Analysis for syphilis is a diagnostic method that is prescribed when a person has certain symptoms that are characteristic of this disease. Also during pregnancy and before hospitalization, medical examination, people are required to undergo a similar examination. Some organizations, when hiring an employee for work, also require him to take a test for syphilis. Today, methods for identifying it have become much more advanced. How to donate blood for syphilis will be discussed in detail below.
What is syphilis?
Before you consider how and where you can donate blood for syphilis, it is worth familiarizing yourself with the features of this disease. It is caused by a bacterium called Treponema pallidum (pale treponema). It affects almost all organs in the human body. Moreover, outside the body of its carrier, the bacterium quickly dies. It is destructively affected by sunlight. Also, detergents, which are usually used during cleaning, destroy this infection in the environment. Treponema can remain alive in a humid environment and when frozen.
You can get infected with this unpleasant ailment only by contact with the patient, which in most cases occurs during sexual contact. A child can become infected with this ailment while in the womb. Blood transfusion also previously recorded cases of infection with a bacterium. Similar routes of infection today are virtually excluded.
During pregnancy, a woman is required to donate blood for syphilis (HIV) and hepatitis. This allows you to take appropriate action. Before blood transfusion, biological material is thoroughly checked for various infections.
The first symptom of this disease is syphiloma. This is a seal that appears on the skin. An ulcer or erosion develops here. It occurs at the place through which the treponema entered the human body. Most often, such a lesion occurs on the skin of the genital organs or perineum. This is an insidious disease. After some time, the sore goes away. Man mistakenly believes that he was healed of an illness. But this is far from the case.
After 1.5 months, rashes appear on the skin that look like pink small spots. This is secondary syphilis. This stage lasts several years. If at this stage a person does not take any action, tertiary syphilis appears. All tissues and organs are affected. Dense nodes (gums) are formed. They pass, leaving behind scars. Over time, damage to the internal organs and joints occurs.
Diagnostics
Laboratory diagnostics today is the main method for identifying this ailment. The most reliable result is obtained with a blood test. In this case, modern methods are used. Many people are interested in what blood tests are done for syphilis. Previously, this type of diagnosis was called the Wassermann reaction (RW). Today, such a study has several names:
- non-specific antiphospholipid test;
- PRP test;
- non-treponemal anticardiolipin test;
- reagin test.
These analyzes allow you to detect specific and nonspecific antibodies in categories such as IgG, IgM in human blood. If specific antibodies are tested, the test shows similar cells that are produced as a reaction to bacteria. This analysis is called treponemal test. This analysis is more expensive.
The second test option reveals non-specific antibodies. They are released during the destruction of treponema cells.
Both of these approaches are used to detect the disease in the early stages and to monitor the patient's condition in dynamics during treatment. However, there is a significant difference between these methods. If after syphilis donate blood for examination by treponemal technique, the test will show a positive result in the treated patient some time after recovery. And with a non-ternary test, the answer will be negative for such a person.
Blood donation for HIV (syphilis) can be done using other methods. This may be the well-known Wasserman reaction, the chain reaction polymerization method (PCR), the immunofluorescence reaction (RIF), etc. There are many approaches to determining the presence of the present bacteria in the body.
Indications for analysis
Blood donation for syphilis (HIV), hepatitis and other infectious diseases is required in some cases. In this case, the patient does not have to have symptoms of these diseases. There are a number of indications in which you need to take this analysis without the appearance of symptoms.
First of all, a blood test is required to identify the bacteria presented to people who have random sexual intercourse. Also, during the preparation for surgery, the doctor must prescribe this analysis to all patients. During pregnancy and its planning, you also need to donate blood for the presence of antibodies to bacteria in it. In a preventive examination for some categories of workers, this examination is also prescribed.
When certain symptoms appear, a person should donate blood for the presence of pale treponema as soon as possible. The first signs of the disease include the appearance of an ulcer on the genitals, the appearance of copious discharge from the genital tract. Also, a person may notice that he has enlarged lymph nodes, and a rash appears on his skin and mucous membranes. These symptoms eventually add pain in the bones and joints.
Some patients have a question about how much to donate blood for syphilis after accidental sexual intercourse. It is worth noting that for the appearance of antibodies in the blood that the test can detect, it takes time. A laboratory examination will be able to give a reliable result no earlier than a month or even 5 weeks after infection.
If a person has had unprotected sexual contact, he should pay attention to the condition of the skin of the perineum and genitals. If ulcers appear on them, you need to take a test 10 days after the detection of this symptom. A solid chancre appears approximately 3-4 weeks after infection. Therefore, a test conducted in the first days after infection will be unreliable.
Study material
How to donate blood for syphilis? To do this, you need to contact any clinic or laboratory. Blood is taken from a vein on the arm in the elbow. This is a simple procedure that does not take much time. During the analysis, blood serum is examined. From it it turns out to isolate antibodies that are produced to treponema (if any), as well as the DNA of the pathogen itself.
Bacteria that provoke the development of this disease can be found in scrapings from rashes. Its DNA is found in urine, scrapings from the mucous membrane, ejaculate. Also, this material can be obtained in the cerebrospinal fluid, in the cells of the conjunctiva of the eyes and epithelium. This is a biomaterial that can be obtained from those organs that are affected by treponema.
Analysis preparation
How to donate blood for syphilis? This procedure requires simple preparation. Various research methods involve taking blood from a vein or from a finger. The first option is used much more often. If blood is taken from a finger, you should not eat for 4 hours. Since the most common way is to take blood from a vein, you need to consider in detail this option for analysis.
