infections
Syphilis
Treatment of Syphilis
Penicillin given by injection Another antibiotic for people who are allergic to penicillin Simultaneous treatment of sex partners Penicillin given by injection into a muscle is the best antibiotic for primary, secondary, and early latent syphilis. Forprimary, secondary, and early-latent stages of syphilis,one dose of a long-acting penicillin is all that is needed. Forlate-latent stage and some forms of the tertiary stage,three doses are given, separated by 1 week. If syphilis affects the eyes, inner ears, or brain, penicillin may be given intravenously every 4 hours for 10 to 14 days. Then, another form of penicillin is given by injection into a muscle once a week for up to 3 weeks. . Pregnant women who are allergic to penicillin are hospitalized and Allergen immunotherapy (desensitization) so that they can take penicillin. Because people with primary, secondary, and even early-latent syphilis can pass the infection to others, they must avoid sexual contact until they and their sex partners have completed treatment. If a person is diagnosed with syphilis, all of the person's sex partners are tested for syphilis. The sex partners are treated in the following circumstances: They had sexual contact with the infected person during the 90 days before the diagnosis was made, even if their test results are negative. They had sexual contact with the infected person more than 90 days before the diagnosis was made but only if their test results are not immediately available and their return for a follow-up visit is uncertain. If their test results are negative, no treatment is needed. If test results are positive, they are treated. Many people with syphilis in an early stage, especially those with secondary syphilis, develop a reaction 6 to 12 hours after the first treatment. This reaction, called a Jarisch-Herxheimer reaction, causes fever, headache, sweating, shaking chills, and a temporary worsening of the sores caused by syphilis. Doctors sometimes mistake this reaction for an allergic reaction to penicillin. Symptoms of this reaction usually subside within 24 hours and rarely cause permanent damage. However, rarely, people with neurosyphilis have seizures or a stroke. After treatment, examinations and blood tests are done periodically until no infection is detected. If treatment of primary, secondary, or latent syphilis is successful, most people have no more symptoms. But treatment of tertiary syphilis cannot reverse damage done to organs, such as the brain or aorta. People with such damage usually do not improve after treatment. People who have been cured of syphilis do not become immune to it and can be infected again. 