Syphilis treatment from a health care provider is one needle of antibiotic in each bum cheek during the same visit. Each needle poke lasts about 10 seconds. Some people say it hurts, whereas others report that it’s not that bad. The best strategy to minimize pain is to relax your muscles during the injection.
A little bit of pain is normal and expected. You can take an over-the-counter pain medication, use a heating pad or a warm bath and generally take it easy the following day. Just treat it as if you had a really intense leg workout the day before and go easy on yourself. After that, you’ll be back to normal in no time.
If in the 24 hours after treatment you experience serious side effects like headaches, fever, muscle pains or low blood pressure, contact your health care provider.
If you’re still anxious about the treatment, it can be helpful to remember that it is the only way to get rid of syphilis. These antibiotics will clear your infection, not just the symptoms, so it’s important even if you “feel fine.” Syphilis will not go away on it’s own, and if left untreated can have serious health effects for you and your partner(s).
Good luck, you are taking the right step to get it treated!
