Syphilis

Clinic offered tablets because of a penicillin shortage

Diagnosed this week. Told the injection is in short supply and offered a course of tablets instead. Am I getting a second rate treatment because of a supply problem?

west_pier 2 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 1 month ago

The shortage is real and it has been running for a while. Manufacturers have given recovery estimates that keep moving, and health departments in several countries have issued guidance on how to prioritise the supply that exists.

Doxycycline is the established alternative for people who cannot have penicillin, so it is not improvised. Its evidence base is thinner than for penicillin, which is the honest caveat.

northwindow 1 month ago

Prioritisation usually puts pregnant patients and infants at the front of the queue for the injection, because that is the situation where the alternatives are not acceptable. If you are not in that group, tablets are the reasonable allocation.

first_frost 1 month ago

The thing that matters with the tablets is finishing the course exactly. A missed week undermines it in a way that a single injection cannot be undermined, so set reminders and take it seriously.

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