Syphilis
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Syphilis
Over the last three years, the number of reported syphilis cases has risen, suggesting that individuals are not taking health education programs seriously or are not exercising safe sex. Syphilis refers to a bacterial infection that gets spread through sexual contact (Alexander et al., 1999).The disease occurs on the mouth, rectum, or genitals, and it originates as a painless lesion on the named parts. It gets transmitted from one individual to the other when the lesions come into contact with mucous or skin.Syphilis can also get passed to unborn children through the placenta (Alexander et al., 1999).At the early stages, the disease can get cured by a single penicillin injection. If not treated, syphilis can damage the brain, heart, and other body organs, resulting in death.
The signs and symptoms of syphilis vary with the stage of the illness. An individual may also get infected with the disease, and it stays for years without them noticing.At the primary stage of infection, an individual may notice a small lesion usually termed as chancre on the spot that bacteria entered the body.The chancre might be only one or several, which develops approximately three weeks of exposure (Alexander et al., 1999).The chancre usually is painless, and many individuals fail to notice it since it may get hidden within the rectum or vagina.The secondary symptoms of the disease involve experiencing a rash, which may start on the trunk and later spread through the entire body. The rash again is not itchy, which may get accompanied by sores (wart-like) in genital and mouth areas.Some individuals may also suffer muscle aches, swollen lymph nodes, sore throat, and hair loss. These symptoms may persist for one year.
The next stage gets referred to as latent, where the individual experiences no symptoms. The dormant stage occurs when the disease fails to get treated, and it can last for many years.The tertiary stage follows the latent stage (Peate, 1998). In this stage, the individual may experience complications such as the damage of their brain, eyes, heart, blood vessels, joints, bones, liver, and nerves (Sparling, 1971). The complications get observed after the disease has stayed in their own body for quite long without getting treated.
Syphilis can get diagnosed via sample testing of blood and fluid. The blood samples can indicate the antibodies’ presence. Antibodies aid the body fight infections; thus, the antibodies involved in syphilis bacteria may be present in the body for many years. Therefore, the test can get used to determine any past or present infection (Peate, 1998).Cerebrospinal fluid may also get used, which determines if there are any complications with the nervous system.When syphilis gets treated and diagnosed early enough, it gets easy to cure it.Penicillin is themedication preferred in all stages. The antibiotic can eliminate the organism causing syphilis. Any individual allergic to penicillin get recommended to have penicillin desensitization (Sparling, 1971). Day one of treatment individuals experiences a reaction known as Jarisch-Herxheimer, which has symptoms and signs like nausea, achy pain, headache, chills, and fever but only lasts a day.
Syphilis is an important topic to me since many people get to live with this disease unknowingly. For instance, in the United States, a figure approximately 55,000 individuals get infected with the disease annually (Peate, 1998). My interest in this disease is that it is very infectious, and an individual can be living with the disease for years without their knowledge. When diagnosing for syphilis, nurses consider the signs and symptoms of the individual to know the duration they have stayed with it.
Nurse Assessment
Scenario
There is a scenario where a 26-year-old male goes to a hospital and complains to a nurse of having a lesion on the penis. The man says that the sore is painless and began as a small red lump which tuned out into ulcerated and red areas with sharp borders. The area is said to be about 2.6cm. The man admits to having had various sexual partners in the last four months, of which some of the occasions protection got used while some instances no protection was used.The man fears that he has contracted “STD,” which is why he came for the checkout. The nurse collects blood samples from the patient, which indicated the man has syphilis after the test. The nurse then injects the patient with penicillin.
Objective Data
The objective data derived from that scenario is that the 26-year-old male visits a hospital complaining of a lesion on the penis. The area is red, ulcerated with sharp borders, and covers about 2.6cm. A blood sample gets taken from the patient who shows positive for syphilis. The nurse injects the patient with penicillin.
Subjective Data
Lesion complains about the penis. The lesion is painless and began as a small red lump, which spreads with time. The patient reported engaging in both protected and unprotected sex with many partners for the last three months—the patient fears having SDT, which pushed them to get tested.Knowing early symptoms and signs of syphilis helped much with this assessment since I could already guess the disease the patient had even before the test results were out. I could also propose the right medication for the treatment given the scenario.
Diagnosis
The various diagnosis for the above medical scenario includes; many sexual partners, unprotected sex which get thought to be the cause for the positive syphilis results, risk of transmission of infection via contact and exposure. The named diagnosis get chosen for this disease since, after studying the sign and symptoms of the syphilis disease, one can get to relate all those experienced symptoms and signs of the patient. The care plan aided the patient in joining hands with the nurse in planning, attaining personal care goals, documenting, and obtaining healthier outcomes. The care plan also aids in inpatient follow-up to ensure they are maintaining health goals. When planning for a care plan for the patient with syphilis, I would include the nursing diagnosis, outcomes, interventions, and evaluation. I would try to see how much the patient followed the instructions. There are some challenges that a care planner encounters while trying to plan and, at the same time, care for the patient. The interaction with the patient gets limited since they have to transfer the care. As a result, it gets quite difficult for the patient to understand the complications and limitations of life therapies.
In accomplishing the syphilis patient’s plan, the nurse has to supply them with free condoms, which they may use for about three months. The nurse also needs to offer education to the patient on the importance of abstaining to avoid infecting others with the same. The patient should get advised to come up with a list of all people they slept with for the last three months so that they can get recommended to get tested. Also, the patient should get educated on ways to prevent acquiring such disease, among other STDs.
The best practice that can get used by the syphilis patient is the use of protection like condoms. If also they can abstaining sound even better for their safety. In that regard, I can admit that I have learned much from the diagnosis—I am vast with information on how the disease gets acquired to how one can keep safe. I have also learned that one can be living with the disease for long without their knowledge.
References
Alexander, J. M., Sheffield, J. S., Sanchez, P. J., Mayfield, J., &Wendel Jr, G. D. (1999). Efficacy of treatment for syphilis in pregnancy. Obstetrics & Gynecology, 93(1), 5-8.https://www.academia.edu/download/46961052/s0029-7844_2898_2900338-x20160702-20054-1air4hv.pdf
Peate, I. (1998). Syphilis: signs, symptoms, treatment, and nursing management. British Journal of Nursing, 7(14), 817-823.https://www.magonlinelibrary.com/doi/pdfplus/10.12968/bjon.1998.7.14.5633
Sparling, P. F. (1971). Diagnosis and treatment of syphilis. New England Journal of Medicine, 284(12), 642-653.https://www.nejm.org/doi/pdf/10.1056/NEJM197103252841205