What is Syphilis ?

Syphilis is a human infectious sexually transmitted disease (STD) caused by the bacterium Treponema pallidum. It is a highly contagious disease spread by sexual activity like oral and anal sex.
Syphilis is divided into four stages primary, secondary, latent, and tertiary.

How can a person acquire Syphilis

A person can get syphilis when in contact with a syphilis sore. Sores a commonly found on parts of body involved in sexual intercourse like the penis, vagina, rectum, anus, lips or mouth. Syphilis in most easy to get through anal and oral sex. Syphilis can also spread from a pregnant woman to her unborn baby.

The vast majority of those sores go unrecognized which means the infected person is often unaware of the disease and unknowingly passes it on to their sexual partner, because they don’t know what is syphilis and how its spread.

Syphilis stages

Primary stage, a sore that is usually painless appears at the infected area which is called a chancre. These sores can heal after some weeks but the the person can still spread syphilis.

Secondary stage, is characterized by a rash that often develops over the body commonly on the palms of hands and soles of feet.

In the secondary stage, the person can have

• fever
• sore throat
• body aches
• headaches
• feeling of weakness and discomfort throughout the body
• patchy hair loss

Latent stage also known as hidden stage, after the secondary stage the rashes will go away including all the other symptoms of the secondary stage. This period can last a long time, maybe as brief as 5 to 20 years. This is the reason its called the hidden stage because there are no symptoms of any infection during this stage.

Tertiary stage (late stage), syphilis is not contagious at this point, but has started to affect your organs and can lead to death. A person may never feels this stage of syphilis.

The symptoms of tertiary syphilis depend on the complications that occur. which include

• Gummata, large sores on or inside the body.
• Neurosyphilis, affects the nervous system.
• Cardiovascular syphilis, affects the heart.
  

Awareness

Being one of the most common Sexually transmitted disease (STD), there is not much awareness about syphilis in the masses. Most people around the world know about HIV or other Sexually transmitted disease and take precautions against it but that is not the story about syphilis. Because the only way to know or be sure about having syphilis is from blood tests and most of the people don’t go around and have their blood tested for infections.

People don’t really take its symptoms seriously that is also the reason the for its spread, like who goes to the doctor when they have rashes on their body or have fever, they simply go and take medicines they think are best for their current condition. Even if they go to a doctor, its likely that the doctor won’t figure out that the person is infected with syphilis. How likely a doctor will ask a person with fever or headache about their sex life, not likely. Without proper diagnostics and knowledge of the person’s history, a doctor cannot find out about syphilis. There has to be more awareness about what is syphilis and how its spread.

For more information on STDs give these books a try

https://www.amazon.com/Sexually-Transmitted-Diseases-Fourth-Holmes/dp/0071417486

https://www.amazon.com/Sexually-Transmitted-Diseases-Physician-Hopkins/dp/0801886597

In today’s world drug intake is common especially among young people. So common that it is in fact now considered a fashion. Among so many drugs there is a new drug that is taking over the world known as Flakka (the zombie drug). Some other names of this drug are Gravel or Flocka. This new drug is used as a combination of crack and heroine and is getting popular among drug addicts day by day.

What is Flakka?

Flakka is popularly known as the zombie drug. This drug is known as the zombie drug because it causes zombie like symptoms. Flakka was introduced in the early 20^th century as a stimulant of the cathonine class. The thing that is causing zombie like symptoms is not Flakka. The three most common names of this drug are

1. Flakka
2. Zombie drug
3. Gravel

The Zombie Drug

The drug commonly called flakka these days is actually Bath salts. These drugs are a newer product of bath salts. Bath salts in general are synthetic psychoactive drugs. These drugs are related to cathonines. Every time bath salts are made illegal due to harmful effects, its chemical structure is changed a little bit and then it is made legal again. The name remains the same though, that is alpha–Pyrrolidinopentiophenone actually is Flakka but changed. It is also called alpha-PVP. This drug causes euphoria that addicts take for self-pleasure.

Mode of intake

Flakka can be consumed by smoking, swallowing, ingesting, snorting or injecting. It will ultimately reach its destination and will cause the symptoms irrespective of the path taken. The drug’s effects last for several hours.

Side effects of Flakka

Let’s first get familiar with the word zombie. A zombie is a fictional character used in many flilms, seasons and games. A zombie, in general, is a human flesh eater or a type of carnivore that only eats human flesh and infects the one whom it bites. They have no sense at the entire environment and they move around in a weird way. So basically Flakka is called a zombie drug because it makes the consumer a zombie.

Flakka causes the following symptoms that make people call the addicts a zombie

• Jerking movement of muscles in a highly uncoordinated manner
• Delirious thoughts of pleasure, Highness
• Paranoia, causing fear
• Extreme agitation(A mental state of extreme emotional disturbance)

Although these symptoms are caused by other drugs as well but the jerking movements involuntarily are what makes it unique and horrifying to witness.

Behaviors of victims

The Flakka drug victims have been documented and interviewed after the drug’s symptoms fade away. The victims express themselves that they felt like they were being chased, some say that they felt like they were being attacked by a huge group of people. This is what makes them run crazily anywhere and everywhere. The people that have tried to make them calm or restrain the probably the police have had injuries due to the volatile behavior of the addicts. Sedatives are given at the spot to counter the situation of the addicts.

Symptoms and effects of Flakka

• Alertness.
• Hyperactivity.
• Extreme agitation.
• Aberrant and ‘bizarre’ behavior.
• Delirium or intense confusion.
• Psychotic symptoms, delusions, and hallucinations.

• Changes in heart rate.
• Hypertension.
• Heart attack.
• Cardiomyopathy (damage to heart muscle).
• Death due to cardiac complications.

 The people, who are close to the Flakka drug addicts, notice that the addicts exhibit personality changes over the time. The addict becomes more impulsive, agitated and/or disinhibited.

Outbreak of Flakka

The Flakka drug until now is restricted to some parts of the world but is gaining popularity day by day especially among the young generation. On the other hand, the drug authorities and law enforcement agencies are calling this an emerging major drug outbreak that will rise to higher consuming levels and cause life threatening circumstances for the people globally.

Treatment and Rehabilitation

• The neurological symptoms can be depressed using Benzodiazepines.
• The Cardiovascular involvement can be treated using low dose nor-epinephrines to stabilize the heart rate and blood pressure.
• Counseling—both individual and group.
• Contingency management (an incentive-based system designed to promote abstinence or compliance to a treatment program).
• Cognitive behavioral therapy.

The best form of help for the addict’s lies is rehabilitation. Good care of the addict needs to be taken as Flakka is a very addictive drug. Keep the Flakka away from the addict at all times and do not let the victim alone until the addiction is over and the victim never opts for the drug again.

Here’s book on drug addiction and recovery that will help the addicts to recover and also help the people around the addicts to understand and tackle the situation.

Rewired: A Bold New Approach To Addiction and Recovery  By Erica Spiegelman.