Gonorrhea (continuation)
Fortunately, once it is diagnosed, gonorrhea can be treated quickly and effectively with antibiotics.
A diagnosis of gonorrhea can be made by a microscopic examination of the discharge or a cervical smear; or, more reliably,
by a culture that takes two days to incubate. The culture should be repeated one week after treatment.
Syphilis
Syphilis is caused by an organism called a spirochete that is spread through sexual contact. About 20,000 cases a year are
reported to United States health authorities, but it is highly probable that several thousands more are not reported.
The disease has three stages. First, skin ulcers (chancres), which are usually painless, appear in the genital area.
The chancres may erupt anywhere from 10 to 90 days after infection. Men may see them on the penis, but in women they
usually form inside the vagina and may easily be missed. These sores heal in a few weeks, leaving little or no scarring.
Meanwhile, the spirochetes circulate in the bloodstream and, in a few weeks, produce the symptoms of the second stage of
the disease: fever, swollen glands and reddish rash. these signs then also disappear, even without treatment,
within 10 days to two weeks; the disease becomes latent and, within two years, no longer infectious. the third stage
may develop without warning, years later. In this final stage, there is tissue damage in the brain and the nervous system,
the heart, liver, bone and skin. In as many as one-third of untreated individuals, this damage may result in death.
If a woman infected with syphilis becomes pregnant, or contracts the disease during pregnancy, there is a high risk that
her baby will be stillborn or suffer from severe birth defects.
Syphilis is most accurately diagnosed by a blood test. It can be treated successfully with penicillin or other antibiotics.
Periodic tests should be done for two years after treatment to make certain that the disease is cured. As is the case with
all sexually transmitted diseases, sexual partners should be informed immediately, and examined and treated.
