Chancre in children. Early congenital syphilis

Syphilis is still one of the most popular sexually transmitted diseases, although there is no trace of its former glory. They also stopped being proud of him, they are trying to get treatment faster, and so that no one knows, anonymously. The disease is infectious, caused by spirochete or pale treponema, is characterized by a cyclical staged course and damage to all organs and tissues, especially if the process has gone far. Here and dementia, and deformation of cartilage, and pathology of the cardiovascular system. What will you please?

In the photo - the causative agent of syphilis - treponema pale. Photo taken with an electron microscope.

It is very sad that in pursuit of momentary pleasure, adults do not think about the safety of their future and existing children. And we are not talking about sexual assault. Nowadays, syphilis is transmitted to children through the vertical and household routes.

Congenital - syphilis from mother to child

It is transmitted to the child during pregnancy, starting from the 10th week of intrauterine development, especially in the presence of toxicosis and impaired placental circulation. Usually, infection at this time ends in miscarriage or stillbirth, since treponema, actively multiplying, poisons the body of the crumbs to a state incompatible with life.

If the infection occurred at 5 months or later - the child is born alive, but very sick - all organs and tissues are affected. As a result, even if he survives, he will be disabled.

That is why pregnant women in Russia are examined three times for syphilis and, in the case of a positive test, they carry out preventive treatment, which prevents the development of the disease in the crumbs.

Distinguish syphilis:

congenital early (up to a year), manifested in the first three months after childbirth, in which all organs and tissues are affected, including the central nervous system, meningitis and meningoencephalitis, convulsions are possible;
early childhood - in children from one to four years old, it manifests itself with a characteristic lesion of the vessels and the nervous system, paralysis, strabismus, blindness are possible;
late th congenital (in children over four years old) may show signs of:
- absolute, when there is deafness, keratitis and a special arrangement of the teeth;
- relative, which include saber shins, terrible-looking teeth, a change in the shape of the nose, buttock-shaped skull, gothic palate and others.

If the child is not treated, then only two outcomes are possible - his death within 5 years and disability due to dementia and paralysis. That is, the treatment of syphilis in a child cannot be postponed - "later" it will be too late.

Treatment of congenital syphilis in a child

If a doctor diagnosed a pregnant woman with syphilis, then she will be offered hospitalization in a hospital for accurate diagnosis and full treatment. You should not give it up: think not about yourself, but about the child.

After birth, the child's condition is assessed by a neonatologist, together with an infectious disease specialist or venereologist. The tactics of managing the baby is determined: is it necessary to carry out therapy or be limited only to observation?

By the way, 7-14 days before childbirth, a woman may have a false-positive test result for syphilis. In this case, the woman is not prescribed treatment, childbirth is taken with all precautions, in the observational department, after childbirth, the mother and child are carefully examined and only then a decision is made about the diagnosis and the necessary treatment.

All children from mothers with syphilis undergo mandatory examinations by a venereologist:

up to a year - quarterly;
from one year to three - every six months.

Acquired syphilis in children

Children easily become infected with syphilis in the household through close contact with sick people, more often with their mother. At the same time, it manifests itself in the same way as in adults, has the same frequency:

primary syphilis characterized by the appearance of a hard chancre - a dense, painless ulcer, ranging in size from a pea to a two-ruble coin. It can be localized in a child anywhere;
secondary period characterized by the appearance of a small, profuse pink rash, located symmetrically over the body and an increase in lymph nodes, close to a hard chancre or a scar left after it;
tertiary period accompanied by changes in internal organs, destruction of connective tissue and other troubles.

Children with syphilis are treated in dermatovenerologic dispensaries, it is impossible to carry out therapy at home. You need to be cured completely. For this, several courses of antibiotics and supportive treatment are used.

It is important to recognize the disease in a timely manner. Therefore, if you have the slightest doubt, contact your doctor, at least anonymously, and undergo an examination. If syphilis is confirmed in a child, both parents and all people living with them are examined. If a disease is detected, they undergo a full course of therapy. If the disease is not detected - preventive (prophylactic) treatment.

There was a case when syphilis was found in a cook in a kindergarten during the next medical examination, and the source of infection was a child in the younger group of a kindergarten, with whom the cook's son was in close contact and got an infection from his mother, who often changed partners.

Anything can happen in life. It is important to remember one thing: syphilis is completely curable if it is recognized and treated in time.

How many people do you think have syphilis in Russia?

