[Question #5917] Further questions about syphilis/new case?
17 months ago
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Hello doctors, this is a follow-up of sorts to my previous
question about doxycycline treatment for syphilis. I believe that my previous
course of treatment was successful. It cured (or at least coincided with the
end of my) inguinal pain. Last week (Aug 16) I again noticed a small scab
(maybe 1/3rd of an inch oval shaped) on the foreskin of my uncircumcised
penis.) This was 9 days after I received brief unprotected oral sex from a
female who I did not know well. The scab healed and was entirely gone by the
21st (5 days later). Given the counsel I received here from Dr. Hook that my
previous issue was likely not syphilis, I was ready to move forward and dismiss
this scab. That was until I started feeling the same tingling and pain in my
inguinal area and also under my arms (both of which I also experienced last
time). It seems highly coincidental to me to feel these sensations for the
second time immediately following the appearance of a genital lesion. I've
never experienced these types of sensations in either area except for these two
incidences.
I'd appreciate your thoughts on whether this sounds like
syphilis; I'm skeptical for the reasons Dr.Hook suggested in his last post, but
the combination of sore+pain in areas where there are lymph nodes has me
wondering.
Specific questions:
- Is 9 days too soon from exposure for a
chancre to appear?
- Could a chancre resolve completely in five days?
- What about in the case of a second episode of syphilis when
presumably you already have the necessary antibodies to effectively fight the
bacteria, would that lead to a chancre resolving more quickly & potentially
in less than a week?
- Would underarm lymph nodes swell during primary syphilis
(i.e. during/immediately after chancre)?
- At three weeks from exposure but with a completely resolved
"chancre", am I too soon to test? I'd rather not test at all and just
move on, but if I do test I only want to do so once. When would be optimal?
Thank you in advance!
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Edward W. Hook M.D.
17 months ago
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17 months ago
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![]() |
Edward W. Hook M.D.
17 months ago
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