Sexual Transmitted Infections

In recent times there has been a rise in sexual transmitted disease sexual transmitted infections and HIV/Aids. Some of the diseases and illness have been around for some time others are newer and more deadly. Not all STDs/STIs are dangerous some of them can be cured with antibiotics others however stay forever. Syphilis is one of the STD that are more common and Syphilis is a sexual transmitted disease that is caused by Treponema Pallidum. Treponema Pallidum is also known as a sexual transmitted disease infection going from an index case with functioning skin or mucous layer sore to a vulnerable accomplice.

In some cases, you may experience sores on your lip, mouth, vagina, syphilis cannot only spread through sex it can be spread through kissing. Women who are pregnant with syphilis can pass the bacteria to the unborn child. Once he or she have had the infection, the bacteria can be cured and stay inactivity for many years. There are four stages of syphilis which is primary, secondary, and latent, and tertiary. if he or she catches the catches the disease early, can be cured with a shot of penicillin. The early stages of syphilis are primary and secondary stage, if this stage is left untreated can possible lead to the next following stages which is latent and tertiary. Once you have reached the last two stages of syphilis can cause damage to your body and lead to life-threating.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, “Between the years of 2000 and 2014, Primary and secondary cases that were reported among men and, specifically, among gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM) between the ages of 20-24 and 25-29. There were 2.1 per population cases reported as the years goes by the cases increased every year, by the year of 2014 the total rate of primary and secondary syphilis where reported were 19,999 “(CDC,2014). There were also a lot of cases that haven’t been reported and people are still out there passing the disease around. It’s important that people should get their annual check-up for STD or STI, if that patient have syphilis and at the first two stages they have a possibility of treating the disease so that the disease want lead to the last two stages which is latent and tertiary.

If secondary stage of syphilis is not treated it will lead to the latent stages, this stage can last for years and you may or may not have any symptoms or could you be progressing to the next stage which is tertiary. There so many people who dies from form the last stage of syphilis because is not taking the opportunity to get treated during the first stage. According to Medscape, “there is a twenty percent of tertiary who are infected and left untreated that have dies from form syphilis” (syphilis, 2018).

When someone is infected with syphilis they may notices the primary stage of syphilis which is the first stage. During the first stage of syphilis you will see bacteria of small sores that are called chancre. Many people may mistake it as cold sores because they are so small. Chancre are sores that appears on the mouth or genitals sometimes they are confused with cankers (CDC, 2014). Chancre are painless and people with syphilis may not know they have them because sores may be hidden inside the vagina, anus, or mouth. He or she may notice symptoms about three weeks after being exposed to the infection. The first stage of syphilis can be treated with antibiotic penicillin after being treated the chancre will heal within three to six weeks on its own. If the primary stage is left untreated it can get worst and progress to the next stage which is secondary syphilis.

Secondary symptoms are the most contagious of the all because bacteria spread through the bloodstream in your body. You may experience a non-itchy rash that starts in spot of on your body which is the trunk, this rash can show in more than one spot and be uncomfortable. You may experience a red or reddish-brown rash and sores in the mouth. Symptoms such as oral, anal, and genital wart-like sores, etc.. These symptoms can be cleared up in a few weeks after being treated (CRNP, 2017). This stage can also be treated with antibiotic penicillin. Secondary syphilis can really damage your body and cause your body to become very weak. If secondary symptoms are not treated they can progress to latent syphilis which is the third stage of syphilis.

Latent stage is the scary stage because you don’t have any symptoms or signs of syphilis. During the stage of latent without being treated that person can still have the disease even though they don’t have any symptoms or signs of syphilis. At this stage Syphilis is not contagious at this but can harm your body. Once after reaching this stage the disease can last for years according to Center for Disease Control and Prevent, “Early latent syphilis is latent syphilis where infection occurred within the past 12 months. Late latent syphilis is latent syphilis where infection occurred more than 12 months ago. Latent syphilis can last for years” (CDC, 2017). If that person doesn’t get treated for this stage it will proceed to the next following stage which the tertiary stage. Which is a stage you don’t want to progress to because its more a life or death stage. People may live during this stage others may not because everyone immune system are not as strong as others. People should always take care of themselves, you should never wait to see the doctor when you notice something is wrong with your body.