Is it possible to have children with syphilis? The answer is, of course, yes, but unfortunately, there is a very high possibility that the child will also be susceptible to this ailment. Children after syphilis in men and women can be born with significant developmental pathologies.

Syphilis in children can be not only congenital, but also acquired.

Syphilis is transmitted to children: congenital syphilis

Syphilis: Is It Possible To Have Children? Of course, you just need to weigh the pros and cons. Syphilis: is this disease transmitted to children? Yes, and as a rule, infection occurs even in the mother's womb, since the infection can penetrate the placental wall.

Sometimes a woman gets infected from a partner and does not even imagine that she is infected and harms her child as well. The pallidum spirochete tends to penetrate through the lymphatic and venous pathways in the umbilical cord from the mother's body into the bloodstream, and, accordingly, into the organs of the fetus. If the infection occurs in the fifth to seventh months of pregnancy, irreversible malformations of the heart, nervous system and blood vessels, as well as the intelligence of the fetus, may occur. At the birth of such a child, oligophrenia may appear.

Children who have had syphilis can suffer from both early and late forms of syphilis.

Early congenital syphilis is found in early childhood and can be diagnosed in a newborn. Late congenital syphilis often makes itself felt in adolescence, when the child is about fifteen years old. At the same time, sometimes congenital syphilis can flow latently, without making itself felt.

Babies born with syphilis will have quite serious health problems if the mother's treatment is not started on time.

Acquired syphilis in children

You can have children after syphilis, in which case they will most likely be carriers of the disease themselves. Can children get syphilis for other reasons? Yes, they can acquire the disease.

Syphilis in children (photo) is actually a scary picture. Looking at pictures on the Internet, it is easier for a parent to recognize that his child has syphilis. The sooner the parents take the child to the doctor, the better for him.

When does a child get syphilis? The most common method of transmission is household. Infection is possible if the child is often in contact with those infected with one or another stage of syphilis. This kind of contact is possible through:

Rash in primary and secondary stages of syphilis. Such a rash is most dangerous if it is weeping. When such a rash comes into contact with the mucous membrane of the child or his skin, bacteria easily move into his body (through cuts, sores on the lips, abrasions, scratches, chafing. It is important to know that such elements of tertiary syphilis, such as bumps and gums, are dangerous for the child do not represent, since they contain a very small amount of the pathogen.
Contact with human saliva. Treponema is easily transferred into a healthy body through kisses, cutlery, toys and bottles, as well as other things that can drip with saliva and which the child can potentially take in the mouth. At the same time, bacteria live only if the object is still wet. When the saliva dries up, the pathogen dies.
Through breast milk. If the mother has an active form of syphilis in the second stage, such an infection is transmitted to the child in one hundred percent of cases. The primary and last stages of syphilis do not pose such a danger to the child when feeding him with milk, but the risk of infection still remains.

You also need to remember that in addition to the everyday path of the incidence of syphilis in a child, there is an artificial or, as it is also called, an artifactual way of transmission of the causative agent of syphilis. In this case, the infection passes into the body through different instruments. This can happen:

At the dentist;
Through injections in a medical facility;
During acupuncture;
With blood transfusion;
In a beauty salon through contact with non-sterile scissors;
For any invasion of the body, if processed instruments are not used.

This route of infection is rarely possible, but it is still available. It is for this reason that you need to choose institutions with a reliable reputation that instill confidence in the quality of the services provided there.

How common is childhood syphilis?

Acquired childhood syphilis occurs ten times less often than the same form in adults. For this reason, if an adult family member is diagnosed with syphilis, it is imperative for the child to start preventive treatment as soon as possible.

Syphilis is diagnosed much more often in schoolchildren and adolescents than in young children. The main cases of infection, in addition to intrafamilial infection, will be:

Close contact of children with each other (common objects of use, cigarettes, bottles, transferred gum and mouth-to-mouth candy);
Early sexual intercourse;
Ignorance of safety measures during sexual intercourse.

If it turns out that the child has become infected

In this case, the child should be removed from school for the duration of the medical intervention. If this is a kindergartner, the visit to the institution is also postponed. Treatment is usually carried out either at home under the supervision of a dermatovenerologist, or at a hospital in a dermatovenerologic dispensary.

There are no special schools for patients with syphilis, children are simply suspended from the educational process for the duration of treatment. ()

In this case, the parents of the child are also examined. If their tests for syphilis are negative, the doctor will prescribe preventive treatment, but if they are positive, then the prescribed treatment will be complete and comprehensive.

