How long do people live with cured syphilis? Consequences of syphilis. Is relapse of the disease possible?

One of the first questions asked by patients who learn about their disease is: how to live with syphilis? Today, if you consult a doctor in a timely manner, the disease is no longer a death sentence. The main thing is not to delay treatment, and then you can safely expect that the venereologist’s prognosis will be the most favorable.

Living with syphilis has few limitations compared to how healthy people live. The most important limitation is the ban on sexual activity during the entire course of therapy until the control analysis is completed. Treponema pallidum quickly spreads throughout the patient’s body, affecting the organs and systems of the body. Infecting another person with spirochetes, if the partner was not warned in advance about the danger, can be considered in court as causing grievous bodily harm, which is fraught with compensation for waste for treatment and imprisonment. And the chance of becoming infected through sexual intercourse ranges from 72% to 97%, which almost certainly means infection.

The prognosis for syphilis is more favorable the earlier treatment is started. Of course, in addition to the timeliness of seeing a doctor, the prognosis for the patient’s life depends on the presence of concomitant diseases and their nature. Also, when making a prognosis, the doctor is guided by the seroreaction readings at the end of the first therapeutic course, which in some patients becomes negative already at this stage. If the seroreaction remains positive after the third course of treatment, this indicates insufficient therapeutic effectiveness of the chosen course of treatment, the need to replace it, and extend the period of exposure to antibiotics on the body.

How long do people live with syphilis?

The patient's life expectancy depends on a timely visit to the doctor, the age at which the infection occurred and how long the treatment lasts. The most unfavorable prognosis for syphilis for the quality and length of life can be considered intrauterine infection and a chronic course resistant to antibiotics. In this case, various irreversible changes are observed in the human body, which subsequently lead to human disability or early death.

However, there is no need to despair. If you follow all the recommendations of an experienced doctor, syphilis can be treated fairly quickly without causing serious damage to the body. Oddly enough, the patient’s life expectancy does not differ from those of a healthy person.

Sex with syphilis
Syphilis is a sexually transmitted disease characterized by a chronic course, a variety of symptoms and a high chance...

Reviews and comments

I got infected 10 years ago, there was no treatment, what awaits me? No one can really explain anything!

Marina- 24 Mar 2018, 12:54

Infected in the maternity hospital. Through blood transfusion. I found out 20 years later when I decided to give birth to a second one. There was a freeze. Then the doctors hid everything, said it was a mistake, etc. What consequences should I expect now?

A dangerous infection can erode the body’s strength for years without showing any outward appearance.

Even twenty years ago, doctors believed that syphilis, with the advent of powerful antibiotics, ceased to pose a threat to life, and would soon turn into the same “prehistoric” disease as plague or smallpox.

It would seem simpler - the symptoms of syphilis are known to almost everyone. And if at the stage of primary or secondary syphilis a course of antibiotic therapy is carried out, the disease is defeated.

Unfortunately, the joyful predictions of scientists were not destined to come true. In response to the spread of antibiotics, the causative agent of syphilis, Treponema pallidum, responded with the emergence of strains in which syphilis occurs with virtually no external symptoms or with “blurred” symptoms, uncharacteristic of syphilis. Therefore, the infection is detected already in the later stages, when the disease has affected the nervous system (neurosyphilis) or internal organs and heart (visceral syphilis). At these stages the disease is no longer curable.

Complicating the situation is the fact that syphilis can be transmitted not only through sexual contact. If syphilis infection occurred during oral sex, and a chancre (a reddish lump with an ulcer at the site of initial penetration of the infection) formed in the mouth, then such a person can become infected with syphilis through shared utensils. Moreover, the carrier of the infection himself may not know anything about his illness - chancroid does not cause discomfort!

In addition, syphilis is transmitted from mother to child during pregnancy.

Considering the high prevalence of syphilis in Ukraine (according to the Ministry of Health in 2007, among girls aged 15-20 years, who constitute the main risk group for syphilis, 87.9 cases of syphilis are registered annually per 100 thousand population, occurring without symptoms, you may be sick any.

