Compared to Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)’s destruction of the human immune system, the effects of most other Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) on the human body pale in comparison. An STD with comparable long term effects to HIV is Syphilis, if not tested and treated.
Before the advent of effective treatment for Syphilis, its repercussions were extremely severe. Syphilis lead to sores or warts across the body, or even structural disfiguration of one’s bones. This, much like stigma against HIV positive individuals, marked infected people as outcasts, social pariahs due to their sexual deficiency and carelessness to get infected with STDs. In fact, it was so severe it was initially likened to a biblical disease. Syphilis is hard to identify as a STD, as it has many symptoms that take after other diseases.
This article will first focus on the symptoms of Syphilis as it progresses if left untreated. Following which, it will look at how it can harm the body in the future without any treatment.
Most commonly spread through sexual activity, Syphilis has 4 generic stages it progresses through when left untreated: primary, secondary, latent and tertiary infection stages. It is caused by the subspecies Palladium of the bacteria Treponema Palladium. Syphilis can be spread in 2 ways: direct contact with a Syphilis caused lesion in the skin or by bodily fluids entering the body.
The first stage of infection is the primary stage. The most common symptom of this stage is the development of a singular chancre, a painless, small sore where the bacteria entered the body. Chancres are highly infectious, and direct contact with it will transmit the disease.
The secondary stage comes after. Itchless skin rashes on the palms and soles, and a sore throat are the most common symptoms. These lesions, or rash, are high infectious. Headaches, swollen lymph nodes, fatigue, fever, weight and hair loss and aching joints could be observed.
The latent stage, or asymptomatic stage, comes when secondary symptoms disappear by themselves, usually 3 – 6 weeks after the secondary stage when symptoms are the most severe.
Tertiary Syphilis is usually only detectable many years after the latent stage. Only a third of those with syphilis are expected to develop tertiary Syphilis.
At this point in time, Syphilis can cause the most damage to your body. Neurosyphilis is when the bacteria infects your nervous system. This can cause seizures, dementia, paralysis, blindness, deafness, numbness and a loss of coordination. The bacteria can even physically damage your skull and cause muscle degeneration within the nervous system.
Cardiovascular Syphilis, with Syphilitic aortitis (SA), harms the cardiovascular system by inflaming the outermost layers of the aorta, the main blood vessel transporting blood across our bodies. This causes the aorta to be more susceptible to bursting after swelling into a large bulge, known as an aortic aneurysm. This can be fatal due to the centrality of the aorta to our cardiovascular system.
Luckily, Syphilis can be easily treated if tested and diagnosed early. Penicillin can easily remedy Syphilis in its primary stage, and this remedy can be easily found in Singapore. Its highly infectious nature makes it imperative for anyone at risk to go for a STD test. If you believe you have been exposed to Syphilis, head down to a STD clinic in Singapore to get tested.
