Syphilis+1

**How do you contract this infection or disease?**  person to person through direct contact with a syphilis sore it can be passed during vaginal, anal, or oral sex if a pregnant woman with the disease can pass it to the babies that they are carrying. although there are many common misbeliefs, you cannot contract the infection through toilet seats, doorknobs, swimming pools, hot tubs, bathtubs, shared clothing, or eating utensils

**What are some of the symptoms of it?**  sores mainly are found on the genitals, vagina, anus, and rectum, but can also be found on the lips and the inside of the mouth - __Primary Stage Symptoms__  -a single or multiple sores (chancre) -chancrew is small, round, firm and painless -located where the syphilis enters the body -time between this and the full infection is about 21 days - __Secondary Stage Symptoms__  -skin rash and mucous membrane lesions -the rash is rough, red, or reddish brown spots both on the palms of the hands and the bottoms of the feet -Sometimes rashes associated with secondary syphilis are so faint that they are not noticed -fever, swollen lymph glands, sore throat, patchy hair loss, headaches, weight loss, muscle aches, and fatigue. - __Late Stages__  -the hidden symptoms appear when the primary and secondary symptoms disappear -these stages can last for years -the disease may subsequently damage the internal organs -brain, nerves, eyes, heart, blood vessels, liver, bones, and joints -difficulty coordinating muscle movements, paralysis, numbness, gradual blindness, and dementia

How do you diagnose this STD? - A doctor's recognition of its signs and symptoms - Microscopic identification of syphilis bacteria - Blood tests

What parts of the body does it affect? - Genitals - Mouth - Anus - The brain - Eyesight - It can cause sores or lesions on the skin and eventually death if not treated.

How can you cure the infection or disease ? If you catch it in the early stages you can get something called an intramuscular injection of penicillin. Antibiotics will cure someone who had syphilis for less than a year. More antibiotics are needed to cure it if you have had syphilis for more than a year. “Treatment will kill the syphilis bacterium and prevent further damage, but it will not repair damage already done.”

How can you prevent from contracting this disease or infection? - Make sure your sexual partner if they have HIV - Talk with your doctor and sexual partners - Have regular pelvic exams. (if female) - avoid alcohol and drug use because it can lead to “risky” sexual behavior - using a condom is not 100% able to prevent the transmission of syphilis, but it can stop it from spreading, sometimes

3 Questions: (1 true/false, 1 multiple choice, 1 fill-in)

Using ________ aren’t always effective in preventing syphilis. - Condom

What can syphilis affect? A. Genitals B. Eyesight C. The Brain D. All of the above & more**

A rash can be syphilis. - True

Important Facts: - if a woman is pregnant while having syphilis, depending on the amount of time she has been infected, can lead to a stillbirth or giving birth to a baby who dies shortly after being born - also a baby may be born without any signs of the disease, but if it is not treated right away, serious problems may be developed within a few weeks. - if the baby is not treated, they will eventually develop to be delayed, have seizures, or die - Syphilis is spread by vaginal sex, oral sex, anal sex and is infected mother to newborn.

Statistics, Pictures, etc. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">__Statistics:__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">-health officials reported over 36,000 cases of syphilis in 2006 -“Of the reported male cases of primary and secondary syphilis, 20% were missing sex of sex partner information; 1.7% of reported male cases with sex of sex partner data were missing race/ethnicity data” -most P&S syphilis cases occurred in persons 20 to 39 years of age -9,756 cases of primary and secondary (P&S) syphilis in 2006 -339 new cases reported in 2005 compared to 349 cases in 2006 -The late stages of syphilis can develop in about 15% of people who have not been treated for syphilis, and can appear 10–20 years after infection was first acquired -There is an estimated 2- to 5-fold increased risk of acquiring HIV if exposed to that infection when syphilis is present.