Who should be tested for syphilis first, even if there are no symptoms of the disease?

You need to be tested for syphilis, even in the absence of symptoms, for any casual sexual relationships (even if they happened several years ago). It would also be useful to get tested when planning a pregnancy.

People who want to become blood donors should also be tested for syphilis without symptoms. Syphilis without symptoms can not only undermine your health, but also completely destroy the noble cause of donation.

How is syphilis diagnosed without symptoms?

In cases where syphilis occurs without symptoms, the only way to detect the disease is serological methods. They boil down to modeling the body’s immune response to infection in the laboratory.

After a foreign protein enters the body, cells appear that examine in detail the chemical structure and shape of the surface of the “aliens.” They isolate sections of foreign protein molecules (or remnants of the vital activity of a microorganism) with a unique structure - not characteristic of any normal cell structure in the body. These areas are called antigens.

Then a clone of lymphocytes appears that are capable of producing specific antibodies - immunoglobulins, special proteins containing areas that are complementary to the unique structures of the infection - that is, areas that are symmetrical in shape and capable of forming a strong chemical bond with the antigen. (Approximately how a lock follows the shape of a key, only in the case of antibodies, the keyhole is smeared not with oil, but with superglue).

The essence of serological methods for detecting asymptomatic syphilis is that parts of the pathogen's antigens, or antibodies to them, are chemically bound to a substance that can release colored (luminous) substances. The results of the analysis are determined by the intensity of the color (glow) of the solution.

Why is the traditional Wasserman reaction not suitable for detecting syphilis that occurs without symptoms?

Since the beginning of the last century, the Wasserman reaction, a complex detection of syphilis antigens in the blood, has been widely used to detect syphilis. Unfortunately, this test is outdated.

The Wasserman reaction does not detect the causative agent of syphilis itself, but the waste products of the microorganism. In addition, the Wasserman reaction has a fairly low sensitivity and in latent forms of syphilis it may not give a positive result.

And in some autoimmune diseases - for example, urticaria, or during pregnancy, the Wasserman reaction gives a false positive result.

Therefore, the Wasserman reaction is no longer used as a routine diagnostic method for determining syphilis in many countries.

Head of the Department of Venereology of the Institute of Dermatology and Venereology of the Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor Gennady Mavrov:

Features of the course of trepanema infection (variable symptoms or its complete absence) require the use of reliable methods for its laboratory detection. In latent forms of syphilis, serological tests are often the only criterion for establishing a diagnosis. Unfortunately, Ukraine lags behind other countries near and far in this regard - despite the tense epidemic situation regarding the incidence of syphilis, the outdated Wasserman reaction is used in diagnosing the disease.

As a WHO expert from Ukraine, I often have to deal with misunderstanding of the current situation on the part of foreign colleagues. It is indeed strange that we use laboratory tests that other countries have long abandoned. Even in Russia and Belarus, this issue was resolved back in 2006, when the more labor-intensive and less sensitive Wasserman reaction was replaced by modern tests.

The anticardiolipin test is the first study to detect syphilis that occurs without symptoms.

Currently, to detect syphilis without symptoms, the so-called anticardiolipin test is primarily used. It, like the Wasserman reaction, detects not the causative agent of the disease itself, but antibodies to fragments of the cell membranes of the patient himself.

The advantages of this method include the high sensitivity of the studies and their low cost. However, the anticardiolipin test also has disadvantages - it often gives false positive results, and in the case of syphilis without symptoms, it can detect the infection only in the early stages of infection. If syphilis goes on without symptoms for long enough, the anticardiolipin test may show a false negative result.

Therefore, in most countries this technique is used primarily for screening - the initial examination of a large number of people at risk.

Enzyme immunoassay is one of the most accurate methods for symptom-free syphilis.

An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay is much more accurate in identifying syphilis without symptoms. It allows you to detect specific antibodies to treponema in the blood. They appear 3-4 weeks after the appearance of chancre and persist for many years.

Therefore, the enzyme immunoassay reaction has a very high accuracy and is practically free of false positive results.