After completing the course of therapy, the child can return to kindergarten or school. Such children do not pose a danger to the surrounding children. They are as safe as those children who have never had syphilis.

In adults and acquired syphilis in children, they almost do not differ, but in the latter it has some peculiar features. According to our data, children under 14 years of age are more likely to get sick, and often from 6 months to 1.5 years.

Primary period... In children, hard chancre is localized on the head, on the forehead, on the lips, in the mouth, on the tonsils, etc. On the genitals of young children, hard chancre are extremely rare. The size of the erosive chancre is usually the size of a lentil, but can range from a pinhead (pygmy chancre) to a 5-kopeck coin (giant chancre). The outlines of the chancre are usually round or oval, but when located in the folds of the skin, it appears slit-like. The boundaries of erosion are sharp, the edges are not buried, gradually descending in the form of a saucer to a flat, smooth bottom. Erosion resembles fresh meat in its color, but sometimes it is covered with a dirty bloom of the color of spoiled fat. At the base of the erosion, a seal is felt, sometimes it resembles parchment paper, in other cases it resembles a plate or knot. Its consistency is densely elastic. The discharge of erosion is serous, transparent; when examined under a microscope, a large number of pale treponemas are found. For primary syphiloma, painlessness is typical. When the chancre resolves, the infiltration gradually dissolves without leaving a trace, or sometimes a slight pigmentation remains. However, in the presence of a pronounced compaction and insufficient treatment, the infiltration can persist for several months.

One of characteristic symptoms of syphilis- hard chancre. A hard chancre on the lip, more often on the lower lip, is usually solitary and covered with a tightly set bloody crust. On the mucous membrane of the mouth, it can resemble blister lichen, lupus erythematosus, leukoplakia. Children sometimes have tonsil chancres in several varieties. Erosion or ulceration of oval outlines with smooth edges and a red bottom covered with a "greasy" coating may be visible. The tonsil is compacted, slightly painful, the general condition of the child is good. With atypical chancre-amygdalitis, the entire amygdala is enlarged, it is compacted, the ulcer can not be detected, since it is in depth, there is a slight pain when swallowing, the temperature does not rise. Chancres on the fingers can be localized in the region of the periungual ridges, where soft tissue compaction is expressed; they are accompanied by throbbing pain when located under the nail. This so-called chancre-panaritium occurs during various household contacts with sick parents. For example, a mother with secondary recurrent syphilis with manifestations on the mucous membrane of the mouth, caressing her 2-year-old son, took his finger in her mouth, and the child developed chancre-panaritium.

Usually there is a deep ulcer with pitted edges and a bottom covered with necrotic plaque. Atypical chancres, in addition to chancre-panaritium and chancre-amygdalitis, include indurative edema in the area of the labia majora and labia minora or the foreskin. It is a dense cyanotic edema, not accompanied by pain.

Regional scleradenitis occurs in areas close to the location of the hard chancre. With sexual localization, the inguinal lymph nodes are enlarged; with chancre of the upper lip and eyelids - parotid; when the chancre is localized in the oral cavity - submandibular, on the fingers - elbow and axillary, on the lower extremities - popliteal and femoral nodes. It should be noted a faster reaction from the lymph nodes in children with the location of the chancre in the oral cavity. In children, chancre may be complicated by a pyococcal infection, which is more common in patients weakened by long-term chronic diseases.

In the first days of the appearance of a hard chancre, the latter sometimes does not have those typical features that it subsequently develops. Therefore, the diagnosis is made on the basis of anamnesis data and the results of an examination of the alleged source of infection with the obligatory confirmation of clinical data by laboratory research - the finding of pale treponemas in the detachable chancre.

The erosion surface is cleaned with a tampon moistened with saline, and irritated with a platinum loop, the resulting serum drop, transferred to a glass slide and examined under a microscope in a darkened field of view. Along with neutrophils, lymphocytes and erythrocytes, pale treponemas are visible in the form of thin spiral-like filaments with even, narrow curls and characteristic movements. They differ from treponema refringens, which appear thicker and shorter, have fewer wider curls and more vigorous movements. Dental treponema is shorter than pale treponema, has 4-5 pointed curls, shines more brightly. Treponema from the Plaut-Vincent symbiosis is usually thinner, more tender, with few irregular flat curls and erratic movements.

