Today, there are a huge number of different sexually transmitted diseases, but syphilis is considered to be the most dangerous and unpleasant. If at the early stage of the development of pathology, the affected person did not find a problem and did not seek medical help, then after some time syphilis goes to the last, most difficult tertiary stage - syphilitic gummas begin to form, which can be located on various parts of the body.
Stages of Syphilis
Important! Tertiary syphilis begins to develop only 5-10 years after a person infected them.
Syphilitic gum initially looks like a small nodule located under the skin of an infected person. At the very beginning, such an education does not cause the patient absolutely no discomfort, nor pain, nor itching.
If syphilitic gumma is not treated, then it soon begins to actively increase in size, and a viscous and very unpleasant liquid resembling pus is released from its center. Due to the isolation of this pus, this name was given to tertiary syphilis.
Syphilitic gumma indicate that the infected person was not treated and started his health greatly, which will continue to deteriorate in the future. It is worth noting that the wrong way of life of an infected person contributes to the faster appearance of such neoplasms. He often uses large amounts of alcohol or drugs. Also, a huge role can be played by such factors as old age, improperly selected medications by the doctor, unhygienic living conditions and lack of timely treatment of the disease.
Symptoms of pathology
The main reason for the lack of timely treatment is that for the first time, diagnosis is usually carried out already at the tertiary stage, because before that the first two stages of development did not cause the patient any unpleasant symptoms or manifestations. Due to the fact that the infected person ignores incomprehensible formations on his body, the disease goes too far.
Over time, syphilitic gumma begins to actively develop, the skin is destroyed and unpleasant symptoms appear, only after that the person realizes that something is wrong and seeks help from a specialist.
Very often, you may encounter the fact that doctors identify a pathology by accident. For example, when a person is tested before being hired for a new job, or when the patient goes to a specialist on a different issue, and the doctor focuses on unnatural symptoms.
Some people may live for months with such neoplasms and not pay attention to them, and anxiety arises after randomly seen photos of syphilitic gum, which depict exactly those formations that are characteristic of tertiary syphilis.
Therefore, it is worthwhile to carefully monitor your health and body in order to timely detect the problem and in the future to avoid serious complications.
Place of localization of neoplasms
In most cases, gum form in the following places:
- On the mucous membrane of the oral or nasal cavity, larynx, pharynx. Syphilitic gumma of the nose can even make breathing difficult.
- In the region of the legs, forearms and on the skin of the face.
- In the area of the elbow and knee joints, but in this case they will look like periarticular nodularity and are called fibrous syphilitic gum.
- Formations can develop even in the skull of an infected person. Syphilitic gumma of the brain is a particularly dangerous phenomenon.
The defeat of the patient’s internal organs and brain is quite rare, but such a development of events should not be ruled out.
What is the danger of formations?
When the structure of syphilitic gum changes along with the size of this element, it seems to be soldered to the skin. Because of this, extremely unpleasant symptoms occur, which are manifested by a strong feeling of dryness in the affected area of the skin, begins to pull the surface of the epidermis, and at the edges of the tissue formation they begin to gradually die, which leads to the development of partial necrosis.
It is interesting that syphilitic gum can occur not only on the skin of a person, but also on absolutely any of its organs. After them, noticeable scars remain, which can be eliminated only with the help of surgical intervention. The danger of these scars, both on the skin and on the internal organs, is too high. If you look at numerous photos of syphilitic gum, you can understand how much such formations can affect the appearance of a person and disfigure him, especially if they formed on an open area of the skin.
Location on internal organs
A large number of neoplasms on a particular internal organ can adversely affect its functionality or even cause its complete destruction. If you do not get rid of the cause and symptoms of syphilitic gum, then this could very well be fatal or cause disability and numerous complications.
It is worth noting that you should not worry much in advance. As a rule, one or two syphilitic gums can form on the body of an infected person. If it is correct and, most importantly, to start treating them in time, then they do not pose any danger to life. At the same time, there are such types of syphilis, with the development of the tertiary stage of which the amount of gum on the human body can be very large.
In the oral cavity
On a note! Especially dangerous are those syphilitic formations that are manifested in the oral cavity of a person. In this case, they can occur in any part of the mouth. It is worth noting that sometimes syphilitic gum in the mouth can be one single noticeable sign that a person suffers from syphilis at the last stage of development.
In the mouth, such neoplasms develop rather slowly, but over time they can turn into large ulcers. Then the rod begins to separate, and a large cavity appears on the damaged part of the oral cavity, which can resemble a crater in appearance. If in time you do not begin to properly treat the pathology, then soon the formation will destroy the cartilage, and then the bone tissue to such an extent that the oral cavity and nose will turn into a single whole.
If this neoplasm appeared on the tongue, then the main clinical manifestation of syphilitic gum is a significant increase in the size of this organ. In this case, the patient has extremely unpleasant symptoms. It is worth noting that syphilis lesion of the tongue is called diffuse glossitis and is considered the most dangerous type of tertiary syphilis.