Its only drawback is the difficulty of conducting research. As a rule, most of the errors in determining syphilis without symptoms during enzyme immunoassay are due to insufficient qualifications of personnel.

Therefore, to conduct enzyme immunoassays, it is necessary to contact prestigious laboratories that can afford to hire highly qualified specialists and their additional training.

Materials prepared with information support

The disease has been successfully cured, but can there be any consequences left? What is life like for a person who has had such a dangerous illness in the past? Could there be any difficulties when having children or getting a job?

How to live with treated syphilis? The question worries all those who have been ill. However, not everyone turns to a venereologist with this question. Below we will look at everything that you may encounter in real life.

It is quite possible to forget forever that you were once sick. Today, the disease can be successfully treated, and patients can lead a full life. But in order to avoid any consequences, it is important to follow a few simple rules: before treatment, during treatment and after treatment.

Before treatment

The key to successful treatment is a timely start: the sooner the patient goes to the hospital and begins treatment, the more favorable the prognosis will be for him. That is why, if suspicious symptoms appear, you should consult a venereologist. If concerns have been confirmed, diagnosis should be started as soon as possible.

During treatment

During the treatment period, you should adhere to all recommendations indicated by your doctor. Skipping medications, as well as a delay in time, can affect the result: the risk that the disease will be suppressed, but not completely destroyed, increases. If this happens, then syphilis will definitely return again after some time.

If the patient does not follow other recommendations and does not adhere to these prohibitions (abuses bad habits, uses drugs), re-infection may occur. Against the background of a new developing infection, current treatment may not be effective.

After treatment

After therapy is completed, patients have to be registered with a medical institution for a long time and undergo periodic tests. This is necessary, first of all, in order to be sure that the treatment was successful and recovery occurred.

If control tests show a positive result, additional treatment is prescribed.

The patient’s main task at this stage is not to miss visits to the hospital, undergo timely examinations and tests. The patient does not have the right to refuse registration at his own request.

If all three rules have been followed, the disease will be successfully cured and will not bother you again. But we must not forget that there will still be no immunity to the disease, that is, re-infection cannot be ruled out.

The video in this article explains in more detail how the disease develops.

Accounting after treatment

Each patient who has undergone treatment is registered at the dispensary. The doctor decides how long it takes, individually for each patient. The observation period depends on the stage of the disease at which treatment was started, as well as on the characteristics of the person.

Three months after treatment, patients come to the hospital and undergo the first tests. This period is the minimum of all possible periods when you will have to register.

After three months, only those who have undergone preventive treatment will be removed from the register, that is, they did not develop syphilis, but had contact with a sick person. In all other cases, the accounting period is much longer. Below we will look at how it is built based on treatment at different stages.

Patients with early syphilis

The duration of early syphilis is about two and a half years. There are certain signs on the basis of which the stage of development of the disease can be established.

After completing the course of treatment, patients come for examination once every three months during the first year, and once every six months during subsequent years. This will continue until the tests show a consistently negative result.

After the tests are negative, the patient will be observed for another six months or a little more. During this period, you need to go to the hospital 2 times and take control tests. If both results are negative, and no symptoms of the disease are present, the patient is removed from the register.

Non-treponemal tests are used to conduct the examination. In normal conditions, tests should show a negative result for the next few years after treatment.

The photo below is an example of the development of syphilis.

Interesting! Patients diagnosed with early syphilis are registered for at least two years after treatment.

Late syphilis

The duration of late syphilis is several years. Only a doctor can determine the exact stage of development of the disease after taking special tests. After treatment, this category of patients is registered for at least three years, exactly according to the same principle as the previous category.

It is especially difficult to destroy the causative agent of the disease at this stage: treponemes are able to hibernate, thus escaping from antibiotics. Bacteria can travel to hard-to-reach places in the body, where they can subsequently cause serious complications. Therapy must be selected especially carefully.

Even during treatment, non-troponemal tests may show a negative result. However, several more years after the therapy may be positive. Treponemal tests usually remain positive until the end of life.

