Syphilis

What is it and how do you get it?

Syphilis is a bacterial infection which is most usually transmitted through fucking without a condom and cock-sucking, but which can also be caught through rimming, fisting and even through skin to skin contact (although this is rare).

Throughout the 1990s syphilis was relatively rare, but the numbers of gay men seeking treatment for syphilis in the last few years has increased considerably, with over 2000 cases being diagnosed at GUM clinics in the UK in 2008.1

Higher rates of syphilis are seen in HIV-positive gay men than HIV-negative gay men. They are more likely to experience early symptomatic neurosyphilis, a rare but serious manifestation of syphilis in the brain that usually occurs within the first 12 months of infection.2 For this reason, it is recommended that all men diagnosed with HIV are regularly tested for syphilis.

How do you prevent it?

Using condoms will prevent many cases of syphilis. If you wanted to reduce the risks further, you would have to use condoms for oral sex. Sucking cock carries a risk even if he doesn’t cum in your mouth.

How do you know you’ve got it?

The symptoms develop in four stages:

Stage 1 (also known as primary syphilis): a small painless sore or hardened lump will appear one to ten weeks after infection, near the point where the bacteria entered your body. This could be your arse, cock, or mouth. It’s possible for this to go unnoticed, especially if it is in your arse.

Stage 2 (aka secondary syphilis): up to two to six months later, you may experience a rash on the body and a flu-like illness involving fever, headache, and sore throat. The symptoms between stage one and stage two may be mild and difficult to spot.

Stage 3 (aka early latent syphilis): At this stage syphilis usually has no symptoms but as the infection at this stage is established in the blood it can be easily transmitted to sexual partners.

Stage 4 (aka late latent syphilis): Here’s the bad bit – after a couple of years, if left untreated, syphilis will stop being contagious to sexual partners but at this stage the infection can cause blindness, deafness, brain damage, heart attacks, paralysis, lung problems and strokes.

A sexual health clinic can test you for syphilis and this should form part of routine sexual health check-ups. It is usually tested for by taking a blood sample, although other bodily fluids are sometimes taken in late stages of syphilis. Any sores you have may also be examined for signs of syphilis.

How do you treat it?

Syphilis, if treated early enough, is completely curable with antibiotics, causing no permanent damage. Even at the latest stage syphilis is still curable, but any damage done by the syphilis may be irreparable. Because the symptoms are easy to miss, it’s worth having regular sexual health check-ups, including blood tests for syphilis, if you are sexually active. Blood testing for syphilis typically involves three testing processes and after an infection, even if it is cured, some of these tests will give a positive result. It is important to follow the advice from the GUM clinic as it may be difficult to tell whether the test is reacting to the previous infection or to a new infection of syphilis.

References:

1 Health Protection Agency. STIs Annual Data 1997-2006.

2 CDC. Symptomatic Early Neurosyphilis Among HIV-Positive Men Who Have Sex With Men— Four Cities, United States, January 2002–June 2004. JAMA. 2007;298:732-734.