Differential diagnosis of hard chancre is carried out with soft chancre, genital herpes, chancriform pyoderma, balanoposthitis, scabies. Chancre is characterized by the presence of multiple ulcers with acute inflammation around them; ulcers have uneven undermined edges, profuse purulent discharge. On palpation, the ulcers are soft, painful, Streptobacillus Ducrea - Unna is found in the scraping. Lymphatic regional adenitis has signs of acute inflammation; more often one lymph node is inflamed, the skin above it turns red, softening, fluctuation occurs in the center, the node opens with the release of thick creamy pus. Unlike a hard chancre, with herpes there are groups of vesicles, upon opening which erosions are formed with polycyclic edges, a clean bottom, there is no infiltration at their base. Detachable serous, inguinal lymph nodes are not enlarged.

Chancriform pyoderma in children it may resemble an erosive or ulcerative hard chancre, it has a rounded or oval shape, its bottom is covered with a purulent bloom, a seal is expressed at the base of the bottom, but around there is inflammatory redness and a slight edema, purulent discharge, pyococci are found in the scraping. Regional lymph nodes can be enlarged, indurated, and painless, making differential diagnosis difficult. Erosive balanoposthitis occurs in adolescents and is manifested by multiple superficial, bright red painful erosions of polycyclic outlines, without compaction of the base; inguinal lymph nodes are rarely enlarged, only in the presence of a secondary infection. Scabies ecthyma is a purulent crust, after removal of which erosion or a superficial ulcer with acute inflammation around is visible. Finding other signs of scabies makes it easier to diagnose correctly. An ulcerated furuncle may resemble a hard ulcerative chancre, however, the presence of acute inflammation, not sharply delimited infiltrate, necrotic core, enlarged and painful inguinal lymph nodes make it possible to reject the diagnosis of primary syphiloma.

In some cases, it may be necessary to carry out differential diagnosis with other, more rare and less similar to solid syphiloma, diseases. Genital diphtheria in girls is often combined with pharyngeal diphtheria, which is severe, has the form of erosions or ulcers of various shapes, with a flat bottom covered with a gray-yellowish plaque that is difficult to remove, under which granulation is found. Diphtheria bacilli are found in the separated and inoculated cultures. Regional lymph nodes are enlarged and painful. Acute vulvar ulcer occurs more often in girls and women. On the inner surface of the labia minora, less often on the labia majora and perineum, there are necrotic ulcers of irregular shape with a soft bottom covered with gangrenous plaque; the ulcers are painful, the discharge is purulent, thick gram-positive rods are found in it. The general condition of the patient is disturbed, however, there may be milder forms without disturbing the general condition (with many small, quickly healing ulcers). Trichomonas erosion can occur on the genitals, not only in adults, but also in children. They are red in color, with smooth edges and acute inflammation around, are painful; there is no inguinal adenitis. In a laboratory study, Trichomonas can be detected.

Secondary period of syphilis specific rashes are characteristic: roseola, papules, pustules, which, despite their diversity, are characterized by some common features. They have regular rounded outlines, sharp borders, do not have a tendency to peripheral growth and fusion, their color is faded, reddish-brownish, copper. Secondary syphilides are not accompanied by acute inflammation and, as a rule, proceed without itching (the latter happens only sometimes in nervous patients with rashes on the scalp and in the folds of the skin). Secondary syphilides have a benign course, even without treatment, they resolve without leaving scars, and under the influence of therapy they quickly disappear. The general condition of patients in many cases is not disturbed. Secondary syphilides pose a great danger in terms of infection, since they contain a large number of pale treponemas. Usually, in patients with secondary syphilis, serological reactions are sharply positive.

At the beginning of the secondary fresh period, children often have a profuse roseolous, small, symmetrical rash that is not prone to clustering, although sometimes there is also a confluent roseola (roseola confluens), which is more common at the present time. In addition to profuse macular and papular rashes, most patients retain a hard chancre or its remnants in the form of a scar or pigment spot and an increase in regional lymph nodes. Secondary recurrent syphilis is characterized by the appearance of a rash, which is located asymmetrically, scanty, prone to grouping, forming circles and half arcs. The rash consists of large roseola or papules. In the folds, the latter can merge into wide condylomas. At this stage of syphilis, rashes in the mouth are common, especially in children and in those who do not follow oral hygiene. It is with secondary recurrent syphilis that hair loss and leukoderma are more often observed. Polyadenitis in patients with secondary recurrent syphilis is less pronounced than secondary fresh syphilis, and sometimes it may be absent; standard serological reactions in most patients are sharply positive.