Each patient with late syphilis is removed from the register individually. It is necessary to take into account the condition of the mucous membranes, skin, the degree of damage to the nervous system, etc.

Patients with neurosyphilis

Neurosyphilis is a condition in which treponemes affect the nervous system, namely the brain and spinal cord. It can develop with both early and late syphilis.

After treatment, patients are registered for three or more years. However, in addition to being checked by a dermatovenerologist and undergoing tests, a spinal tap is performed every six months or a year. This is necessary in order to understand whether the treponemes have been destroyed or are still in the spinal canal. If the results are positive, additional treatment is prescribed.

Important! After treatment, patients are given a certificate stating that the therapy has been completed and they are healthy.

Should you tell your doctors if you have had syphilis in the past?

If a person has had syphilis, even if it was 20 years ago, blood tests will definitely show this.

Such tests may be required in the following cases:

• to obtain a medical certificate when applying for a job;
• at the time of hospitalization;
• before surgical interventions, as well as invasive studies - gastroscopy, colonoscopy;
• pregnant women and donors.

Most patients with treated late-stage disease, as well as those with early syphilis, may test positive. Most patients are sent to the hospital for examination to confirm the diagnosis, but only if there is no certificate of successful treatment.

Why don’t antibodies go away after treatment?

How long does syphilis live and why is the blood not cleared after treatment? In order to understand this, you need to understand what antibodies are.

Antibodies are human protective proteins. They are produced by the body in response to infection in order to successfully overcome it. They can be of a general profile, that is, nonspecific - they act against various diseases.

There may also be specialists, that is, specific ones - the body produces them to fight infection. So, for example, with syphilis, exactly those antibodies begin to be produced that can be destroyed by trepones.

General antibodies begin to appear during the development of primary syphilis; after complete recovery, they quickly leave the body. As for specialist antibodies, their characteristics are slightly different: they appear late in the disease, and after treatment they are produced for some time.

Important! How long the antibodies will circulate depends on how long the person has been sick.

After complete cure of early syphilis, the blood will be completely cleared in one to two years. This is exactly the time that will be enough for all nonspecific antibodies to disappear. Most tests performed will show a negative result.

Thus, we can say that after therapy for another 1.5 years or a little more, tests will indicate that the disease exists. After treatment of the late stage of syphilis, in only 30% of patients the antibodies completely disappear; in others they will continue to remain for life.

This is influenced by several factors:

• some fragments of dead bacteria will remain in the body for some time: all this time antibodies will be produced;
• the patient's immune status is important: Some people stop producing antibodies earlier, while others stop producing them a little later.

Many patients often wonder if it is possible to somehow get rid of antibodies, but in fact this is not possible, nor is it necessary. There is no special treatment aimed at eliminating antibodies. Due to the fact that these are the body’s own particles, there is no danger.

IVF and syphilis tests

Thanks to IVF, you can conceive a child artificially: a sperm and an egg are taken, doctors help them unite, after which the embryo is placed in the woman’s uterus. Thus, it is possible to have a child regardless of the form of infertility.

The technique of IVF is complex; before you begin, you should undergo an examination and take some tests, including for syphilis.

If the tests show a positive result, then this is a contraindication to the procedure. But what to do if the treated disease gives such a result? Is IVF allowed in this case?

This question can be answered with absolute accuracy - yes, with fully treated syphilis there are no contraindications for IVF. To do this, it is enough to provide a certificate from the KVD, which is precisely a confirmation of your state of health.

Is a relapse of the disease possible?

People who have had syphilis once can become infected again. Most often this is an infection with “new” syphilis. However, in some cases, past pathology may return if it was not completely cured at one time.

But what does this have to do with?

Syphilis is a disease that can be cured, but it takes a long time. If the treatment was chosen incorrectly, the dosage of the drugs was not followed, or the therapy schedule was violated, then treponemes may become resistant to drugs.

As a result, the bacteria will begin to transform into a stable form and will continue to remain in this position. Under favorable conditions, they will come out of hibernation and begin to attack again.

