Before AIDS, syphilis was the most serious disease of all sexually transmitted diseases. The disease itself is divided into several periods, which directly depend on the degree of damage to the patient's body. First of all, it must be said that the bacterium that causes syphilis can exist in the host body for a long time, without manifesting itself at all, if the symptoms of the disease become noticeable, the primary stage of syphilis begins.
Primary syphilis is characterized by formations called hard chancre. A solid chancre is a small ulcer that occurs at the site of penetration of the pathogen into the patient's body. The soft chancre differs from the hard in its composition. Most often, chancres form on the genitals, in or near the anus, on the chest or in the mouth. Quite often there are situations when the hard chancre located on the glans penis is not only invisible to the eye, but also cannot be felt by the doctor during the examination. Most often in this case, the chancre resembles erosion, which has a rounded shape and uneven edges. A reddish-yellow coating may cover the erosive part of the chancre. Chancre in the mouth can cause a lot of problems, in particular, if it is located on the throat, swallowing can be difficult, palatine tonsils can become inflamed, which will entail a lot of other diseases, up to hearing loss.
In addition to the appearance of chancres at the site of penetration of the bacterial infection, other symptoms are also possible, which will indirectly indicate the presence of primary syphilis. These, in particular, include damage to the lymph nodes, as well as their associated scleradenitis. Lymph nodes most often do not enlarge individually, but in whole groups, and in a wide variety of places, but in most cases, the localization of the inflammatory process is associated with the localization of chancre. In patients who suffer from primary syphilis, the inguinal lymph nodes are most likely to have inflammation, because lymphocytes will primarily fight infectious agents at the site of their penetration. Also, quite often it is possible to observe inflammation of the axillary, airbags, as well as submandibular lymph nodes.
An inflamed lymph node, in addition to an increase in size, no longer exhibits any pathological symptoms - it is painless, mobile and not fused to the surrounding tissue. In addition, the skin that surrounds the pathological node does not change its structure in any way; neither inflammatory reactions nor, moreover, foci of necrosis are observed on it.
Primary syphilis can be divided into 2 stages:
- Primary seronegative stage
- Primary seropositive stage
The stages are separated after a serological reaction, that is, a blood test for RW or a Wasserman reaction. The serological reaction becomes positive approximately 3 weeks after the first hard chancre appears on the patient's body.
If the chancre on the body has disappeared, this does not mean that the disease has passed the patient or he was cured on his own, thanks to his immunity. In the overwhelming majority of cases (and in the vast majority of cases for patients with a seropositive reaction), this can only say one thing: that the primary stage of syphilis has come to an end and the latent, that is, latent stage of this disease begins. During this period, disorders such as fever, general weakness, headaches and muscle pain may occur in the patient’s body.
Even without treatment, the chancre may not leave any traces on the patient's body, the scar after it remains only if there was an ulcer in the place of the chancre.