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Syphilis is a venereal disease, its causative agent is pale treponema. Microorganisms are small, their length is no more than 20 microns. Outwardly, it seems that this is a small spiral, it moves around its axis. There are several ways of transmission of the disease.

Treponema pallidum is a hardy bacteria that can survive for several days in a humid environment. They are not sensitive to cold, do not die even at minus 75. Syphilis in children is dangerous because it can lead to the development of many complications.

Acquired syphilis

Parents suffering from the development of the disease often ask themselves the question "can their children get sick?" Unfortunately, the answer in this case is unequivocal - yes, children get sick.

The body of children is especially vulnerable to the causative agent of pathology, stronger than the body of an adult. The situation is complicated by the fact that bacteria can be transmitted not only through sexual intercourse. A child can catch syphilis from relatives who are sick.

If the baby is constantly surrounded by people with syphilis, then the risk of infection increases several times. However, this probability will depend on several important factors. Below we will look at the main routes of infection.

Household route of infection

Pale treponema can get into the child's body if he comes into contact with people who are sick with the primary or secondary form of the disease. Contacts can be of several types.

Through a rash with primary or secondary syphilis. Such rashes contain a large number of bacteria, especially if their surface is weeping. When the damaged skin of the baby comes into contact with the elements of the rash, bacteria easily penetrate into his body.

Important! The elements of tertiary syphilis are not dangerous, the whole point is that there are few treponemas in them, this is not enough for infection.

The next possible type of infection is through contact with the saliva of a sick person. Bacteria are found in large quantities not only in skin rashes, but also in saliva. Any contact with her is dangerous for a child: the disease can be easily transmitted through a kiss.

In addition, the patient's saliva can get on toys, nipples, spoons, etc. But it must be remembered that bacteria can survive only if the saliva on the objects is wet, after it dries, they will die.

Infection through breast milk. Many nursing mothers are wondering if they can breastfeed a baby with this diagnosis? In this case, too, the unequivocal answer is no. If a woman is a carrier of the secondary stage of syphilis, then the disease will certainly be transmitted to the child through milk.

Artificial route of infection

Not only the household route of infection is possible, but also an artifactual, namely, artificial. This includes cases where bacteria enter the child's body through various instruments.

Main ways:

through an injection in the hospital, in the event that the syringe has been used previously;
with blood transfusion when the blood does not go through the proper level of processing;
in a beauty salon, when cutting a baby with non-sterile scissors;
with any surgical intervention.

Artificial infection rarely occurs, the main reason is dishonesty. Moreover, more often it is not even medical institutions that are to blame for this, but private organizations.

Other routes of infection

Infection can occur for other reasons, the following can be attributed to them:

germinal path- the sperm of the father or the egg of the mother is infected;
infection at the time of labor, or when the placenta is torn off;
if personal hygiene rules are not followed, then the causative agent of the disease enters the baby's body through the umbilical wound.

In most cases, infection occurs vertically, that is, at birth or while in the womb. If the baby in the abdomen is still healthy, then in order to prevent infection during childbirth, it is recommended to have a cesarean section. The photo below is an example of the development of the disease in children.

How common is syphilis in children?

According to statistics, syphilis occurs in children 10 times more often than in adults. Early childhood disease occurs precisely because of bodily contact with infected people.

That is why, if a family member has a disease, everyone else needs to undergo preventive treatment. Thus, you can protect the household and the child from possible infection.

Interesting! Acquired syphilis is more common in adolescents and schoolchildren.

Not only intra-family contacts can become a source of infection, there are other reasons:

sexual activity began early;
ignorance of basic safety measures regarding sexual life, parents should educate on this topic;
close communication of children with each other: using toys, transferring gum from mouth to mouth, etc.

All the factors listed above increase the risk of infection by several times. The video in this article explains in more detail how the infection occurs.

What if the child is sick?

In the event that a child is diagnosed with such a diagnosis, he is obligatorily suspended from attending kindergarten or school. Treatment is carried out in a dermatovenerologic dispensary. That is, those children who are sick with syphilis do not undergo training either in ordinary or in any special institutions.

Parents and close relatives who have been in contact with the child should be examined. Children cured of the disease do not pose any danger to society, they can continue their education.

Acquired syphilis develops in the same way as an adult. It is also important to remember that there are no distinguishing signs of the disease in boys and girls, they are the same for both sexes.

Primary syphilis

Three to four weeks after infection, the primary stage begins to develop. In the place where the bacteria invaded, a hard chancre forms - an ulcer, small in size and dense to the touch. This is the first symptom of the development of syphilis in adults and children.