Consequences of the disease

Life after syphilis depends on how the disease managed to harm the patient. Below we look at the possible consequences for each period.

Primary syphilis

The period of chancre or primary syphilis is the most favorable time for treatment. During this time, treponemes do not have time to cause much harm to health. The disease at this stage is easily treatable, and the consequences remain extremely rare.

Secondary syphilis

With the initial onset of secondary syphilis, a rash appears on the body, but the time is also considered favorable for undergoing treatment.

In addition to rashes, the following are possible during this period:

• eyelashes, hair or eyebrows fall out;
• white spots appear on the neck, in medicine they are called the necklace of Venus;
• diseases affecting internal organs: hepatitis, nephritis, gastritis, etc.;
• damage to the central nervous system.

After complete treatment, most manifestations of the disease quickly disappear. After a few months, hair is restored in the place where baldness formed.

As for the Venus necklace, it can last for several more years. Most often this is associated with the development of neurosyphilis. Treatment in this case will take a long time, but with the right approach there will be no consequences.

Tertiary syphilis

With the development of tertiary syphilis, gummas and tubercles appear. The disease is difficult to treat, and there are more consequences.

So, what can pathology lead to:

1. Scars remain on the skin– visible defects after suffering from syphilis. Outwardly, they are very striking. Lumps with gumma do not go away without leaving a trace; they leave scars.
2. As a result of damage to cartilage and bones, they become fragile. In the future, this may cause the development of osteochondrosis or fractures. In addition, a hole is formed in the hard palate, and a saddle-shaped nose appears.
3. Development of neurosyphilis. Symptoms may persist throughout life even after treatment.
4. Development of diseases of the cardiovascular system.

It is important to remember that prescribed antibiotics kill treponemes, but do not eliminate the consequences that they manage to leave behind.

Syphilis and future offspring

Women and men who have recovered from the disease are concerned about whether they can have offspring in the future. The situation may be different for each gender.

A man suffered from syphilis

Provided that the pathology has been cured completely, this will not affect future offspring in any way. Even if the antibodies remain in the blood, there will be no danger. The only thing is that you should not plan to conceive until the patient is taken off the register.

A woman suffered from syphilis

Pregnancy and syphilis - these two combinations are extremely rare. Many pregnant women are forced to undergo tests several times to detect the same infection.

At the stage of planning pregnancy, women are required to inform their gynecologist that they once suffered such a dangerous disease. In general, patients carry the baby calmly; no problems arise after 9 months.

If a woman became pregnant before she was deregistered, then the likelihood that the unborn baby will become infected is high. In this case, some preventive measures should be followed.

How to understand when prevention is needed and when it is not:

1. If the disease has been cured completely, and the tests show negative results, pregnancy management will be normal. There will be no negative impact on the fetus.
2. Syphilis was previously treated, but at the time of pregnancy the results show a positive result - this means that there is a high risk of infection. In this case, women are prescribed preventive treatment, but not earlier than from the 20th week.
3. If the infection occurred before conception, but for some indications a woman should be treated during pregnancy, this must be done without fail. If syphilis was treated in the first trimester, the child will not become infected.

With treated syphilis, a woman gives birth in a regular maternity ward, under the same conditions as other women in labor.

Treatment was completed during pregnancy

A baby born to a woman who has recently undergone treatment will need to be monitored by many specialists in the future.

Such children are required to be registered:

1. A child born healthy is registered for one year. Tests are taken every three months; if they show a negative result, then after a year the baby is removed from the register.
2. If after three months the tests show a positive result, then the child should be monitored more closely: subsequent tests are carried out at intervals of two months.
3. A baby born sick must undergo full treatment, after which he is registered for three years.

Women can breastfeed only if both they and the baby are healthy. In other cases, therapy is possible only if patients undergo treatment.

Work and past syphilis

Can having syphilis in the past somehow affect employment in the future? Patients can work anywhere: in school, catering, police, but only if the disease has been completely treated.

How to live with syphilis and after its treatment depends on many factors. If the disease has been completely eradicated, no restrictions arise and you can safely do what you love.

