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Without treatment, the symptoms generally clear up on their own within a few months,
but the infection stays in your body. The bacteria continue to multiply during this latent
phase and can cause very serious problems years later.
In fact, about 1 in 3 people who don't get proper treatment will progress to what's called
tertiary syphilis. This late stage of the disease can develop up to 30 years after you were
first infected and can cause serious heart abnormalities. Damaging and potentially lethal
lesions can develop in your bones, on your skin, and in a host of organs. Fortunately,
most people get treated early enough these days that very few end up with tertiary
syphilis.
Syphilis can also infect your central nervous system your brain and spinal cord. This is
called neurosyphilis, and it can occur at any stage of the disease. Early on, it may cause
problems like meningitis. Late neurosyphilis can lead to seizures, blindness, hearing
loss, dementia, psychosis, spinal cord problems, and eventually death.
Yes. Even though the infection is relatively rare, it's considered vitally important to detect
and treat syphilis during pregnancy. The CDC recommends that all pregnant women be
screened for the infection at their first prenatal visit, and some states require that all
women be tested again at delivery.
If you live in a community where syphilis is prevalent or you're otherwise at high risk, you
should be tested again at 28 weeks and at delivery. You'll also be retested for syphilis if
you've contracted another STI during your pregnancy or if you or your partner develops
symptoms of syphilis.
Because it takes about four to six weeks after exposure to get a positive result from the
blood test, the result may be negative if you're tested too soon. So if you had high-risk
sex a few weeks before your test or your partner recently had symptoms, tell your
practitioner so you can be tested again in a month. If your screening test is positive, the
lab will perform a more specific test on your blood sample to tell for sure whether you
have syphilis.
Having syphilis makes you more susceptible to HIV if you're exposed to it, so if you test
positive for syphilis, you should also be tested (or retested) for HIV and other STIs. And
if you have primary syphilis, you'll need to be tested for HIV again in three months.
How is syphilis treated during pregnancy?
Penicillin is the only antibiotic that's both safe to take during pregnancy and able to
successfully treat both mother and baby for syphilis. If you have syphilis, you'll get
treated with one or more injections of penicillin, depending on the stage of the disease
and whether you have neurosyphilis. (If you have any symptoms of neurosyphilis, you'll
have a spinal tap to check for it.) If you're allergic to penicillin, you'll need to be
desensitized to the drug first, so you can receive it.
In many pregnant women, treatment for syphilis causes a temporary reaction that may
include fever, chills, headache, and muscle and joint aches. These symptoms tend to
appear several hours after treatment and go away on their own in 24 to 36 hours.
The treatment may also cause some changes in your baby's heart rate, and if you're in
the second half of your pregnancy, it may cause contractions. (If you notice any
contractions or a decrease in fetal movement, you should call your caregiver
immediately. In some cases, your caregiver may opt to treat you in the hospital so you
can be monitored.)
Your partner will also need to be tested, and he'll be treated if he's positive or has had
sexual contact with you in the last three months, even if his blood test is negative. You
need to refrain from sexual contact until both of you have been treated. After treatment,
you'll have regular blood tests to make sure the infection has cleared and you haven't
been reinfected, and you'll have an ultrasound to check on your baby.
How can I avoid getting syphilis?
Have sex only with a partner who has sex only with you and has tested negative for
syphilis. While condoms can prevent transmission of HIV and other STIs, they only offer
protection from syphilis if the sore is on your partner's penis they won't protect you
from sores that aren't covered by the condom.
Remember, too, that you can get syphilis if a partner's sore touches any of your mucous
membranes (such as in your mouth or vagina) or broken skin (a cut or scrape).
If you've had syphilis once, that doesn't mean you can't get it again. You can become
reinfected.
If there's a possibility that you've been exposed to syphilis or any other STI during
pregnancy, or you or your partner has any symptoms, tell your practitioner right away so
you can be tested and treated if necessary.
http://www.babycenter.com/0_syphilis-during-pregnancy_1427386.bc?page=2