On the lips, face and brain
In some people, education occurs on the lips, which, as in the case of damage to the skin of the face or nose, will have an extremely negative effect on the appearance of a sick person. The lip begins to swell quickly, and the gum after some time no longer goes unnoticed.
If the pathology goes a little further, for example, in the throat, then this can provoke problems with breathing and eating. Syphilitic gum very rarely affects the human brain, but this possibility should not be ruled out.
How is tertiary syphilis diagnosed?
It is possible to establish the presence of syphilitic gum at the earliest stage of development exclusively in clinical conditions. To do this, it is customary to use the following diagnostic methods:
- Anticardiolipin test.
- Reactions of RIF and RIBT.
- Ultrasound of the internal organs, on which the formation allegedly appeared.
- Ultrasound examination of the heart.
- Examination of the liver for the presence of syphilitic gum of the liver.
- Close examination of the oral cavity.
- Various studies (for example, the pathology of syphilitic gum).
- Other tests are at the discretion of the doctor.
It is worth noting that neoplasms, which in their appearance resemble syphilitic gum, will not always be a sign that a person develops a late stage of syphilis. Sometimes there is such a pathology as scrofuloderma. The appearance of the formation is the same as that of gum, but nodules are quite soft when pressed.
It is very important to conduct timely diagnosis if a person develops a sufficiently large number of gums. In this case, it will be possible to talk about the presence of gummy syphilis. In the case of this disease, syphilitic gumma is characterized by the location throughout the body in large quantities.
On a note! If you look at the photos, which depict syphilitic gum and scrofuloderma, it will be difficult to notice the differences. It is interesting that the gummous form of syphid is found several times more often than tubercle. In order to make a correct diagnosis and not to confuse syphilitic gum with other pathologies, it is necessary to undergo all diagnostic procedures without fail.
A feature of gummous syphidis is that all formations are located next to each other and eventually begin to merge, which leads to the formation of a large ulcer. Because of this, difficulties arise in the restoration of damaged areas, especially if the gum has already managed to heal enough.
How to get rid of tumors?
If syphilitic gumma did not manage to infect the internal organs of an infected person or is located only in one place, then this does not pose any threat to human life. It will be possible to cure formations just like syphilis itself.
In a hospital, special drugs are used to treat syphilitic gum, which contain penicillin. Such a treatment can be explained by the fact that the pale treponema bacterium causes syphilitic formations. It reacts very poorly to penicillin and therefore immediately begins to die, which changes the structure of syphilitic gum, and they are destroyed.
In some cases, a slightly different therapy may be used. Medicines are used that resemble bismuth or arsenic in type. It is worth noting that it is unrealistic to buy such drugs in a pharmacy even with a prescription only because they are not supplied there.
In order to undergo a course of treatment, you need to contact a specialist. After the examinations are completed and the diagnosis is finally made, the doctor will provide the sick person with all the necessary drugs, which are delivered exclusively by order of specialized hospitals.
When a diagnosis is made, it is important to warn your sexual partner that he also needs to be tested. If the analysis is positive, then you can not do without a course of treatment.
If you do not allow the pathology to develop, then this will minimize all the negative consequences that a disease such as syphilis can provoke. It is worth noting that doctors are doing everything possible so that after treatment is over, the effects of syphilitic gum on the human body remain as less noticeable as possible.
Complications of the disease
The main complications, as a rule, in most cases are associated with the cardiovascular system. Syphilitic gum can provoke the following:
- An aortic aneurysm.
- Heart failure.
- Coronary spasm may occur, which will subsequently cause myocardial infarction.
Disease prevention
In order not to undergo such an unpleasant and dangerous disease, and in the future not to undergo a long course of treatment, it is enough to take all the necessary tests every six months, which, if infected, will help determine the presence of the disease at an early stage. You must also use contraceptives during each sexual intercourse, even if you are confident in the health status of your sexual partner.
If there was accidental sexual contact, then within two hours after it is necessary to carry out preventive treatment, which involves the use of special antiseptics (for example, "Geksikon") and antibiotics. If you follow these simple recommendations, then the risk of contracting a sexually transmitted disease such as syphilis is greatly reduced, and the tips themselves are not very difficult to implement. Your body deserves to be taken care of.
Summarizing
Today, if you believe the statistics of the Ministry of Health, in Russia for every 100 thousand people there are about 30 people suffering from syphilis. Of course, these are not final figures, because many people who have been infected for years do not go to the hospital.
Syphilis is an infectious disease that is sexually transmitted. Pale treponema causes the development of the disease. This is a bacterium that can move. When a person comes in contact with a bacterium, it penetrates very deep into the skin and leads to the destruction of the walls of blood vessels. After some time, microthrombi begin to appear, and the tissues located around the affected area undergo necrosis. When pale treponema enters the vessel, then it can enter any organ with blood.
According to the science of histology, syphilitic gum is formed due to the accumulation of a large number of plasma and epithelioid cells in a small area.
So, syphilis is an infectious generalized type of disease that is resistant to many antibiotics and needs an exclusively professional approach. Therefore, it is worth regularly visiting a doctor and being examined in order to identify the pathology in time.