Understanding Syphilis

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Understanding SyphilisVideo Description:Syphilis is one of the oldest recognized sexually transmitted diseases - think Henry the VIII - but it's still prominent today. Learn about this STD in this video. Transcript:Syphilis is a sexually transmitted disease caused by bacteria known as treponema pallidum. Syphilis is curable, but if allowed to progress without treatment, it can result in serious illness or death. Syphilis has been around for centuries, and has infected some of history’s most famous individuals. Eighteenth-century composer Franz Schubert, England’s King Henry the eighth, and 1920s gangster Al Capone were all infected with deadly cases of syphilis. Today, the bacterium spreads the same way it always has: Through direct contact with a syphilis sore, which are usually located on the genitals. For this reason, syphilis is almost always passed sexually, although a pregnant woman infected with syphilis may also pass it to her baby. Once a person contracts syphilis, the disease goes through three stages. The first, or primary, stage is marked by the appearance of a single sore, or chancre, about 20 days after infection. This painless lesion appears where syphilis was contracted. Within a week or two, the chancre usually heals on its own, but a syphilis lesion increases the risk that a person can contract HIV by 5 times, so abstaining from sex at this point is VITAL.  After the chancre heals, the secondary stage of syphilis begins. At this point, a painless red or brown rash may appear on the body, especially on the palms of the hands and bottoms of the feet.  The secondary stage is also characterized by flu-like symptoms, including fever, fatigue, and aching muscles. Because these symptoms are often indistinguishable from other diseases, syphilis is known as “the great imitator.” But these “imitation” symptoms will usually resolve themselves without treatment within a few weeks. The final, or latent, stage of syphilis begins when secondary symptoms abate. At this point, there are generally no outward signs of syphilis, but the bacterium continues to thrive internally. If syphilis is not treated, it will spread to other organs, resulting in neurological problems, like a stroke, paralysis, deafness, or dementia. Cardiovascular difficulties, like inflammation of the heart’s major artery, the aorta, may also follow from untreated syphilis. Eventually, these conditions can lead to death. The good news is that penicillin has been found to be a safe, effective treatment for this disease. A muscular injection of penicillin, sometimes with booster shots, is all that is needed to kill the bacterium that leads to syphilis. For people who are allergic to penicillin, a course of antibiotics may be taken to kill the bacteria, but damage already done by the disease cannot be reversed. Your doctor will follow up with blood tests to be sure that the medication is working. Pregnant women will be tested more frequently to ensure a return to health, as syphilis can cause death in newborns. Syphilis is on the rise among men who have sex with men in the United States, and among teenagers, who are more likely than ever to practice oral sex, so talk to your doctor about getting a blood test to check for this disease.  Category:STDs/Other STDs Tags:Health, Medicine, std, sti, bacteria, antibiotic, sex, hiv, discharge, genital, pid, infertility, safesex, penis, vagina, semen, orgasm, whore, hooker, condom, syphilis, homosexual, sore, chancre, primary stage, secondary stage, rash, penicillin, sexually transmitted disease, pelvic inflammatory disease, SexHealthGuru, Guru,
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