How to Spot Symptoms of Neurosyphilis

A person who goes for many years with untreated and undiagnosed syphilis can develop a brain and/or spinal cord infection named neurosyphilis. Neurosyphilis usually starts 10 to 20 years after the person has been infected with the disease. It is a life-threatening complication of syphilis, but not all with the sexually transmitted disease get neurosyphilis.There are two types of the disorder: asymptomatic and meningovascular. As the name suggests, a person with the asymptomatic type will not have any symptoms, but the disease can be seen in the spinal fluid. These steps deal with the symptoms associated with the meningovascular form of neurosyphilis.

Instructions

• 1

  Check for physical symptoms. An infected person may have headaches, neck stiffness, vision problems, changes in the way he walks, problems with incontinence, weakness in the lower body and general muscle weakness.

• 2

  Look for personality changes. Mentally, the person might be grumpy or unusually irritable. She might also have dementia, confusion, issues with concentration or other changes to her mental state.

• 3

  Note the signs in the later stages. The person may be unable to walk and might suffer from seizures or tumors.

• 4

  See a doctor for a blood test and/or spinal fluid test if you believe you or a loved one has this disorder.