Syphilis

They tested me for HIV at the same time

Went in about a sore, came out having been tested for several things. Is the HIV test routine or is it because of the syphilis specifically?

pocket_watch 4 months ago

NoteMember experience, not medical advice. Symptoms overlap between infections and only a test can tell them apart.

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salt_marsh 4 months ago

Both. HIV testing is routine at sexual health services, and it is also specifically recommended alongside a syphilis diagnosis.

The infections travel together, sores make HIV transmission easier in both directions, and syphilis behaves differently in people with HIV, including a higher chance of nervous system involvement.

evening_ferry 4 months ago

Repeat HIV testing after a few months is often suggested too, in case the exposure that gave you syphilis was recent enough to be inside the window for HIV.

greytide 4 months ago

In some places you would also be offered PrEP at this point, since a recent bacterial infection is one of the indicators for it. Worth asking if nobody raised it.

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