Tertiary syphilis is the late stage, this stage appears when you haven’t been treated for the other stages. Between 10 to 30 years after the beginning of the infected may occur in the body again (CDC, 2017). The late stage of syphilis, this infection can damage your brain, eyes, heart, and liver, etc… People who are not been treated for syphilis can lead to neurosyphilis condition, neurosyphilis is an infection of the brain or spinal cord. Neurosyphilis may cause problems with mental status, abnormal gait, vision problems or vision loss. According to Healthline, “People have known about and studied this disease since at least the early 16th century. It’s treatable and relatively simple to prevent. There was a major increase in syphilis cases during the 2000s, especially among women ages 20 to 24 and men ages 35 to 39”. Neurosyphilis have the tendency of developing about 10 -20 years after being infection with the disease

Women who are pregnant and have the infection of syphilis is most likely to infect the unborn. All women should be tested during their visit at doctor to see if the mother have any disease. because the mother can put the unborn child at risk of any complications. Women that have not been treated or a high risk of syphilis while pregnant should be test during the “first trimester and screening test should be repeated during the third trimester (28 to 32 weeks gestation) and again at delivery” (CDC, 2017). If the woman delivers a stillborn 20 week after the baby is born, the baby should be tested for syphilis. A stillborn is a baby that didn’t have a chance to make it in the world.

About 40 percent of cases of untreated pregnant women have syphilis and lost a baby after giving birth. There is woman who are pregnant, and the baby didn’t pass away however the may not experience any signs or symptoms of syphilis. That’s why it’s important for the baby to get treated because the baby can serious problem with their health without being treated. If the baby is left “untreated babies may become developmentally delayed, have seizures, or die” (CDC, 2017). Pregnant woman who are infected with syphilis are being treated with penicillin therapy to prevent the mother-to-child transmitted disease. The successful rate of helping woman saving their unborn child is about 98oercent (CDC, 2017).

Testing for any type of disease is very important because any type of disease can harm your body if its left untreated and not properly treated. Syphilis is tested by two different test they are called rapid plasma reagin (RPR) and venereal diseases research laboratory (VDRL). “Rapid Plasma Reagin (RPR) is a blood test that is scamming for antibodies to the syphilis and bacteria and Venereal Disease Research Laboratory (VDRL) is test that can be done drawing from blood work or spinal fluid” (Medline, 2018). If one of these tests come back positive you will have to take more test to determined if you have been infected with a sexual transmitted disease. If tested positive for syphilis its important that inform your partner so that can get treated for any STD/STIs. Its better to catch treat syphilis during the first stage because it’s easier to be cured and can avoid any chronic illness.

. All stages are required to be treated with the medication of antibiotics this type of medication is not over the counter. The type of antibiotics is used for syphilis is penicillin G benzathine. Penicillin benzathine is used to “treat a wide variety of bacterial infections. It may also be used to prevent certain bacterial infections (such as rheumatic fever). This medication is a long-acting penicillin antibiotic. It works by stopping the growth of bacteria” (WebMD, 2018). Depending on that person age or weight determines the dosages and also depends on what stage of syphilis that person is in.

The penicillin G benzathine is giving through a shot, the physician will insert the shot into a large muscle and can also give your self the medication at home. You must be careful the way you are giving yourself the shot because you can damage an artery, vein, or nerve if you are giving yourself the injection correctly. You may experience side effect with the medication because your body is trying to fight off the bacteria, the side effects are” nausea or vomiting and you may also have a yeast infection” (WebMD, 2018). in some cases, people may get a yeast infection because the antibiotics may be too strong for the body. If the side effect is getting worst, you should see your physician soon as possible because your body cold be having an allergic reaction to the medication. If you are having an allergic reaction to medication you should speak with your physician so that they can see about giving a different antibiotic to treat the disease. The physician may highly recommend a treatment called desensitization if he or she is allergic to penicillin or may have to stay in the hospital for treatment.

Desensitization is “a procedure that alters the immune response to the drug and results in temporary tolerance, allowing the patient with a drug hypersensitivity reaction to receive an uninterrupted course of the medication safely” (UpToDate, 2018). In this world today, we as whole are having trouble with having health insurance which is the main reason why people do not like going to the doctor to get treated for STD/STIs or an examination to see how their health is in good condition. Having this disease people may worried about paying for the medication because depending on the insurance provider will pay for the medication and some will not. The medication can run from “15 to 50 dollars” (Everyday Heath, 2018). During the time of the treatment process, you not have any sexual intercourse with anyone not even kissing someone.