Frequently asked questions to the doctor

Self-treatment

Good afternoon, tell me, I was diagnosed with syphilis, can I cure it on my own?

The answer in this case is clear - no. Immunity to the disease is not developed, and the absence of symptoms does not mean that recovery has occurred. In the absence of traditional treatment methods, numerous irreversible consequences can occur.

Analyzes

I had sex with a sick person, how long will it take for the tests to show a positive result?

If you are worried that you might have become infected, you should get tested no earlier than in a month. But if you are absolutely sure that your partner was sick, you need to undergo preventive treatment.

Oral sex and syphilis

Some time ago, a girl gave me a blowjob, a week later I passed the necessary tests, the results were all negative. Three weeks passed and the girl reported that she had been diagnosed with syphilis, tell me, what is the likelihood that she could have become infected?

You need to go to a medical facility again and get your blood tested. In addition, it is necessary to give a preventive injection. As a rule, it is this action that helps protect against possible infection.

Questions about whether syphilis can be treated and whether it will be possible to have healthy children after suffering from the disease concern many young people who are faced with this problem. Over the past 2–3 decades, the incidence has increased 7 times. Most often, syphilis affects people of childbearing age, so issues related to its treatment remain relevant.

The main risk factor is promiscuous and unprotected sex. Like all sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), syphilis is easily transmitted through sexual contact with a sick partner. In this case, the carrier may be in the stage of a latent flow, which does not appear outwardly. But even at this time, he is able to transmit the pathogen with sperm and blood.

Due to the latter property of Treponema pallidum (microbes that cause the disease), another route of infection can be:

• blood transfusion;
• dental treatment;
• manicure;
• surgical intervention.

If a reusable instrument is not thoroughly sterilized, the patient is at risk of infection. The doctor himself is in danger when working with such an instrument or trying to help a person infected with syphilis.

The ability to be transmitted through blood creates a danger of infection for people who do not follow the rules of personal hygiene. When using a shared toothbrush, manicure accessories or razor, there is a danger of acquiring a sexually transmitted infectious disease through household means. If the patient has open lips or torso, then treponemes can get on a towel, linen or dishes, which another person can use after him.

But the causative agent of syphilis dies very quickly in the external environment from lack of moisture and exposure to oxygen, so infection most often occurs through direct contact. A mother can also transmit the infection to her child: during pregnancy, if the pregnant woman is sick with one of the forms of syphilis, or during breastfeeding and nursing, if she became infected after childbirth.

The first signs of the disease

In order to detect the disease in time and completely cure syphilis at the earliest stage, you need to know about the signs of infection. They may appear 1–6 weeks after infection. If a person is promiscuous and has many partners, it is almost impossible to determine which of them infected him.

The last type of rash often occurs in the neck area in women. Because of this feature, the symptom received its name.

The appearance of different types of rashes alarms many patients, so turning to a venereologist often happens at this stage. Subsequently, changes in the body become so serious that even after recovery, the patient remains with pathologies that arose as a result of tissue destruction. The earlier treatment is started, the more effective and faster it will be, the fewer external and internal changes will remain.

Is the infection curable?

People at risk, and especially those who are sick, begin to worry whether syphilis is completely curable. Currently, almost all forms of the disease are treated. The only exception is neurosyphilis. But therapy for a complex and dangerous disease requires a comprehensive and competent approach, and even the opportunity to get rid of syphilis forever should not give reason to be careless about your own health.

There are no folk remedies that could help cure this disease. A person who has discovered symptoms of syphilis should not resort to witchcraft healing methods. When self-medicating, you can only waste time, and the consequences can be complications of the disease itself, and difficulties in diagnosing it when the patient decides to visit a specialist. All attempts to cure syphilis permanently on your own will ultimately only lead to problems with treatment using official methods.

The main goal of therapy for syphilis is to destroy the pathogen. Treatment in the early stages can continue continuously for 2–3 months, and in advanced cases it extends for 1–2 years.

