's body.
If the disease is not treated at this stage, then with time the rash disappears and syphilis flows into a latent stage, which can last up to 4 years. After a certain period of time, a relapse occurs.
At this stage, rashes are less, they are more faded. The rash occurs more often in areas where the skin is exposed to mechanical action - on the extensor surfaces, in the inguinal folds, under the mammary glands, in the mezhyagodic fold, on the mucous membranes. It is possible to hair loss on the head, as well as the appearance of flesh-colored growth on the genitals and in the region of the anus.
Tertiary syphilis
Today, fortunately, infection in the third stage of development is rare.
However, if the disease is not treated in a timely manner, then after 3-5 years or more from the time of infection, the tertiary period of syphilis comes. At this stage, the infection affects the internal organs, foci( humus) on the skin, mucous membranes, heart, liver, brain, lungs, bones and eyes are formed. The back of the nose can sink, and during meals and food gets into the nose.
Symptoms of tertiary syphilis are associated with the death of nerve cells of the brain and spinal cord, as a consequence in the advanced third stage, dementia, progressive paralysis may occur. The Wasserman reaction and other assays may be weakly positive or negative.
Do not wait for the development of the last stage of the disease, and at the first alarming symptoms, immediately consult a doctor.
Diagnosis
Diagnosis of syphilis will depend directly on the stage at which it is located. It will be based on the symptoms of the patient and the analyzes received.
In the case of the primary stage, hard chancers and lymph nodes are susceptible to examination. In the next stage, the affected areas of the skin, papules of the mucous membranes are examined. In general, bacteriological, immunological, serological and other methods of investigation are used to diagnose infection. It should be taken into account that at certain stages of the disease the results of tests for syphilis can be negative in the presence of the disease, which makes it difficult to diagnose the infection.
To confirm the diagnosis, a specific Wasserman reaction is carried out, but it often gives false results of the analysis. Therefore, several types of tests should be used simultaneously for diagnosis of syphilis - RIF, ELISA, RIBT, RPGA, microscopy, PCR analysis.
Treatment of syphilis
In women and men, the treatment of syphilis should be comprehensive and individual. This is one of the most formidable venereal diseases, which leads to serious consequences with improper treatment, therefore under no circumstances should one do self-medication at home.
The basis for the treatment of syphilis is antibiotics, due to them the effectiveness of treatment has approached 100%.The patient can be treated on an outpatient basis, under the supervision of a doctor who prescribes complex and individual treatment. Today, antisyphilitic therapy uses penicillin derivatives in sufficient doses( benzylpenicillin).It is inadmissible to prematurely stop treatment, it is necessary to undergo a full course of treatment.
At the discretion of the attending physician, supplementing antibiotics can be prescribed - immunomodulators, probiotics, vitamins, physiotherapy, etc. During treatment, a man or a woman is strictly prohibited from any sexual contact and alcohol.
After the termination of treatment it is necessary to hand over control analyzes. These can be non-treponemal blood tests in quantitative form( for example, RW with cardiolipin antigen).
Consequences of
Consequences of treated syphilis are usually reduced immunity, problems with the endocrine system, lesions of the chromosomal series of varying severity. In addition, after treatment of pale treponema, the blood remains a trace reaction, which may not disappear until the end of life.
If syphilis is not detected and not cured, it can progress to the tertiary( late) stage, which is the most destructive.
Complications of the late stage of include:
- Gunma, large ulcers inside the body or on the skin. Some of these gums "dissolve" without leaving traces, in place of the others syphilis ulcers are formed, resulting in softening and destruction of tissues, including the bones of the skull. It turns out that a person simply rots alive.
- Disorders of the nervous system( latent, acute generalized, subacute( basal) meningitis, syphilitic hydrocephalus, early meningovascular syphilis, meningomyelitis, neuritis, spinal cord, paralysis, etc.);
- Neurosyphilis, which affects the brain or shell that covers the brain.
If infection with treponema has occurred during pregnancy, the consequences of the infection can be manifested in a child who gets a pale treponem through the mother's placenta.