Syphilis Symphony

Recent years have brought about an unexpected resurgence of STIs, with syphilis one of the major ones jumping on board with this trend, even though it was widely thought to be essentially a disease of the past. How could this be the case in an age of increased education about safe sexual practices? The answer, to the dismay of many of the younger population may be dating apps. Maybe this is exactly what defensive parents trying to get their children off of those apps and to meet people the ‘good old fashioned way’ want to hear, but it is still a worrisome trend that must be corrected. Whether it is less thoughtless usage or more education, the actions that the app developers and users take may play a significant impact on rates of transmission of these diseases.

To me, this news is not surprising. Even without having been a user of one, I know enough people that are users to know that many of the interactions set up by users of these apps are made very quickly, which is often the appeal and point of the apps in my opinion. This Politico article discusses the idea that individuals on these apps are often looking for brief relationships, and managing risk of STI transmission is put on the backburner when their thoughts are on quickly moving forward towards a sexual interaction. The apps involved also are hesitant to include information about syphilis and other STIs because they don’t want their app being associated with disease, as it hurts their image. Luckily, as of recently, some apps such as Grindr have moved in the direction of cooperation with organizations that promote STI prevention, taking measures to allow free ads for clinics offering STI screenings and pushing users to disclose any STIs they may have with a potential partner.

This is a particularly smart move, one that I wish more apps would take part in, and stop perpetuating the stigmatization of individuals with these diseases, as a measure of stopping disability and mortality associated with them. This is especially important with syphilis, as it is a potentially lethal disease when not treated. Luckily, it is often easily treatable with antibiotics, that is, assuming it doesn’t become resistant, but that is another conversation. While this is encouraging, one concern to keep in mind as brought up by an information sheet addressing rising syphilis rates in Nevada, that as with many STIs, individual with a long term syphilis infection carry a risk of passing it on congenitally, creating a deadly disease in children. All of this goes to say that even when it comes to relationships either short or long term, think about the health of you and your partner first.