In addition to the presence of a hard chancre, you can notice that the lymph nodes and lymphatic vessels become inflamed and increase in size. Moreover, it is precisely those that are close to the place of introduction of the treponema that become inflamed.

In those children who are sick with syphilis, a hard chancre is most often localized on the lip or in the mouth. The duration of this stage is up to seven weeks.

Secondary syphilis

One and a half to two months after the appearance of hard chancre, the next stage of the disease begins to develop. Symptoms of secondary syphilis are skin rashes. It is often accompanied by an increase in body temperature, which may not subside for several days.

Outwardly, the rash may resemble numerous childhood infections, such as rubella, chickenpox, and measles. However, unlike such infections, the rash will not go away for several months.

Its varieties can be as follows:

roseola - spots no more than 3 millimeters in diameter;
papules - up to one centimeter in size;
abscesses.

The duration of secondary syphilis is up to three years. Periods of rashes can pass, the stage of remission begins.

Tertiary syphilis

This stage is considered the most serious and destructive. Gummas are formed inside the body and under the skin, otherwise bumps.

Education may not take place for several years. After this time, purulent processes begin to form. Bursting ulcers can destroy the surrounding tissue.

The frequent route of infection is intrauterine

Ruptured ulcers negatively affect the area where it happened: skin, bone and vascular tissue are destroyed. Gums formed on the internal organs can affect their work.

Forecast

What happens if a child develops syphilis?

The prognosis depends on how the child was infected, as well as how long the treatment was started. Healthy babies are born in pregnant women only in 11% of cases. If they underwent a course of treatment in a timely manner, then in 80% of cases, children are born without pathologies.

Women who become infected before the fifth month of pregnancy, but have undergone treatment, can give birth to a completely normal baby. If therapy was started late, then most likely a miscarriage will occur, or the child will be born with pathologies.

For acquired syphilis in children, how soon treatment is started is also important. With the secondary and primary forms, the prognosis is almost always favorable. It will be extremely difficult to do something in a neglected form.

Diagnostic methods

If you suspect the development of congenital syphilis in a baby, you should examine him, as well as the mother.

In order to identify pale treponema, the following tests should be taken:

Serotological reactions- blood is taken from a vein, always on an empty stomach. In infants, blood is drawn from the cranial or jugular veins. The material of the infected baby will contain antibodies to treponema pallidum. Syphilis can be detected as early as 8 weeks after infection.
PCR- is determined by the DNA of pale treponema. You can start the examination from the first month of life. To identify congenital syphilis, diagnosis is essential.
Linked immunosorbent assay- allows you to determine the presence of antibodies to treponema. You can give an exact answer based on the color of the samples. The disease can be detected at an early stage of development.
Cerebrospinal fluid is taken and sent for examination.

A doctor conducts an examination, based on the results obtained, a final diagnosis is made and appropriate treatment is prescribed.

Treatment methods

Treponema pallidum is a microorganism that is still sensitive to penicillin. Children need to be treated comprehensively. If the child was born from a sick woman, then regardless of whether he is sick or not, a course of penicillin will be prescribed.

For the treatment of the primary form, as well as as a prophylaxis, you should undergo a course of treatment with penicillin in two weeks. Treatment of congenital or recurrent syphilis is carried out with the same drug, but longer, at least one month.

Children with late congenital disease should be treated with medicines called Bismoverol and Biyoquinol. The drugs are administered intramuscularly, twice a week. More precise instructions are given by the doctor, the dosage may vary depending on the age of the child.

As a supplement, immunomodulators and vitamin complexes are prescribed. It is extremely rare for the treatment of pathology to be prescribed medications based on arsenic. The dosage is selected taking into account the age of the child, his weight, the degree of development of the disease, and so on.

For the entire period of treatment, you must do the following:

Parents should take care of their child's personal hygiene. With the development of the disease, the skin first of all suffers.
Nutrition should be given special attention. Those babies who are diagnosed with congenital syphilis should feed on mother's milk, in the future it is necessary that food with vitamins and minerals prevails in the diet.
Follow the daily routine of the crumbs. It is advisable to feed him and put him to bed at the same time.
It is recommended to spend as much time as possible outdoors.
Children, at an older age, should be protected from heavy physical exertion for the entire period of treatment.

After undergoing treatment, children should be registered at the dispensary for another five years.

Prophylaxis

In order to prevent the development of syphilis in children during pregnancy, women should undergo all examinations and procedures prescribed by a doctor. If a woman in labor became infected at a later date, but the child was born healthy, then it is recommended to feed him expressed milk.

