Self Assessment for Risk of Syphilis                         $20

Syphilis has been called "the great imitator" because it can cause presentations mimicking almost any other disease. As an inflammatory agent, it creates symptoms of bone and tissue degeneration, alteration of normal metabolic functioning, dermatological, neurological and gastrointestinal presentations. It can create dementia. Its progression through the body and into advanced stages can be accelerated by various drugs.

Most physicians have had less than three hours of study of syphilis in all of its stages. Most physicians believe that one or two courses of penicillin will eliminate syphilis and that the serological and confirmatory tests for syphilis are reliable.

During the 1930s and 1940s, physicians knew that 90% of disease presentations were syphilitic in origin. The Self Assessment for Risk of Syphilis enables each person to determine if they need a more thorough, deeper, more complete evaluation from their physician.

Joan McKenna was the first researcher to link a history of syphilis to the development of AIDS. Anomalies in serological markers and the emergence of false negative serological and confirmatory tests led to the development of the assessment for risk.