They donate blood for syphilis on an empty stomach, regardless of the testing method. However, when used during the analysis of venous blood, a person should not eat for 8 hours. Therefore, such an analysis is prescribed in the morning. After a night's sleep, you can drink water.
The biomaterial is taken before the start of special therapy. If you need to take cerebrospinal fluid for analysis, this procedure is carried out only in a hospital setting. If scraping from the skin or mucous membranes is taken, preparation will not be needed at all.
If the biomaterial is taken from women from the genital tract, you must refrain from douching, sexual intercourse, as well as gynecological diagnostic procedures for analysis for two days.
Diagnostic Methods
Today, a large number of diverse methods are used that allow you to get an accurate result. There are such main types of diagnostics:
- Serological method. Spend 9-10 days after the appearance of the primary ulcer.
- Direct method (tempolar microscopy, PCR, RIT). This is a quick type of diagnosis. The answer is issued a day after the delivery of biological material.
- Indirect method. There are specific and non-specific. The most famous in this group is the Wassermann reaction. It is gradually replaced by RMP, as this is a more accurate method.
- RPR test. This is a foreign type of analysis. Sometimes this and similar types of examination give a false positive result. Therefore, upon receipt of a positive result, additional diagnostics such as ELISA, RSKt, RPGA, etc.
- The reaction of immunofluorescence (RIF), immobilization of pale trepnema (RIT). These are expensive and rather specific diagnostic methods. Today they are practically not used.
- Immunoblot. This is the most in-depth diagnosis, which is used in doubtful cases. The result of this examination has to wait at least a week.
The listed methods are prescribed by a doctor in a particular situation. A medical specialist examines the patient, examines the symptoms. Next, he appoints the most appropriate option for the examination.
How is the result interpreted
After the patient receives the result in his hands, he can see one of two answers: “positive” or “negative”. The doctor will be able to immediately decrypt what the test result says. It is sometimes difficult for patients to navigate such answers. It is worth noting that if there is a negative result, it should be interpreted as follows:
- There is no bacterium in the body.
- Early primary or late tertiary syphilis is possible.
When you receive a test result in which the answer is yes, you can say that one of the forms of syphilis (primary, secondary or tertiary) is present in the human body, or else the year has not passed since the person was cured. In some cases, the result may be false positive or false negative.
False result
You should know that everyone can anonymously donate blood for syphilis. Some laboratories provide this service. In this case, the result cannot be transferred to other authorities, and the person at the same time receives reliable information about the state of his health.
However, it is worth knowing that in some cases both a false positive and a false negative examination result are possible. The frequency of such cases is low. It is only 5%. A false positive test is obtained for the following reasons:
- Diabetes.
- Pregnancy.
- Connective tissue pathologies (e.g. rheumatism, lupus erythematosus, etc.).
- Recent vaccination.
- Some types of infectious diseases (tuberculosis, viral hepatitis, mononucleosis, etc.).
- Inflammatory heart disease.
- Alcoholism and drug addiction.
False negative analysis also takes place. The main reason for this result is too early a test. If syphilis is present in the body for a very long time, the response can also be false negative, since the body does not produce more antibodies, which the analysis reveals.
Where to take the test?
Where can I donate blood for syphilis? This is a common diagnostic method. Therefore, it can be taken today in almost any laboratory or clinic. The second option is preferable, since here the doctor gives the patient a referral. Therefore, the analysis can be submitted free of charge. This is especially convenient for those who undergo a routine examination before hospitalization or during pregnancy. In other cases, a free analysis may not suit a person. It will take some time until the test result is ready.
Also, state-owned clinics sometimes lack modern equipment. Patient information is relatively open. For many people, it is important to get the result of the analysis quickly and accurately, while maintaining complete anonymity. In this case, it is advisable to contact a paid clinic. Private laboratories perform diagnostics using one of the methods selected by the patient. The result in this case will be ready very soon. It will take literally 1-2 days. Of course, such an analysis will have to pay. But sometimes the time spent waiting for a test answer lasts for a person for ages.
There is another option to get tested. An answer can be received within 2 hours. This method is called an emergency examination. Many private clinics provide this service. Moreover, the test is carried out, at the request of the client, in conditions of complete anonymity. Even the referral form does not indicate a person’s personal data. Therefore, a person should decide where to take a blood test for syphilis. There are many options.
When choosing a survey methodology, do not choose a morally obsolete RW technique. This method gives a relatively large percentage of false results. Therefore, it is worth giving preference to surveys of RMP, RPR or their analogues.
Cost
How much does it cost to donate blood for syphilis? It depends on many factors. The cost of the analysis is affected by the technique that was chosen for the study. Also, the price may vary depending on the clinic in which the examination was conducted.
So, in the state clinic you can donate blood for syphilis for free. The doctor gives a direction. After this, the patient can undergo examinations on a specified day. Moreover, in such medical institutions there are often queues. Sometimes you have to wait more than an hour while the laboratory takes blood from a vein.
Screening tests (RMP, RPR) can be passed for a fee. The cost of this examination is from 350 to 400 rubles. If you want to determine the presence of bacterial DNA in various biological materials (scrapings from the skin, mucous membranes), the cost will be from 370 to 480 rubles. The pricing policy of a private clinic largely determines the price of the analysis. Also, this indicator depends on the materials that are used in the laboratory during the examination.
It should be noted that the more sensitive (and more reliable) the test is more reliable, the more expensive it will cost. So, an IFA analysis can be taken in a private clinic at a price of 500 to 800 rubles. The most expensive procedure is an immunoblot. This analysis costs from 1600 to 1750 rubles. Other methods are practically not used today.
Having examined how to donate blood for syphilis, you can evaluate the features of the diagnosis. There is little chance of a false answer. But modern diagnostic methods practically exclude this possibility.