All patients undergo drug therapy, which consists of injections of penicillin drugs. The effectiveness of these medications is due to the high sensitivity of treponema to them and to more modern antibiotics (macrolides, tetracyclines, etc.). The microbe does not have defense mechanisms and cannot adapt to penicillin and its derivatives. But even in this case it is impossible.

The drugs are administered according to individual regimens. This may require up to 8 injections per day. During the treatment process, the doctor carries out laboratory monitoring of the patient’s condition. If you are allergic to penicillin, other medications may be prescribed (tetracycline drugs, macrolides, cephalosporides, etc.). For advanced forms, preparations of bismuth, iodine and arsenic are used. Such treatment regimens require special attention from a doctor, because these substances are toxic to humans.

Together with antibiotics, other drugs are prescribed individually:

• vitamins;
• immunomodulators;
• immune system stimulants.

When a patient with primary syphilis comes to the clinic, all sexual partners with whom they have had contact over the past 3 months must also undergo therapy. At later stages, a much larger group will have to be found and treated: everyone who has met the carrier in the last 1 year may become infected.

With timely initiation and continuous adequate treatment in a hospital, the disease is completely eliminated within a few weeks. The duration depends on the individual characteristics of the patient and the stage of the disease. But injuries and changes in organs resulting from the neglected process remain and require separate correction. It is especially dangerous when infection occurs in utero. Malformations of the fetus in this case lead to disability of the child.

Even a completely cured disease often leaves consequences:

• decreased immunity;
• disorders in the endocrine system;
• changes in cell chromosomes;
• liver problems.

All these changes in the body occur not only because of treponema. Long-term antibiotic treatment also has a destructive effect on all organs and systems. It is easier to avoid syphilis than to treat it and its consequences.

Is it possible to plan a pregnancy after syphilis?

After treatment, the woman is registered for a long time (1–2 years). At this time it periodically. After eliminating the slightest doubt about the destruction of treponemes, patients are removed from the register.

You can start planning a pregnancy only after the woman is deregistered at the dermatovenerological dispensary. But even in this case, the former patient may be prescribed additional examination and preventive therapy. You should not worry if, when planning a pregnancy or at the beginning of it, the gynecologist recommends a course of treatment for syphilis. This does not mean that the infection occurred again or that the disease remained untreated: preventive procedures are necessary to eliminate the likelihood of intrauterine infection of the child.

Is it possible to get infected with syphilis again?

Immunity to the disease does not arise even after having had syphilis once. This means that you can become infected again if you do not stop promiscuous sex with different partners. Since infection can also occur through household means, preventive measures should include:

• using a personal towel, razor, toothbrush and other things in a hostel or rented apartment;
• using a condom during sexual relations with an unknown partner;
• avoidance of casual sex;
• use of disposable medical instruments;
• treating manicure accessories with alcohol;
• allocation of personal dishes, linen and other household items for a relative who is registered at the dermatovenous dispensary.

By observing simple personal safety measures, you can prevent other infectious diseases. By promptly contacting a venereologist for help if suspicious symptoms are detected, you can protect your loved ones from infection.

But then he cured him, he asks himself questions like: “Will I have difficulties getting a job?”, “Will I be able to have children later? Will my illness have a negative impact on them? But we should start in order.

First you need to figure out what is meant by this word? This is a dangerous venereal disease that has already been treated. In any case, in the early stages for sure. In more advanced cases it is more difficult, and also:

1. The disease is provoked by a pale spirochete (i.e., treponema).
2. It very quickly penetrates various tissues and organs of the patient through the slightest abrasions on the skin.
3. During the course of the disease, these organisms spread throughout absolutely all human organs.

Expert opinion

Artem Sergeevich Rakov, venereologist, more than 10 years of experience

Unfortunately, re-infection is possible, since those who have recovered from the disease do not develop immunity. The worst thing is that spirochetes live even outside the body. And for quite a long time. If you place them in a humid environment, they live for several hours.

When and how do they die? When dried out and at high temperatures (if the temperature is +55 degrees, then they will only need about 15 minutes to die. They also die under the influence of alkalis and acids.