When a family member suffers from the disease, the child should be protected from contact with them. Those children who have already been born with syphilis must undergo treatment, after which they constantly visit the hospital until the age of 17.

A dermatovenerologist is engaged in the treatment of the disease. In addition, you should periodically be examined by a neurologist, ophthalmologist and pediatrician.

Acquired syphilis is especially dangerous for the child's body. Infection can occur anywhere, both in the circle of close relatives, and elsewhere. Children's syphilis is treatable, the main thing is that it is started on time and carried out correctly.

Frequently asked questions to the doctor

The likelihood of infection from a sick father

Tell me, if the child's father is sick with syphilis, what is the probability that the baby will be born sick?

During pregnancy, the baby can only be infected from the mother. Therefore, infection is possible only if the man infected the woman, and she, in turn, transmitted the disease to the fetus.

Medicines for treatment

I am pregnant, what medications can I take for syphilis?

Penicillin antibiotics can be used to treat syphilis in pregnant women. But it is worth noting that only specialists can prescribe drugs; self-medication in this position is not permissible.

Antibiotics and pregnancy

I am carrying a baby, can I take antibiotics to treat syphilis, and how dangerous are they?

The antibiotics prescribed to treat syphilis during pregnancy are generally safe. Occasionally, they can provoke the development of unpleasant allergy symptoms. It is recommended that you follow your doctor's prescriptions.

Congenital syphilis in children occurs during prenatal infection of a child from an infected mother. The causative agent of the disease - treponema pale penetrates through the walls of the placenta. There are different forms of the disease - fetal syphilis, early childhood syphilis, late form of the disease.

The prevalence of the disease in the territory of the Russian Federation in 2015 is: about 80% congenital syphilis and 5% classic cases of the disease. At the same time, 53% of the transmission of the disease in utero is noted in the Russian Federation. During the epidemic crisis in the Russian Federation, the progression of the disease was noted in 300 cases per 100,000 of the population of the Russian Federation. Among men, this disease is more common than among women.

The route of transmission of the disease is sexual intercourse, in utero, through the surfaces of household items (household).

The greatest danger is the congenital form in children, during which the pathogen is transmitted from mother to fetus by penetrating the placenta. Diagnosis of the disease is carried out in different age categories, this is due to the allocation of types of ailment.

Early syphilis in children is divided into the following types:

Intrauterine form of the disease - manifests itself at the stage of intrauterine infection. If this condition occurs at the 5th month of pregnancy, premature labor often begins. The child is often not born alive, his body is swollen, the skin is flabby, pathological lesions of many internal organs are noted.
Disease in infants. If the mother becomes infected with pale treponema during the late gestation period, the main signs are noted after his birth. When syphilis is diagnosed in infants, tests show it is in the blood fluid when the baby is three months old.
Illness in early childhood. This form is diagnosed if it is determined from one to four years of age of the child.

There are also such concepts as late syphilis of congenital genesis, it manifests itself in puberty, until the indicated age there are no symptoms of the disease. At this age, the disease flares up with renewed vigor, while it is judged that in early childhood the disease was not diagnosed or its treatment was not successful enough and at the moment dangerous consequences have developed in the child.

Causes

The pathogen penetrates through the walls of the placenta, while infecting the fetus. Transmission occurs from an infected mother to a child; transmission of infection from a man's sperm during sexual intercourse has not been proven. The risk group is made up of the following children:

If the woman is infected even before the fertilization of the egg;
If the disease is diagnosed at any stage of pregnancy;
If the mother of the child is ill with a secondary or congenital form of the disease.

The pathogen is transmitted to the fetus in the active stage of the disease. In women who have recovered, this danger decreases. If a woman is ill, pregnancy planning is carried out under the supervision of a doctor in order to prevent a relapse of the disease, while antibodies remain in the blood during a certain period of diagnosis.

If syphilis is diagnosed in a man - the father of the child, the woman should regularly be re-tested for the presence of pale treponema in the blood.

In the event that a woman is diagnosed with a disease of chronic etiology, but at the same time is constantly undergoing treatment, there is a chance to give birth to a healthy child. Therefore, a blood test is important, which is constantly given during pregnancy. It is important to constantly monitor the condition of the child even in utero, and after the birth of the baby, take an analysis for the presence of the causative agent of the disease.

