WELCOME TO GAY MEN’S HEALTH

SCOTLAND’S CHARITY FOR GAY MEN

SYPHILIS

Syphilis is caused by bacteria which are passed on through unprotected oral, vaginal or anal sex. It can be present with hardly any symptoms but is still infectious. Until the last few years less and less Syphilis was being diagnosed, but now it is now back and most definitely on the increase


A Syphilis infection makes it easier to catch HIV (up to eleven times easier!), and being HIV positive makes it easier to catch Syphilis.


With most illnesses we go to the doctor before things get too bad, but it can be difficult to know if you have Syphilis because the symptoms can be small and because they come and go. Syphilis is very easy to pick-up and often difficult to recognise, so anyone who has sex could be at risk.


The number of Syphilis cases among gay men in some areas is increasing rapidly so anyone who is having sex should be aware of their risk and the more partners you have the greater your risk of infection.


The Syphilis bacteria usually enter your body through soft skin - like in your mouth, your arse or on your dick. It is extremely powerful and can penetrate even ordinary skin where there are tiny cuts or grazes.


It is very easily passed from one person to another. Syphilis can be passed on via the mouth during oral sex and any combination of oral, genital and anal sex.


That includes kissing, rimming, fingering, fucking or being fucked without condoms, sucking or being sucked without condoms.


Whilst HIV is relatively difficult to catch through oral sex (even without condoms), it is a very common route of syphilis transmission.


You cannot get Syphilis from contact with towels, toilets or anything similar because the syphilis organism cannot live outside the body.


The only other way Syphilis is transmitted is from mother to baby.


If you have HIV it is easier to get Syphilis, which can seriously undermine your general health. It even raises your viral load and makes your HIV more infectious.


If you have HIV it’s important to realise that what’s safe for HIV is not necessarily safe for syphilis and so your usual prevention measures (e.g. condom use) won’t always save you from getting, or passing on, Syphilis.


For example, you may feel that oral sex is sufficiently low risk in terms of HIV for you not to use condoms, however the risk of catching or passing on syphilis would be much more significant.


Nonetheless, Syphilis can be easily treated with antibiotics when it’s diagnosed. (See below)


Symptoms

Only around a third of people with syphilis realise that they have it. The symptoms are generally painless and can easily go unrecognised.

The symptoms of Syphilis come and go in cycles - misleading some people into thinking it has gone away completely.


The first stage of infection is usually a small, and painless, ulcer. The ulcer will be raised, red and usually has a hard edge. This might be on your dick, on your lip or at the edge of your arse, or even on your skin. It can even be inside your arse or your mouth like a mouth ulcer, where it can’t be seen. This makes it difficult to see and because it is painless people often don’t notice they have caught it.


After a week or two this small (but very infectious) ulcer goes away by itself so that even those people who have noticed the ulcer can think the infection has gone away.


But it hasn’t. Even though the sore has gone the infection is still in your body and you can still be infecting others. It is possible to pick up Syphilis from someone who appears to be completely free of any symptoms.


The second stage of symptoms affects most people about six to ten weeks later.

The symptoms can be: -

- fevers

- general tiredness

- swollen glands

- a painless rash, (often on the palms of the hand or soles of the feet)

- sores and warts on the arse

- and sometimes, patchy hair loss.


Syphilis is still treatable at this stage, but delaying treatment can be dangerous because the bacteria is in your body the whole time and can be doing you harm without you realising it.


The good news is that Syphilis is always treatable with simple and effective antibiotics.


There is a third stage to Syphilis and this can appear between 2 - 40 years later if the syphilis was left untreated. Third stage Syphilis is quite rare in the UK because most people go to the doctor during second stage symptoms, but it is worth knowing about.


The third stage of Syphilis can cause damage to your heart, brain and nervous system.


Treatment

The only way to know for sure if you have Syphilis is to get a test from your doctor or at a clinic.


The usual test is very simple - the doctor takes a small amount of blood from your arm. A cotton wool sample can also be taken from a Syphilis ulcer if you have one (this can be good of you don’t like needles).


It takes about a week for the results to come back from the clinic and the treatment is simple antibiotics.


Syphilis is generally treated with a course of penicillin injections or doxycycline tablets over two or three weeks. The injections are given by your doctor or at a Sexual Health (STI) Clinic.


Once treated, it is important to make sure that the infection has been properly killed off - this is done by regular blood tests for three months after the treatment is finished.


After treatment, one of the blood tests for syphilis will continue to show positive. This just shows that there was a past infection and doesn’t mean that you still have it.


Once you have been treated you are not immune to Syphilis. You can still get the infection again so it’s still a good idea to have the occasional check-up - as often as you need to, depending on how many people you have sex with.


Because Syphilis is so easily caught and passed on, it is a good idea to discuss it with any recent partners - as far back as when you first got the infection.


That isn’t generally an easy thing to do, but remember that anyone can get Syphilis and it is not anyone’s fault. By telling your partners you are helping them to look after themselves and to avoid infecting anyone else.


Prevention

Syphilis is difficult to prevent if you are sexually active as it is easily passed on through most forms of sex and often goes unrecognised. Using condoms and other barrier methods for anal and oral sex will offer a reasonable degree of protection.

Find Us:

Home  |  About Us  |  Volunteer  |  Contact  |  Donate

 
Cookies in Use