Syphilis patients in the United States have severe and unusual symptoms like headaches and vision problems, according to a new study.
- Many American syphilis patients have unusual symptoms of the disease, according to a new study.
- These include headaches, vision problems, hearing loss, dizziness, etc.
- 68% of patients in the study did not present typical symptoms of syphilis, which could delay the diagnosis and therefore the patient’s treatment.
Vision and eye problems, headaches, hearing loss, dizziness… These are the new symptoms of syphilis patients in the United States. According to one new studydoctors are treating more and more patients with severe and unusual symptoms of this sexually transmitted infection (STI).
Headaches and vision problems
“Doctors have long known that syphilis can permanently damage a person’s vision and hearing and can even lead to psychiatric changes, but these symptoms are usually associated with infections that have gone undiagnosed and untreated for years”, can we read on the website of CNN.
In their study, the researchers found that in 2023, more than 20 people with syphilis suffered from atypical symptoms of syphilis in Chicago and that almost a third were in the early stages of the disease. the infection.
Symptoms include: headache, personality changes or altered mental status, vision (loss of sight, swelling of the eye) and eye problems (including sensitivity to light), hearing loss or even dizziness.
In general, “most infections are asymptomatic or go unnoticed”, can we read on the website of the World Health Organization (WHO). But for those who have symptoms, there are different stages of the disease: primary (syphilitic ulceration or chancre on the genitals, rectum, mouth or throat, which heals spontaneously in 2 to 6 weeks) and secondary (rash non-itchy skin on the palms and soles of the feet, white or gray lesions appearing in warm, moist areas of the body, for example the lips or anus).
“Sometimes neurological disorders are present: meningitis, paralysis of part of the face, for example, can we read on the website of Vidal. In some cases, the eyes are affected: inflammation of the covering of the eyes (uveitis) or of the retina (retinitis). (…) In 40% of affected people, serious complications appear after ten to thirty years: rupture of large blood vessels, neurological or psychiatric disorders, destruction of organs. These complications, also called tertiary stage syphilis, can lead to death.”
No typical symptoms of syphilis for 68% of patients
Another lesson from this study: 68% of these patients did not present typical symptoms of syphilis (chancre or rash). This absence could delay the diagnosis and therefore the patient’s treatment.
According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, cases of syphilis are increasing in the United States. In 2022, more than 207,000 cases of syphilis have been reported, the highest number since the 1950s.
