In society, there is an opinion that syphilis is a sexually transmitted disease. In fact, there are other ways of infection. What is the causative agent of the disease? Who is at risk? How to fix the problem? About all this - further in our material.
What is syphilis?
Syphilis is a serious illness of an infectious nature, in which the pathogen is affected by mucous membranes of body tissues, skin integuments, bone tissue is damaged, and disorders occur in the nervous system. The disease is extremely insidious. The problem lies in the latent, rather prolonged course of the incubation period. Often, the main symptoms for a long time remain unmanifest.
The development of the disease is fraught with the occurrence of serious complications. Against the background of the disease, meningitis, partial or complete loss of vision, and epileptic seizures can develop. Based on the foregoing, it is extremely important to know the ways of infection with syphilis, the main manifestations of the disease, the methods of transmission of the pathogen and the risks.
The causative agent of the disease and its distribution
An infectious pathogen of syphilis is a pathogenic microorganism called pale treponema. The latter is unable to maintain life outside the human body, even for the shortest time. However, pale treponema is extremely active. The infection easily penetrates the body tissues through the most minor damage on the surface of the skin.
The following syphilis infections are available:
- From mother to baby.
- Entering into sexual contact with a pale treponema infected person.
- Through household items.
- As a result of various cosmetic and medical manipulations.
It should be noted that most often syphilis is transmitted through sexual contact. Therefore, a disease in society is regarded as a shameful phenomenon. However, pale treponema can easily penetrate the human body through interaction with household items, in other ways. Next, we consider the ways of infection with syphilis in more detail.
Stages of the development of the disease
The disease develops as follows:
- Primary syphilis. Infectious pathogens are concentrated in the lymphatic fluid. At this stage, various seals can occur in various parts of the human body. Most often, the so-called chancres are formed in the genital area. Such manifestations are sometimes quite large, but rarely cause discomfort to the wearer. From the seals, fluid begins to ooze over time.
- Secondary syphilis. At this stage, the infectious pathogens of the disease move directly into the blood, after which they are carried throughout the body. Thus, damage occurs to the lymph nodes, which become inflamed, swollen and significantly increase in volume.
- Tertiary syphilis appears only a few years after infection in the absence of competent therapy. At this stage, the development of extremely severe, chronic processes in the body is observed, which are destructive in many organs and systems. This peculiarity of the course of the disease in a neglected form is somewhat related to syphilis and HIV. Both diseases have very serious consequences.
Sexual contact
More than 90% of cases registered in medical institutions account for precisely this method of transmission of the causative agent of the disease. As noted above, sexual intercourse with an infected person is the most common way of getting syphilis. Therefore, this disease is considered shameful. To avoid this, safe sex is important, especially with frequent changes of partners or at the beginning of an intimate relationship with an unfamiliar, unverified person.
It is worth noting that the probability of becoming infected with pale treponema in women is much higher than in men. The explanation for such negative statistics are significant differences in the structural features of the genital organs. So, representatives of the weaker sex are much more likely to experience all kinds of microtrauma and tissue damage in the genital area. Even a slight irritation on the surface of the mucous membranes of the genitals is enough for infection to enter the body. Safe sex using a condom makes it possible to avoid the transmission of pale treponema from a sick person to a healthy one.
A household way to spread the pathogen
It has already been said that pale treponema cannot remain viable in the environment for a long time. The pathogenic microorganism quickly loses activity in such conditions and dies. Consequently, the highest likelihood of contracting syphilis occurs during interaction with household items in the toilet, bathroom or kitchen. The transmission of the pathogen occurs through contact with products intended for personal use. This is, first of all, towels, toothbrushes, washcloths, underwear, etc.
Medical and cosmetology way
What is the likelihood of a syphilis infection in a medical way? This is observed in modern conditions rather rarely. However, a small risk of infection by the pathogen is still present here.
It is understood that a healthy person in the course of various cosmetic or therapeutic manipulations comes in contact with non-disinfected, poorly processed tools. This is how pale treponema can get into the body. It is noteworthy that at a time when they did not know how household syphilis was transmitted and did not use disposable medical devices, the frequency of such situations was high.
Mother-to-child transmission
In this case, we are not talking about genetics, but about cases when the fetus becomes infected with a pale treponema in the womb through the placenta or the baby becomes infected when it is born. Such cases are recorded quite often. This can be avoided by completing all the necessary studies by a pregnant woman.
Clinical signs of syphilis
Identification of pale treponema infection can be, according to the following signs:
- The appearance of solid chancres or ulcerative manifestations on the skin.
- Enlarged lymph nodes.
- The development of pain syndromes in various parts of the body.
- Feeling of general malaise.
- Unreasonable objective factors increase in body temperature.
- The formation of extensive ulcers on the mucous membranes, the gradual destruction of bone tissue, the breakdown of cells of internal organs, the development of dementia (in the late stages of the disease).
Treatment
High-quality treatment of syphilis is possible only in a hospital setting. Hospitalization of the patient occurs after a comprehensive diagnosis, the results of which confirm the initial diagnosis. In parallel, the patient’s sexual partners and relatives who are in everyday contact with him are recorded for the examination.
Syphilis is treated by eliminating the causative agent of the disease - pale treponema. For these purposes, the patient is prescribed taking potent antibiotics in the form of tablets or single injections. Since such drugs destroy almost the entire pathogenic and beneficial microflora of the body, immunomodulators are additionally prescribed to the person.
Finally
As you can see, there are many ways of infection with the causative agent of syphilis. To avoid danger, it is important to have sex with reliable contraceptives, to prevent personal hygiene from interacting with other people's things. If you could not avoid unprotected sex, you should use local antiseptics as soon as possible and go for a diagnosis.
As for prevention, it is recommended to periodically take blood samples for analysis. Especially such actions look appropriate for people who have an active sex life and allow a change of partners.