Syphilis, one of the sexually transmitted diseases, is caused by spirochete type bacteria.
What is Syphilis (What is Syphilis)?
After the disease develops, the first finding is a small painless sore. These lesions, which usually occur around the genitals and the rectum, which is the last part of the digestive tract, are called chancre (syphilis) and may be difficult to notice at first due to these features.
Syphilis is systemic disease caused by a spirochete type bacteria called Treponema Pallidum. It is an infectious disease. Many signs and symptoms occur during the course of the disease, and these symptoms can mimic many other diseases. Therefore, the answer to the question of what syphilis is, syphilis is a sexually transmitted and imitative infectious disease. The detection of hereditary material associated with syphilis bacteria was realized in 1998. This spiral-shaped bacterium has a slow metabolism and its proliferation occurs on average once in 30 hours. Transmission from animals to humans is out of the question for this disease. This disease, which is sexually transmitted through lesions in the mouth, around the rectum and in the genital area, can very rarely be transmitted in the form of joint injection or contact with the lesioned skin.
Another transmission route, called vertical transmission, defines the baby to be sick through the placenta from the sick mother, and this transmission causes the baby to develop a disease called congenital syphilis. is done. Men between the ages of 20 and 29 are the group most affected by this disease.
What are the Symptoms of Syphilis? How to Diagnose Syphilis?
Syphilis is basically examined in 4 stages. Primary (primary), secondary (secondary), latent (sleep stage) and tertiary (tertiary) stages form the 4 stages of this disorder. they grow. Syphilis is highly contagious, especially in the primary and secondary stages. The latent stage constitutes the stage in which the disease is present in the person but does not cause any symptoms. Tertiary syphilis, on the other hand, is the stage where the general health status of the person is most affected due to this disease. . A small painless lesion called a chancre occurs at the site of entry of the bacterium and has the potential to spread the disease. On average, the chancre lesion persists for a period of 2 to 6 weeks. Direct contact with this lesion can cause the disease to be transmitted to other people. Particular attention should be paid to the lesions in the genital area, as it can be transmitted to healthy people during sexual activity. At the same time, enlargement and hardening of the lymph nodes in the infection area can be detected. After the development of syphilis infection in people with HIV, more than one chancre lesion usually occurs.
Secondary Syphilis
Syphilis disease in which complaints such as skin rash and sore throat occur. In the second stage, the rashes are not itchy, and these lesions tend to occur mostly on the palms and soles. Apart from rash, symptoms such as enlarged lymph nodes, headache, weakness, fever, weight loss, hair loss or joint pain are among the complaints that may occur in people with secondary syphilis. These complaints tend to regress over time, whether the person is treated or not, but the person's syphilis continues to exist. It should be noted that the symptoms in the secondary syphilis stage may be misdiagnosed as they are similar to the symptoms in many other diseases. These symptoms occur within 2-8 weeks following the disappearance of the chancre lesion in the primary syphilis stage.
Latent Syphilis The third stage of syphilis, the latent period, occurs with the progression of primary and secondary syphilis that did not receive proper treatment. The 3rd stage, which is divided into 2 in itself, used as early latent and late latent for a period of 1 year, in which serological tests are positive but clinical signs of the disease do not occur� The bacterium that is the causative agent of the disease continues to exist in the body at this stage. Approximately one-third of patients who have not received appropriate treatment for syphilis will transition to this stage after a certain period of time. Care should be taken as the symptoms occurring at this stage can reach a life-threatening level. - Blindness, - deafness, - mental illnesses, - memory loss, - bone and soft tissue destruction, - stroke, - neurological diseases such as meningitis, - various heart diseases, - Infection of the brain and spinal cord, called neurosyphilis, with this bacterium is among the clinical conditions that may occur in the last stage of syphilis.
Aortic aneurysms or valve problems are important heart-related problems that occur in the tertiary syphilis stage. If neurosyphilis develops, conditions such as meningitis (inflammation of the meninges), paralysis or seizures may occur. It can cause significant health problems such as internal inflammation, sharpening and deterioration of the teeth. Although the baby born with syphilis does not show any symptoms at first, the signs of the disease may manifest itself within a period of 48 months with - rash, - enlarged liver and spleen, - fever, - bulging on the fontanel (fontanel), - seizures or paralysis of the cranial nerves. Babies who do not receive treatment progress to the latent stage over time.
How to Diagnose Syphilis?
Dark field microscopy and serological tests are mainly used in the diagnostic approach to syphilis. Detection of the spirochete bacteria, which is the causative agent of the disease, in the examinations made with the samples taken from the lesion from the patient under the microscope provides direct diagnosis. Non-disease specific tests They are called treponemal tests and are tests used for screening purposes. These tests, called
VDRL and PRP tests, give positive results following the development of primary chancre lesion in the person.
Treponemal tests specific to the disease are applied to confirm the diagnosis with positive screening tests. In these tests, antibodies formed by the immune system against the bacteria that cause syphilis are evaluated.
Since syphilis is a sexually transmitted disease, people with this disease should be screened for other diseases that can be transmitted in this way.
How to Treat Syphilis?
Syphilis Treatment varies depending on the stage of the disease. Primary, secondary and early latent syphilis patients can be treated with a single dose of penicillin administered intramuscularly. In people who cannot use this antibiotic, prescription of antibiotic drugs with active ingredients such as doxycycline or ceftriaxone can be applied. In patients who use alternative antibiotics, the treatment is continued for 28 days. Various allergic reactions may develop depending on the excess of dead bacteria in patients receiving high-dose antibiotics. Patients are evaluated by testing them for recurrence of the disease within 3 months after the treatment. If these tests are found to be negative 4 times, it may indicate that the treatment was successful. For this reason, people who receive treatment for syphilis should not neglect to have their check-ups done. You can use the contact form on our website to reach us.
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