Syphilis or Lewis is an infectious disease transmitted primarily through sexual contact. This disease is included in the category of socially dangerous diseases: it is difficult to completely cure, does not manifest itself for a long time, and multiplies well in a cool and humid environment.

Infection with lewis leads to damage to vital organs – the brain and spinal cord, liver, stomach, kidneys, which causes the patient’s disability, mental degradation and death. No one is immune from infection: even if a person avoids promiscuity, he may be at risk of household syphilis.

Transmission routes

The disease is caused by the bacterium treponema pale – a microorganism that prefers a moist and cool environment for “life”. If high temperatures or drying can destroy treponema, then when it freezes, its life processes slow down, but do not stop.

In favorable conditions, such as the human body, bacteria multiply very quickly, doubling their colonies every day and a half. The anaerobe is highly sensitive to alkaline and acidic environments, exposed to antiseptic and alcohol solutions, which makes it possible to fight infection.

How is household syphilis transmitted? – From a sick person to a healthy person, thanks to common items that retain moisture. This route of transmission is typical for infected people suffering from the primary form of the disease.

At this time, the patient is not yet aware of the disease, but is already becoming socially dangerous to others. The primary focus of infection also plays an important role: if the infection has penetrated sexually, then it will be transmitted through hygiene items – washcloths, razors, towels.

If the mouth or hands are affected, dishes, toothbrushes, baths, food, kisses become dangerous for others.

In addition to the primary form, the tertiary also poses a danger: at this time, syphilides actively disintegrate: open ulcers and erosions appear, whose contents easily fall on clothes, bedding, and household items.

If, upon contact with a healthy person, such a bacterium finds even the slightest wound, it can be transmitted very easily.

Although household Lewis refers to ailments that are more difficult to catch than other types of infections, this route of transmission cannot be completely excluded. Most often, household syphilis can be infected by children whose parents are carriers of the virus, but do not yet know about their diagnosis.

Features of manifestation

Anaerobe is characterized by an incubation period – this is the time from the moment the bacteria enters the body until the first symptoms appear. It ranges from two weeks to two months.

During these days, treponema actively multiplies, and when its colony grows to a certain size, it begins to affect the internal organs.

The circulatory and lymphatic systems are the first to be hit, then with the current of these biological fluids, anaerobes are carried to all internal organs.

The first signs may appear even earlier, after just a week, if the man or woman was re-exposed to the virus or if the infection occurred in several ways at once.

Multiple infection contributes to a more active spread of bacteria inside the body, which provokes a quick response of protective forces – leukocytes begin to be produced in an enhanced mode.

Also, the first signs can appear after a few months (up to six months), if the immunity of the infected person is strong enough, the person leads a healthy lifestyle or treats other pathologies or inflammatory processes with penicillin antibiotics.

How is household syphilis manifested? It depends on the type of disease and treatment. If therapy is not carried out, then Lewis progresses and the symptoms may appear more pronounced. When following medical recommendations, many manifestations are absent or proceed sluggishly.

Signs of domestic syphilis are not much different from the symptoms of the classic form, sexually transmitted. A slight difference is due to the focus of infection, and only at the initial stage.

So, with household syphilis of the primary form, symptoms first appear on the part of the body where the bacterium entered the body, and then on the genitals. The secondary and tertiary stages are the same.

primary stage

What does primary household syphilis look like? At the end of incubation, sores and erosion-chancres begin to appear on the skin – dense formations about one centimeter in diameter, having even, slightly raised edges of a dark red color.

In the middle, a dense infiltrate covered with a thin membrane is noticeable. With the everyday form of Lewis, chancres can appear on:

• lips
• mucous membrane of the oral cavity;
• gums;
• tonsils;
• language.

The peculiarity of such formations is their absolute painlessness. If the disease proceeds without complications, then the ulcers are shallow, and the infiltrate is small.

When a secondary infection is attached, scabs or necrotic processes can supplement the appearance of chancres, then syphilides become bright scarlet, with a moist surface.

Within a week after the formation of the chancre, an increase in lymph nodes begins – lymphadenitis develops. In addition to the increase, the nodes acquire density, and on palpation the patient feels pain.

At the same time, the node retains mobility and individuality, that is, it does not solder together with other nodes or nearby tissues. In severe infections, lymphangitis may appear – an inflammatory process in the lymphatic vessels.

