SEX-RELATED DISEASES: SYPHILIS

Date: Monday, March 30th, 2009 at 3:17 am

This used to be an extremely common disease until the coming of penicillin in the 1940s, but is happily less common today. In the past, when treatment was poor, the long-term effects (both physical and mental) were atrocious. Today such effects are extremely rare.

About a month after having sex with an infected person (often a homosexual man) the contact gets a chancre (pronounced shanker) at the site of the infection. This can be on the penis, vagina, nipple, finger tip, or lip. A woman may not know that she has it because it could be deep inside her vagina. The sore goes away after a few weeks. This stage is called primary syphilis.

The second stage starts with a copper-coloured skin rash produced as the germs spread through the body in the blood-stream. There is also a fever, sore throat, swollen glands and loss of hair. These symptoms go away too.

The third stage is a hidden one that can last for years. There are no symptoms but the germs are working their way into almost every organ of the body.

The fourth stage of syphilis which affects about a third of all cases is the one described in historical records with such horror. This stage damages the nervous system, along with most of the other organs of the body, and the person can be paralysed, go blind, go mad and eventually die.

A woman who is pregnant and has syphilis can pass the disease on to her baby who will be born dead or diseased. This disease can be detected easily by taking a swab from the sore and blood tests can help too. Treatment with antibiotics is effective, especially in the early stages. Any long-term changes that have occurred in various organs cannot, of course, be reversed.