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What is syphilis

It is well known that syphilis is a sexually transmitted disease. However, beyond popular knowledge, many people do not really know what syphilis is, how it appears, what symptoms it presents or how to detect it.

In this article we cover all these topics and, incidentally, we invite you to take the STD screening test, with which you will be able to know if you have any of the 6 most common sexually transmitted diseases (HIV, hepatitis B, hepatitis C , syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia and herpes) and, if you test positive for any, start with the necessary treatment.

Remember that a timely diagnosis is essential to control the disease and, in cases where it is possible, a quick cure without sequelae.

Syphilis

As the Mayo Clinic explains, this disease is an infection caused by a bacterium that is sexually transmitted. Once you have been exposed to the bacteria, a sore will appear. This is not painful and usually appears on the genitals but can sometimes appear in the rectum or mouth.

After being infected, the bacteria can remain inactive for years or even decades before becoming active again. During this stage the disease is easy to fight, sometimes a single injection of penicillin is enough. However, if not treated in time, it can progress to affect other organs in the body and seriously damage even the heart and brain.

Stages

  • Primary syphilis: In this phase the sore or chancre appears
  • Secondary syphilis: Weeks after the original sore, rashes may appear that begin to appear on the trunk and spread to the entire body.
  • Latent syphilis: You go to a stage where you have no symptoms. This stage can last for years.
  • Tertiary syphilis: Only 20% to 30% of people who do not receive care reach this stage. At this stage the condition can damage other organs. Normally the most affected organs are liver, heart, brain, nerves, blood vessels and eyes.
  • Neuro syphilis: It happens when, at any stage, the disease spreads.

Validity

According to the World Health Organization, every day more than a million people are infected with a sexually transmitted disease. The most common, which infect more than 374 million people a year, are chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis and trichomoniasis. Almost 30% of the viruses that are transmitted are due to sexually related causes

The greatest difficulty in stopping the progress of these diseases is that they usually do not have any symptoms with them for years. Years in which one person can infect hundreds more without even knowing it.

For this reason, the most important thing when having a responsible sexual life is to test ourselves frequently. As much as possible once a year or every time we change stable partners.

If you think it is possible that you have contracted syphilis, or any other sexually transmitted disease, you have not done tests for a long time or you are starting a romantic life with another partner, do not hesitate to take your test right now.

SEM specialist at Civitatis. Digital marketing and data analysis expert with experience in planning and implementing digital campaigns and as product manager. Graduated from a Master in Big Data and another in Digital Marketing