Prevention of Syphilis
Ways to prevents syphilis are:
- Avoid sharing sex toys.
- Using a dental dam, or plastic square, during oral sex. Syphilis is mostly transferred through vaginal, anal or oral sex when done without a condom or dental dam. Make sure you use a new condom every time you have sex. It is important that the dental dams cover sores in genital areas.
- Abstinence from sexual intercourse. This is the safest way to prevent syphilis. It is almost impossible to have syphilis if you abstain from every form of sexual activities (oral, anal or vaginal).
- Making use of condoms during sexual intercourse, although condoms only protect against sores on the genital sores and not those that develop elsewhere on the body.
- Having regular STDs test and discuss results with your partners. Going for tests regularly is imperative especially if you have many sexual partners. People are advised to talk to their partners about their sexual health and know each other’s status to protect your sexual health.
- Avoid sharing needles because syphilis can also be transmitted through shared needles. Syphilis can be transferred from one person to another via sharp needles or injecting equipments.
- Syphilis can be transferred from mother to child during pregnancy. To prevent this from happening, pregnant women should test for syphilis regularly.
PrEP does not stop you from getting syphilis, contraceptive pills or any other type of contraception (except condoms) can also not prevent you from having syphilis.
Conclusion
Syphilis is a curable disease, but can cause organs damage and mortality if left untreated. Prompt diagnosis and treatment is important. If a patient has been diagnosed with syphilis, they should also test for HIV.
Reference:
[1] https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/5005-migraine-headaches#:~:text=A%20migraine%20is%20a%20common,four%20hours%20or%20even%20days.
[2] https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/symptoms/10880-fever#:~:text=A%20fever%20is%20a%20higher%2Dthan%2Dnormal%20body%20temperature.,higher%20than%20100.4%C2%B0F.
[3] https://www.healthline.com/health/9-warning-signs-dog-needs-veterinarian#lethargy
[4] https://www.ninds.nih.gov/Disorders/All-Disorders/Neurosyphilis-Information-Page#:~:text=Neurosyphilis%20is%20a%20disease%20of,if%20they%20are%20left%20untreated.
[5] https://www.google.com/search?q=penicillin&oq=penicillin&aqs=chrome..69i57j0i512l9.2937j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
[6] https://www.medicinenet.com/nausea/symptoms.htm