SEXUAL HEALTH ENGLISH It‘s not just about your own health; it‘s about fair play. It is important to get treatment early The chances of recovery by means of antibiotic therapy are very high. But here, too, an increase in resistance has been reported. So get treatment early! Side effects of the treatment can include headache and body aches, fever and skin rash, symptoms similar to those of the actual infection. But those are rare. It is advisable to also ask your last partner or partners to get tested. 2. SECONDARY SYPHILIS About two months after the infection, the flu-like symptoms intensify, bringing with it fever and fatigue. The disease changes to its secondary stage (secondary syphilis), the most noticeable symptom of which is another rash. The result is red-brown colored spots with small nodules that are no longer limited to one area, but can appear all over the body. Hair loss, changes in the mucous membrane and eye infections can also occur. The pathogen can attack vital organs If this hasn’t been done already, now at the latest, a trusted doctor should be urgently consulted. If the disease remains untreated, the pathogen can spread throughout the body and affect vital organs. Treatment becomes more and more lengthy and the chances of a complete cure decrease. Without appropriate treatment, a latency period usually occurs after the secondary stage, in which the symptoms of the disease improve or even cease completely, but the pathogens remain in the body. The infected person feels healthy again, but can still pass on the disease. 3. TERTIARY SYPHILIS The latency period can last months or even years, but then the disease progresses inevitably into the tertiary stage (tertiary syphilis). The pathogens have spread throughout the body and have not only affected the skin and lymph nodes, but also internal organs, circulation, bones, muscles, and/or the central nervous system as well. Large, painful ulcers form externally and internally and become life-threatening if they affect the liver or the aorta. Years later, a small, untreated “rash” can lead to internal bleeding. Not a pleasant prospect. STAGE 4: NEUROSYPHILIS Since the topic has been the subject of study recently again due to the increasing number of cases, the strongest long-term damage has now even been classified in a fourth stage (quaternary stage). In about 25% of untreated patients, the last stage, also known as neurosyphilis, leads either to neurological disorders due to damage to the spinal cord and the nerves that originate from it, or to the deterioration of cognitive abilities due to chronic meningitis. Which can mean paralysis of the entire body or advanced dementia. If you have any questions about syphilis or other sexually transmitted diseases, or if you want to find out more about test options and treatment methods, come and talk to us. We would be more than happy to advise you – impartially and discreetly. (as,ts,mb) Author: Alexandra Schellbach Pharmaceuticaltechnical assistant in the BezirksApotheke Friedrichshain BEZIRKSapotheke Friedrichshain (Specialized pharmacy HIV, PrEP, STDs) Warschauer Straße 27 10243 <strong>Berlin</strong> Phone: 030 296 20 24 friedrichshain@bezirksapotheke.de 94 <strong>CHECK</strong> BERLIN/BRANDENBURG <strong>#5</strong>
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