Syphilis is also referred to as a venereal disease. This disease is characterized by a not very obvious manifestation. But how does syphilis manifest itself in men and what are its routes of infection?
How is it transmitted?
There are several routes of infection. Disease transmitted:
- Sexually. This is best known when infection occurs during sexual contact with a person who has syphilis. Treponema, whose habitat is liquid, can enter the body not only during traditional sex, but also during both oral and anal sex.
- In a domestic way. So you can get sick only if the household does not know that one of them has found its refuge treponema. For its further distribution, it is enough to share dishes, towels, lipsticks and even cigarettes. So you should be careful not only in choosing a new partner for sexual relations, but also in using unfamiliar household items. But it is difficult to get infected in this way, since the bacterium itself cannot live for a long time in the wrong environment for itself. But such are knowncases of people getting sick with syphilis after washing things that belonged to a sick person in a common container.
- By hemotransfusion. The cause of infection is blood. Basically, this happens during its transfusion - from a sick person to a he althy one. It is also possible to infect when using a disposable syringe by more than one person.
- Professional way. Thus, he althcare workers can become infected. For example, gynecologists-obstetricians, dentists, surgeons, pathologists.
- Transplacental way. Newborns are susceptible to this infection. If a mother has treponema in her blood, then it can enter the baby's body through the placenta, as well as through milk during breastfeeding.
Incubation period
How does syphilis manifest itself in men? Before describing the signs of the disease, it is worth talking about the incubation period. It lasts about three weeks. But there are also cases when this period increases from about a couple of months to three. It may also appear after eight days, without showing any special symptoms indicating the severity of the disease.
How long does syphilis appear in men? Considering the issue, it should be noted that when during the incubation period a person used antibiotics of any kind, the manifestation of symptoms may be delayed for a longer period. This also happens when a man has a venereal ulcer.
The incubation period is notless dangerous to others and sexual partners than a pronounced disease.
Stages
But after what time does syphilis appear in men? There are three stages of the onset of the disease:
- primary;
- secondary;
- tertiary.
The main symptom in the primary stage is the chancre. It can be like an ulcer or an erosion. It is characterized by its appearance in any place, regardless of where the sexual intercourse took place. It appears immediately after the end of the incubation period. At first, this chancre is small and does not cause any particular inconvenience. In addition, there is no feeling of pain.
Signs
Initial manifestations occur on the foreskin or head of the penis. Thus, the immune system signals a syphiloma that has entered the body.
Primary syphilis in men manifests itself in areas of the body such as:
- genitals;
- scrotum;
- upper limbs;
- lips;
- oral cavity;
- belly;
- anal area and others.
At the first notice of the chancre, it is safe to say that the primary stage of syphilis has already begun. Although the symptoms are not so noticeable. They are more pronounced in the secondary stage of the development of the disease, but here one can still note an increase in lymph nodes.
What are the signs and symptoms of syphilis in men? These include:
- significant malaise;
- decreased appetite;
- increasedirritability;
- pain in joints and bones;
- elevated temperature;
- swelling of the genitals.
Secondary syphilis. How does syphilis manifest in men?
A photo of such manifestations of the disease will not cause positive emotions in anyone. The secondary stage occurs approximately at the eighth week after the first chancre appeared and disappeared. If nothing is done now, the secondary period can last about five years.
How does syphilis manifest itself in men? At this time, infection of the blood with an infection occurs, which is manifested not only by skin rashes, but also on the mucous membranes. At the same time, quite innocent symptoms are observed for everyone:
- elevated temperature;
- headache;
- decreased appetite;
- dizziness;
- increased fatigue and malaise;
- the presence of a runny nose and cough, which looks like a cold;
- sometimes conjunctivitis occurs.
This period is characterized by the fact that all the above symptoms can alternate, and the patient does not have any special reasons to consult a doctor. But you should never ignore them.
But the worst thing is that it is at this time that the internal organs and joints are affected.
The main symptom of syphilis is a rash. When no measures are taken, after a while it disappears, and the disease becomes closed.
When a syphilis rash occurs, it strongly resembles nodules of various shapes. Sometimes a symptom of the disease can be baldness, which will be clearly observed not only on the head, but also on other parts of the body where the hairline is located.
Right now the nervous system is affected when the following can be observed:
- vessels in the brain are affected, and their inflammatory process may occur;
- neuritis and meningitis are more common.
Third stage
So, let's study further how syphilis manifests itself in men. The third stage begins 3-5 years after infection. Until that time, perhaps no obvious signs were observed. But during this period, rashes begin to appear, which strongly resemble small tubercles of a dense structure. If at the moment nothing is done and not treated, then they begin to turn into ulcers, which already clearly indicate the presence in the body of such a disease as syphilis.
In some cases, a person who is the carrier and causative agent of this disease can remain in this state until the end of his life. But if syphilis manifests itself, then the patient's he alth deteriorates significantly, and all existing chronic diseases manifest themselves in a more acute form.
Consequences of a neglected disease
The most common side effects of advanced syphilis are:
- The brain is affected, and this contributes to the progression of paralysis of both the upper and lower extremities. Mental disorders can also be observed. Sometimes dementia progresses, which is nottreatable.
- When the spinal cord is damaged, walking is disturbed, orientation in space is lost. The most severe case is when the patient cannot move at all.
- The circulatory system is affected, primarily large vessels.
What does it look like?
But what does syphilis look like in men? It appears as a small ulcer. She is a bright red. It occurs in most cases on the genitals. In more rare cases - inside the anus or diuretic canal. If nothing is done, then these formations can grow up to four centimeters.
During the course of the disease, some complications may occur:
- puffiness;
- foreskin may have seals;
- getting some other infection into an already formed ulcer.
In the latter case, there is a possibility that a large edema will form in this place. In rarer and worse cases, complete tissue death occurs. This symptom is called re-gangrenization. This can happen to a man if he abuses alcohol.
Diagnosis
Diagnosis of syphilis in men is carried out in any clinic. To confirm the diagnosis, it is mandatory to donate blood for analysis. The stage of the disease is easier to determine after analyzing the Wassermann reaction.
If you ignore the symptoms of the first two stages, then it will be difficult to do it in the third,since both the epidermis and internal organs, as well as the nervous system, are affected. This is possible only in those cases when the disease proceeds in an invisible form and manifests itself only at the last stage. Basically, the disease is detected during preventive examinations.
It should be noted that the sooner you undergo treatment for this disease, the safer it will be both for your own he alth and for future offspring.
Conclusion
In our time, a disease like syphilis is treatable, regardless of the stage at which it was discovered. Naturally, the sooner the better.
So at the slightest suspicion, especially after casual contacts, it is best to contact a venereologist and get tested.