Treponema pallidum

Interestingly, they have adapted to cooling, so even if you cool their location, nothing will happen to them.

How to live with syphilis?

First of all, you need to calm down and under no circumstances panic. Syphilis is quite easy to treat these days. The treatment is also quite easy. They give injections once a week. How many injections are required depends on the stage. Usually not much. But not 3 or 4, as it is written on the Internet. This is not chlamydia. People are treated for them for months. And this, of course, is not AIDS. People often die from it.

Do you think there is a chance for a normal life for a person who has been cured of syphilis?

YesNo

Life with this diagnosis has only minor limitations in comparison with the life that people who have never had this shameful disease lead.

Restrictions:

• It is forbidden to have sex during a course of therapy prescribed by a doctor. Refusal from sex should last at least until the control analysis.
• Treponema (pale) spreads throughout the body, affecting all systems and organs. Therefore, you need to monitor your immunity.
• Infecting another person with syphilis, if he did not know that his partner was dangerous, is considered in court as causing harm to health. And it’s hard. And the percentage of probability of contracting syphilis through sexual contact is from 73 to almost 100 percent. That is, sexual intercourse will most likely end in infection.
• At the first appointment, the venereologist is required to create a dispensary card for the patient. Then therapeutic measures begin, from time to time serological tests for control, monitoring his condition.

For different patients, different periods of laboratory control are provided:

1. If the patient has already undergone preventive treatment, then he will have to be examined once after 3 months.
2. If the patient has an early form of syphilis, then he will also have to be examined every 3 months until the infection completely disappears. Then you will be under observation for 6 months with mandatory tests every 3 months.
3. If the patient has a late form of the disease, then he will have to undergo tests and see a doctor for 3 years. And once a year - RIBT, RPGA, ELISA, RIF. The decision on further observation is made by the doctor depending on each specific case.
4. For neurosyphilis, the patient needs to be monitored for at least 3 years. And this does not depend on the stage of the disease.

The patient should be observed in the medical center; this does not have any negative impact on the reputation. After all, the diagnosis is not disclosed.

The patient is called by telephone or by mail. Refusal to monitor and control is equivalent to a criminal offense. In rare, extreme cases, law enforcement officers bring the patient for testing. But they are also not informed of the patient’s diagnosis.

If a patient with syphilis is also ill with another disease, then doctors of the required profile are obliged to provide assistance to him. That is, the patient can count on absolutely any help. The only exception is surgical intervention.

Life after syphilis

Is it possible for such patients to have children? Can. True, women in labor are hospitalized in the infectious diseases department of the maternity hospital. But this information is not shared with roommates. The main thing is for the expectant mother to say that she has or had syphilis, and that’s all. In this case, she has access to all the necessary procedures, which include a cesarean section, if necessary.

Work restrictions

They are not limited in their choice of profession, but it is also unacceptable for such people to do work that requires communication with a large number of people. For example, doctors, teachers, kindergarten teachers.

All these specialists have a health certificate. And in case of syphilis, the doctor will simply write “Not admitted”, without specifying why. Colleagues and superiors are also not informed. Therefore, patients with syphilis do not have to worry about damage to their reputation. It won't be damaged in any way.

Sports activities

Professional sports are closed to the patient until he is deregistered. Because all medications for syphilis are banned by anti-doping organizations.

And at the amateur level, some types of activities (those that do not involve direct contact with people) can be practiced. For example:

• tennis;

• Ping pong;

• cycling, etc.

Only any martial arts and team events are prohibited.

Prevention in contact with sick people

Nothing complicated, you just need to follow some rules:

1. The patient must use personal hygiene products. For example, a toothbrush, washcloth, towel, razor. This also applies to people who do not have syphilis.
2. The patient should have only his personal utensils. Other family members are prohibited from taking it.
3. No disinfection required. Regular cleaning of the premises is sufficient. The patient's linen is washed together with the linen of other family members.

Video

You can also watch a video where a venereologist will tell you what the patient needs to know after treatment for syphilis.