The Daily Alaska empire., 1937-08-14

positive, he has an 86 percent chance of cure. If he waits for only few days or weeks the Wassermann or other tests may become positive, and then his chance of cure is reduced to 4percent. If he is irregular in receiving treatment his chances are much further reduced. The medical care he receives must be competent.
 THE SECOND STAGE: The sec ondary manifestations of the dis ease are often characterized by a skin eruption which may resemble rash of measles or chicken pox. This rash may or may not be accom- panied by other disturbances, such as mouth sores, fever, headache, sore throat, fallin gout of hair, feel ing under the weather" The skin eruptions are infectious if they are moist. Mouth sores, which in this stage may resemble canker sores or trench mouth, are dangerously infectious. The patient may infect | others through kissing. The sec ondary manifestations also are of I ten so inconspicuous or mild as to escape notice or the recognition of their true character. They, like the chancre, will disappear after a time, even without treatment.
 THE LATENT STAGE: The dis ease now tends to pass into a lat- ent stage. During this stage there may be no symptoms for many years to indicate it's presence to the patient; or skin eruptions, mouth sores, and other disturb ances may come and go from time to time. But in this latent period the disease is undermining vital structures and organs so that in a period of two to 20 or more years the infected persons may become seriously crippled or completely de- stroyed.
 THE LATE STAGE: The more common late effects of syphilis are fatal affections of the heart and blood vessels, blindness; deafness, and tumorlike growths which may destroy any of the tissues or or gans of the body. Among the most serious effects are the attacks of the disease upon the brain and spinal cord These bring various forms of mental arrangement, convulsions, and paralysis, leading on to that almost hopeless condition, paresis, or general. paralysis of the insane; or, if the spinal cord is mainly in volved, progressive loss of muscular control Qocomoter ataxia or tabes dorsalis} and loss of other import ant muscular functions. These la ] ter destructive changes of syphilis constitute the last stage of the dis ease.
 Syphilis Can be Cured
 The terrible results which have been noted come from neglected syphilis. With early and adequate treatment none of the destructive consequences need develop and the 1 disease can be arrested and often cured. But this cannot be achieved in a week or month The patient must be under the care of compe- tent physician for from Is months 1 to two years, regardless of how well he feels or of negative labor atory tests, before he can be cer- tain of his cure. He must receive continuous treatment by his phys ican with certain specific remedies. He must have blood tests, and per- haps spine fluid tests at intervals in order to ascertain the state and the progress of the recovery. The physician will give him rules to foi?- low at home to help with his cure I and to prevent transmission of the disease to other persons. The dis appearance of symptoms does not mean that the germs which have 1 penetrated the innermost parts of the body have been killed. The symptoms may recur, and in more painful and dangerous form. Only the physician can tell when the cure has been effected.
 l When after a year or more of persistent treatment repeated ex- aminations show satisfactory pro gress, the patient may hope that not only an arrest but cure of the disease has been or will be ac- complished. He may eventually be discharged as cured, but he will require periodic examinations by his physician for several years to make Isure.
 Summary, Consequences of
 Untreated Syphilis
 It is responsible for many children being born diseased, most of whom { die in early life.
 It is the cause of many abortions, miscarriages, and stillbirths (chil- dren born dead)
 I It is the cause of 15 percent oi all blindness.
 l It is the cause of paresis or soft ening of the brain.
 It is the cause of locomotor ataXia -ry mn