If the analysis for the presence of the pathogen is positive, it is important to implement treatment measures in time to prevent the progression of a dangerous infection. In order to prevent a latent type of disease and health-threatening consequences, it is important to know the symptoms and the clinical picture. There is no scientifically proven evidence of transmission of infection from men to the fetus, therefore, syphilis occurs in a child only from the mother.

Symptoms

Signs and symptoms depend on what stage it is in. The main symptoms look like this:

If the diagnosis is positive, the fetus is large;
Body weight is small;
The epidermis is loose on the body;
The manifestation of the disease is an increase in the size of the internal organs of the abdominal cavity;
Underdevelopment of the kidneys is noted;
The surface of the stomach is covered with ulcers;
Diagnosis reveals pathological changes in the cerebral cortex and fibers of the central nervous system.

In infants, other symptoms and signs of the disease:

The face is all wrinkled, the skin is too dry;
The size of the head exceeds the norm, the appearance of tubercles is noted on the frontal part, the venous and vascular network is clearly manifested. The presence of seborrheic crusts is often noted;
The face is covered with age spots;
The bridge of the nose sinks;
The skin acquires pallor, cyanosis, flabbiness;
There is an unnatural cyanosis of the upper and lower extremities, they are too thin;
The newborn cries all the time, is capricious, behaves too restlessly, his sleep and appetite are disturbed;
If the diagnosis is positive, the baby develops poorly and gains weight;
There are signs such as a severe runny nose, shortness of breath, which become an obstacle to sucking, diarrhea appears, food is not processed;
Congenital syphilis makes itself felt by dystrophy, in which there is no subcutaneous fat;
After a while, the baby develops pressure sores that do not heal with the treatment, they rot and become infected;
On the body it is manifested by vesicular formations, the contents are purulent;
Bubble formations merge over time, forming one large wound;
Often there is a thickening of the skin in some places, crusts form on the skin;
Diarrhea or dysfunctions in food processing - indigestion leads to the fact that the baby is thin;
If the test is positive, the child suffers from erysipelas, red spots appear on the heels;
If antibodies are found and the test is positive, symptoms such as hair loss on the head, eyelashes, eyebrows appear;
The disease manifests itself as pathological damage to the bone apparatus, which leads to paralysis of the joints;
Often, pathology is manifested by the only symptom - pigmentation of the fundus, which, after the development of the disease, leads to loss of vision, to keratitis.

Symptoms of a late form of congenital disease:

The inflammatory process on the cornea of the eyes acts as reliable signs, it is accompanied by turbidity of the mucous membrane, constant lacrimation, and a violation of the quality of vision. After the development of the disease, atrophy of the optic nerve is noted, after progression, vision disappears;
Diarrhea, disturbances in the work of the gastrointestinal tract;
The consequences are often visible, such as dystrophy of the dentition;
There are consequences, like, which is accompanied by dumbness or difficulties in the speech apparatus.

If the treatment is not carried out on time, in the future the child will become the carrier of the causative agent of a dangerous disease, infecting the surrounding men and women with it.

Diagnostics

Since the disease can be determined at any stage during gestation, a thorough intrauterine screening of the fetus is carried out at all stages of development. Such surveys are carried out:

X-ray, which determines the violation in the development of the articular or bone apparatus;
Introduction of antigen into the blood fluid and determination of the body's response to it;
The body's response to the manifestations of the causative agent of the disease;
Examination of the contents of the cerebrospinal fluid.

After birth, the child undergoes mandatory examinations with such doctors - a neurologist, pediatrician, ophthalmologist, ENT. If antibodies are found in the body, timely measures are taken to treat children. When therapy is started on time, congenital syphilis has a favorable prognosis, antibodies remain in the blood fluid for a long time.

How to treat

When detected early in the body, measures to treat the disease give positive results. With a late diagnosis, with a latent form (if antibodies are found), dangerous consequences for the health and even the life of the child are noted. Treatments include:

Taking vitamin complexes;
Intramuscular injection of penicillin and antibacterial drugs from the group (if antibodies are noted in the body);
After the baby reaches 6 months, bismuth preparations are introduced;
If there is a negative reaction to the drug penicillin and the consequences after administration (diarrhea or rash), antibiotics of a different category are prescribed;
Drugs for treatment are administered intramuscularly through the spinal cord.
Biogenic stimulants are introduced.

Caring for a child during treatment consists of regular hygiene procedures, constant care of the baby's skin. It is important to continue breastfeeding, nutrition should be complete, constantly monitor the child's condition, and visit doctors on time. The consequences after a relapse should be detected in time.