‘Syphilis is the Deceptive Killer’
Department of Health warns students of STDs
The Arkansas Department of Health took its campaign ‘Syphilis is the Deceptive Killer’ into a couple of Texarkana, Ark., schools Thursday.
Students at Arkansas High School and Washington 4-A Academy learned about the risks associated with sex and sexually transmitted diseases and the importance of being tested.
“Have you heard sex is good? ... Just because it feels good now doesn’t mean it’s good for a lifetime,” said Myron Jackson, an employee of the Arkansas Department of Health. “When you decide to take part in adult activities as a young person, you expose yourself to a lot of dangerous stuff.”
Samantha Bamburg, ADH disease intervention specialist, talked to students about sexually transmitted diseases but focused mainly on syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia.
“Syphilis is why we’re here today. It is ... caused by a bacteria which means it can be cured,” Bamburg said. “It has a complex but predictable array of symptoms.” Students learned about the stages of syphilis—primary
syphilis, secondary syphilis, latent syphilis and late-stage syphilis, where irreparable damage can be done to the body.
During the talk, ADH employees passed around pictures of chancre, a small, painless sore that appears at the spot where the syphilis bacteria enters the body.
“In primary syphilis, a painless sore develops. It takes anywhere from 30 to 90 days for it to show up,” Bamburg said.
The sore will go away without treatment within several weeks, and a person would be symptomfree.
“You can look at somebody and they can look completely healthy, but they have an STD,” Bamburg said.
During secondary syphilis, which starts a couple of weeks after the sore heals, the main symptom is a rash that can appear anywhere on the body because syphilis is in the blood stream. The rash is most common on the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet, Bamburg said.
Other symptoms include muscle aches, fever, sore throat and swollen lymph nodes and these symptoms usually disappear within a few weeks.
Stage 3 or latent syphilis can go on for 20 to 30 years where no symptoms are apparent.
Late stage syphilis can cause damage to a person’s brain, nerves, eyes, heart, blood vessels, liver, bones and joints.
“Any damage done to the body by this disease can’t be undone,” Bamburg said. “That’s why testing is so important.”
Kids also learned about the symptoms and complications caused by gonorrhea and chlamydia. The most important take-home message from the presentation was for kids to be knowledgeable about the risks associated with sex. “If you are not having sex of any kind ... then you have no risk of acquiring an STD,” Bamburg said. “If you are sexually active then I recommend you get tested at least twice a year ... and you know your body better than anybody else knows your body. If there’s something not normal for you, get it checked out.” Washington 4-A Academy Principal Terry Taylor thought the message was a good one.
“I thought it was a good program but what I really like was the questions students asked because it indicates they’re concerned about themselves or someone they know,” Taylor said.
Ermer Pondexter, executive director of RSVP, is working with the Arkansas Department of Health to get the STD information out into the community.
“The state health department recognized Texarkana as leading in STDs and they were looking at resources who could best disseminate the information into the community,” Pondexter said.
In addition to the presentations at the schools, program organizers will also be getting the message out on billboards and signs in different areas of the city.
“We are encouraging people to come out and get tested,” Pondexter said.
STD testing is available at the Miller County Health Unit and the Texarkana Bowie County Family Health Center.