The disease "syphilis" - what is it?

The disease "syphilis" is a very contagious venereal disease , which is mainly transmitted through sexual contact, including oral and anal sex. In some cases it is possible to get infected through a kiss or even just close physical contact with a person who has this disease.

It has long been known that the disease "syphilis" is transmitted after direct contact with the ulcers that appear in its result. But it is worth noting that most of these ulcers remain unnoticed for a person.

Very often a person already infected with this disease does not even imagine it. The worst thing is that because of this ignorance about his condition, he will unconsciously infect his sexual partner. And if there are several of them ... Can you imagine the extent of the problem?

In addition, infection can occur from mother to child. That is, if a pregnant woman is infected, then while still in the womb, the fetus can also be infected. This form of syphilis is called congenital and in some cases leads to very serious defects in the development of the baby. Sometimes a child may not even survive.

Why does syphilis appear? It arises from the causative agent of the disease - pale treponema, originating from the spirochete genus.

How widespread is the disease "syphilis"?

This venereal disease has a chronic course and often leads to the appearance of severe complications. These include arthritis, brain damage, blindness and so on. Not so long ago, syphilis was a huge danger to surrounding people, because reliable treatment did not exist.

This situation lasted until 1940, before the invention of an antibiotic called penicillin, which fought well against this disease.

To date, syphilis is sick with fewer and fewer people. Although from time to time there are separate outbreaks of the disease.

Symptoms of syphilis

This disease usually occurs in three stages:

1. Primary or early syphilis . During this period on the skin there are characteristic only for this disease ulcers, which are called "hard chancre". Such ulcers have a dense texture, almost do not hurt and appear about 10-90 days after the infection has occurred. If you do not carry out treatment, syphilis will not go anywhere, although the ulcers will pass a month through one and a half (and by themselves), leaving no scars and scarring.
2. Secondary syphilis . This stage usually lasts from one to three months. On the body there are foci of pinkish rash. Its characteristic location is the soles of the feet and palms. In addition, moist warts located in the groin, white spots inside the oral cavity, an increase in the size of the lymph nodes, weight loss and fever may appear. Like the primary stage, the secondary passes also by itself without any treatment.
3. Tertiary syphilis . Here everything is different: if this form is not treated, serious complications may arise in the functioning of the brain and spinal cord, heart and nervous system. In addition, the third stage of syphilis can lead to paralysis, blindness, deafness, dementia, impotence and that the worst - death.

Separately, latent (or latent) syphilis is isolated. This period is characterized by the absence of any symptoms.

Than to treat a syphilis?

If from the moment you contracted it, it took less than a year, then to get rid of the disease, most likely, one dose of penicillin will suffice. If you have an allergic reaction to this antibiotic, it can be replaced with doxycycline or tetracycline.

When the disease "syphilis" has moved to a later stage, much larger doses of the drug will be needed and a rather long period of time for cure.