Syphilis is a bacterial sexually transmitted infection (STI) that when present in the body can be passed on through skin-to-skin contact, birth, sharing used works (like crack pipes) for inhaling drugs, and sex without a barrier (condoms, gloves or dental dams).
Symptoms:
Syphilis can progress through 3 stages if left untreated. In primary syphillis a small painless lesion (chancre) appears- then goes away, even if left untreated. In secondary syphilis- a rash develops on the body with flu like symptoms, and tertiary syphilis can lead to long term complications like brain damage or stroke.
Treatment:
Syphilis can be treated with antibiotics. It kills the bacteria in the body, but it does not reverse any damage it may have done.
Some options on prevention:
getting tested, completing treatment, using barriers when having sex, using new works and having convos with sexual partners about STIs
Historical (racist) fact:
Syphilis has come to symbolize racism in medicine through the Tuskegee Syphilis Study from 1932 - 1972. United States public health enlisted 399 poor black sharecroppers (a tenant farmer who gives a part of each crop as rent) living with syphilis in Macon country to track the effects of untreated syphilis. Without informed consent, the men were never told they had syphilis and were denied treatment even after the penicillin came into use in 1947. 28 men died from tertiary syphilis, 100 others died from complications, 40 wives were infected, and 19 children were born with syphilis.
For more information on Syphilis and other STIs, follow the jump below:
http://sexualhealthontario.ca/infections/syphilis/
http://sexualhealthontario.ca/infections/syphilis/
