Is there treatment for syphilis?

Screening test for sexually transmitted diseases in Barcelona.Carles Ribas

Yes, of course there is.

The treatment is antibiotics because the disease is caused by bacteria and when the pathologies are caused by bacteria, antibiotics are usually the best answer.

Syphilis is one of those diseases.

It is caused by the bacterium

and is cured with penicillin.

That explains why for a long time, syphilis was a terrible disease.

Until antibiotics were discovered and commercialized in the 20th century, little could be done.

Syphilis is a sexually transmitted disease (STD) although it can also be transmitted from mother to child, a mother infected with syphilis can transmit it to the fetus.

But the most common, in Spain specifically, is that the highest percentage of infected people is through sexual intercourse.

And in recent years it is becoming more and more frequent.

There was a period in which sexual relations were held with greater protection and the number of cases fell a lot.

But for a few years, just as it is happening with HIV, which causes AIDS, or gonorrhea and, in general, all sexually transmitted infections, syphilis has also been increasing.

Syphilis has three well-defined phases.

When a person is infected, the first stage is called primary syphilis.

It can start from a few days after the sexual intercourse in which it was infected up to several weeks later.

That is, it has a fairly long period of appearance.

What appears is what is known as the chancre, it is an ulcer, an open wound, which does not hurt and that is why people do not usually give it importance.

And, in addition, it usually disappears within a few weeks.

And for this reason, many infected people do not identify it as a symptom of something serious.

But if left untreated, the disease progresses.

The chancre usually appears in the inoculation area: on the penis, in the lower part of the vagina or if oral or anal sex has been held, in the mouth or in the anus.

In the second phase, other symptoms do appear that are sometimes confused with other pathologies because they are not specific at all.

Adenopathies may appear, which are inflammations of the nodes near the place where the chancre appeared;

severe headaches or headaches;

sore throat that can be confused with the flu or a common cold.

And for this reason, there are many times that it is not given importance either, so the disease is not diagnosed and is not treated, so it continues to advance.

The last phase, which is called late or advanced syphilis, can have very important complications because the bacteria pass into the blood and cerebrospinal fluid.

Multi-organ involvement may occur, including in the central nervous system.

And it can be deadly.

But even in this third phase, syphilis can also be treated and cured.

It is more complicated, but it can be done, and also in this phase the treatment is with antibiotics.

The problem when it has arrived here is that, although the antibiotic eliminates the infection, it does not eliminate the damage that it has caused up to that moment.

Patients who have had or have late syphilis may suffer very important permanent sequelae such as blindness, neurological or mobility problems.

María José Alcaraz

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The advice in this office is of a general nature and is not a substitute for medical advice.

If you have questions about your specific problem, ask your doctor or pharmacist.

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