At the same time, they themselves appear under the skin like dense flagella. Both inflammations are manifested by a feverish state: temperature, redness of the skin areas under which they are located.

The end of the primary stage is characterized by a significant increase in the number of bacteria and their penetration into the blood and lymph with further spread throughout all the internal systems of the body. This is evidenced by enlarged lymph nodes throughout the body, and not just those areas that are located next to the lesion.

The danger of the primary stage is the independent disappearance of chancres a few weeks after their formation. Their painlessness and location in places inaccessible to the eye turns against the patient: they are not noticed, which means they do not go to the doctor. As a result, the transition of the disease to a new, more severe degree.

Large-sized chancres with a dense, voluminous infiltrate can last up to three months.

Secondary period

The patient, most often, does not know about the beginning of the secondary stage. Only in some of them, the spread of infection throughout the body is manifested by symptoms of fever: fever, weakness, chills, headaches.

A more striking sign is the appearance of multiple rashes on the skin or mucous membranes – roseol. These syphilides have a pale pink tint, round shape, differ in individuality, do not merge. If left untreated, they disappear after 3-4 weeks.

This form is characterized by a change of remissions and exacerbations, during which the patient becomes contagious. With each relapse, new chancres appear on the body: papules, vesicles, purulent pustules. They can appear on:

• any part of the body;
• upper and lower extremities, including palms and feet;
• face and head, including the scalp;
• mucous membranes of the vagina, urethra, anus.

In overweight people, syphilides often form in the folds of the skin. Usually these are weeping warts with a sharp, repulsive odor. Chancres that affect the mucous membranes often merge into one large ulcer.

A characteristic feature of this stage is the absence of manifestations of acute inflammation – the patient feels a slight malaise, which quickly passes. Rashes also disappear on their own, even if appropriate treatment is not carried out. At the same time, the relapse period is very dangerous for others.

features of secondary Lewis are:

• the appearance of age spots on different parts of the body;
• diffuse (uniform) or focal hair loss in places where there is dense vegetation (head, face, lower limbs);
• hoarseness in the voice;
• cracks in the corners of the lips;
• weakness, lethargy, decreased tone.

These manifestations are observed at the first exacerbation, and disappear after 1-2 months. Further exacerbations occur without pronounced symptoms.

Diagnosis of syphilis during remission is possible only with the help of clinical tests: there are no external signs of the disease.

Tertiary syphilis

This is the heaviest form of Lewis . Develops after a latent period, coming after the secondary, lasting about 3-4 years. At this stage, the degeneration of the affected internal organs begins, the body is covered with various types of syphilis, penetrating into the deep layers of the epidermis, including subcutaneous tissue.

Gummas formed in the brain and spinal cord, heart, parts of the musculoskeletal system destroy the cells of these organs, which provokes paralysis, mental degradation and the imminent death of the infected.

How is household lewis treated ?

Methods of fighting the infection depend on the stage at which it was diagnosed. There are a lot of treatment regimens: they include both the elimination of the disease itself and its complications. Much attention is also paid to preventive measures to prevent infection.

The exact treatment regimen is determined by the attending venereologist. Therapy of an already established disease necessarily includes antibiotic preparations of the penicillin series. They are administered by injection, courses, treatment is usually carried out in a hospital.

An important condition for therapy is the strict implementation of all medical recommendations, as well as the refusal of self-treatment. The choice of drugs on the advice of friends or acquaintances can lead to the loss of sensitivity of the bacterium, which will cause a chronic, incurable form of the disease.

The trend in recent years is the hidden lewis , which can be either early or late. With this form, there is a complete absence of manifestations of the disease, therefore, it is detected by chance, during the passage of routine preventive examinations or during the delivery of clinical tests necessary to diagnose other pathologies.

If it was possible to detect Lewis at an early stage, when no more than two years have passed since the infection, then the patient can count on a complete cure. When an infection is detected at a late stage, therapy is long, difficult and not always successful.

After the diagnosis is made, the main task of the infected becomes the adoption of preventive measures for the further transmission of the virus. Until the end of treatment, a man or woman is forbidden to have sexual relations, kiss.

Also, the infected person is given separate dishes, bed linen, towels, hygiene items. It is important to regularly sanitize the room with alkaline solutions, ventilate the home, and wash the patient’s things at high temperatures.

The results of clinical studies will tell that the disease was defeated. The absence of external symptoms cannot be a confirmation of the “purity” of the patient.