Tag Archives: syphilis

Facebook Gives You Syphilis?!?! Or Not.

adminMarch 24, 2010 //

In certain cities in the U.K., there’s been a fourfold increase in the number of syphilis cases. And these cities have one thing in common — they are where Facebook is most popular. Public health officials think that social networking sites are making it much easier for syphilis-ridden horndogs to find casual sex partners, and so Facebook is urging users to “take precautions” and be careful about getting busy with people they’ve met online. But here’s the thing: Are people really meeting sex partners through Facebook? And giving them syphilis? I have promiscuous friends, and none of us has ever gotten the syph, but then again, I don’t think we’ve ever used Facebook to solicit sex either. Whatever happened to those PSAs warning kids not to meet people they meet online? Just because chat rooms are old news doesn’t mean the internet love shack is closed for business and innocent kids aren’t at risk. I think the proper method of anti-Facyphilis marketing is to make posters that say: “Hitler had syphilis. Don’t be a Nazi. Wear a frickin’ condom!” [Newser] Keep reading »

Syphilis Test Gets North Carolinians Walmart Or McDonald’s Gift Cards

Annika HarrisSeptember 18, 2009 //

Rates of syphilis in Forsyth, NC have tripled in one year, so health officials there have come up with a novel idea to entice people to get tested. Folks who undergo testing are awarded with a $10 gift card to either Walmart or McDonald’s. Now, I know people need some kind of incentive to get tested, but can’t we think of a better idea than trading syphilis for diabetes, heart disease, and high cholesterol? The Walmart card could be beneficial, but I wonder how the corporation feels about being used to lure potential syphilis sufferers. At least the gift card provides a silver lining if a person tests positive. [F-Listed] Keep reading »

The Five Most Important Things You Should Know About: Syphilis

Stephanie ArmstrongApril 25, 2009 //
  1. Syphilis is a mighty morphing STD that is hard to detect. Its symptoms don’t occur in a consistent order, but experts have narrowed them down to four stages. The primary stage is when a firm sore, called a chancre, appears around your lady parts. You can get one firm sore or many love bumps. They may dry out and heal, but you’re still stuck with the infection. The second stage includes on-and-off rash, fever, fatigue, aching, and sore throat. The third stage is the hidden stage, when symptoms don’t appear for years, as this STD attacks and progresses.
  2. If left untreated, syphilis can damage your heart and brain in the final stages. The tertiary, or late syphilis, stage also attacks the eyes, blood vessels, liver, bones, and joints. Signs of late syphilis include paralysis, numbness, blindness, and even dementia. If you think you might have the Syph, you need to get treatment as soon as possible. Your chances of getting HIV increase if you have syphilis because chancres make it easier to pass on and acquire HIV.

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The Daily Squeeze: Hair, Syphilis, And How To Spend Your Mornings

Catherine StrawnMarch 13, 2008 //
  • Humans have the same amount of hair as gorillas and other primates, it’s just virtually invisible. So why have we retained so much hair on our heads? “Human head hair, and its myriad of configurations in different human cultures, has been sexually selected for, in human evolution, as a mate-signaling device – perhaps the human equivalent of the peacock’s tail,” said Glenn Conroy, a researcher at Washington University in St. Louis. [SignOnSanDiego.com]
  • Morning sex at least three times a week decreases the risk of heart attacks and strokes by half, according to research from Queen’s University in Belfast. Coffee is so overrated. [The Times of India]
  • The U.S. syphilis rate rose for the seventh straight year in 2007, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC says there have been increased cases among homosexual and bisexual men, but the number of cases among women also is rising. [Reuters]

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    Syphilis Is a Nasty, Nasty Disease

    Catherine StrawnDecember 18, 2007 //

    The number of cases of syphilis is on the rise. In Britain, there are 10 times the number of cases there were a decade ago, and France has almost 16 times the number of cases that it did just three years ago. Thankfully, we have antibiotics these days, so if you get syphilis, you most likely won’t die from it like poet Charles Baudelaire and painter Paul Gauguin might have. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have safe sex, because we just looked up “syphilis” on Wikipedia and this disease can do some nasty things to you — and these photos just show the PG version! [Note: Don’t look if you’re easily grossed out.] [International Herald Tribune]
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