One of the most severe syphilis cases in years

When Ársæll Hjálmarsson went to see a doctor because of problems with his vision, he never imagined he would be diagnosed with one of the most severe cases of syphilis in recent years in Iceland.

Ársæll Hjálmarsson is sharing his experiences with syphilis to educate others in Iceland about the disease.

Syphilis has been on the rise in Iceland since 2014. And, with cases like Ársæll’s, some health professionals are sounding the alarm about a syphilis outbreak in the country.

But Ársæll is taking his diagnosis in stride. He’s sharing his experiences with syphilis to educate others in Iceland about the disease and to draw attention to gaps in Iceland’s sexual health framework.

“Rcently I asked the doctor if it was true that I’m one of the worst cases that they’ve seen, and she said this is one of the worst cases in a while because they’ve never had someone come in for an eye check and find out that it’s in their nervous system right away. Whether correct or not, it’s one of the most severe cases,” Ársæll tells me when I ask him about it and adds: “She said it’s rare that the syphilis reaches the central nervous system (neurosyphilis). People usually get treated before that happens. And she also thought that it was quite weird that I didn’t have any symptoms, except the headache.”

But what prompted him to go see a doctor in the first place? “After having headaches and the floaters in my vision for three or four weeks. Something I just thought was migraines. So I didn’t think it could be anything worse than that. But then I started to feel more pressure in my eyes, I became more light-sensitive, and I did not understand why the migraine was so stubborn. The pressure became so much that I couldn’t see and I had a black cloud over my right eye, so basically I could only see 20 per cent with that eye.

“The worst thing that I thought I could ever get was chlamydia. … I didn’t even know syphilis was a thing that was rising … There’s an outbreak, apparently.”

That’s when I went to the ER in (town) Keflavik to get it checked, and they couldn’t do anything. They just looked at me and said: ‘We don’t know what it is. Here, have painkillers and we’ll send you to the eye specialist at (hospital) Landspítalinn in Reykjavík’.”

So Ársæll went to an eye specialist in Reykjavík who came to the conclusion that things were not quite normal. Another specialist therefor took a look at him and he was the one who asked whether it might be possible that Ársæll had STIs? “And I said: ‘I don’t know, I haven’t been checked in a while’,” Ársæll recalls. “They said they thought it might be syphilis, and that I’d have to have a spinal fluid test done at (hospital) Borgarspítalinn. They said from there I would be hospitalized for ten days or up to fourteen days if they found out the syphilis had entered my central nervous system. Thirty minutes later they started pumping my veins with antibiotics.”

Is it normal for symptoms to take so long to appear and for it to affect your eyesight? “It’s a stage two and stage three symptom. And when it reaches your central nervous system that’s a stage three or four. And that’s really serious, because it could affect you later in life.

“The first thing I thought of was: I need to take responsibility for what I did. Now I have to contact everyone I’ve had sex with for the past twelve months, at least.”

Thankfully my eyes are getting better and getting back to where they were, but still there may be leftovers of the floaters. And there can be an effect on your mental health as well. It can turn you mentally ill for the long-term. That’s why they took really seriously the fact that it was in my eyes and later in my central nervous system.”

What went through your mind when you found out you had neurosyphilis?

“The first thing I thought of was: I need to take responsibility for what I did. Now I have to contact everyone I’ve had sex with for the past twelve months, at least. But I went further, to eighteen months or two years, because I did not know when I got syphilis. I had not been checked since 2014.”

Do you have any idea how you got infected?

“Well, I’m allergic to latex. And finding latex-free condoms in Iceland is like finding a needle in a haystack. Why should I be jumping around every pharmacy looking for latex-free condoms? That’s just absurd. They should be available everywhere they have condoms.”

Why is it important for you to be so open about your experiences? “I don’t want anyone else to go through what I’m going through. That’s basically the reason why. Young gays are careless, and they think that if someone says they’re on PrEP or that they got checked a month ago that it’s okay to have unprotected sex. Which it’s not, because PrEP is only for HIV and not other diseases. And I knew that, but still I had unprotected sex a lot.

“They say syphilis and gonorrhea are here to stay, because people are not being responsible in their sex lives. They’re … not protected when they have sex.”

The worst thing that I thought I could ever get was chlamydia. I never thought I would get syphilis. I didn’t even know syphilis was a thing that was rising and becoming such a big deal in Iceland. There’s an outbreak, apparently.”

Why do you think there’s an outbreak of syphilis right now? “They say syphilis and gonorrhea are here to stay, because people are not being responsible in their sex lives. They’re not getting checked regularly, they’re not protected when they have sex. Also, you can get syphilis from other ways than just having penetrative sex. You can get it from blowjobs, if you touch the person’s hives or sores.”

And you think there is not enough awareness about syphilis?

“There needs to be something, especially in the high schools where young people who are getting more sexually active need to be aware of the danger of skipping the condom,” says Ársæll.

“I’d like to see more posters or more advertisements saying ‘practice safe sex.’ I would like sex education in schools to be better. There needs to be something, especially in the high schools where young people who are getting more sexually active need to be aware of the danger of skipping the condom.”

Asked what his plans are after his treatment, Ársæll says that he’s going to organize a sex health/PrEP talk/Q&A drag show where he will tell his story and get other people to share their stories as well. “I’d like to get one of the disease specialists to come and talk about the diseases, how you get them and how it spreads. And then I want to have a petition to have latex-free condoms available everywhere they sell condoms in Iceland, that the price of condoms should be lowered, and that PrEP should be on the market sooner than they are planning.”

ABOUT SYPHILIS

What do symptoms look like?
Primary stage – Painless sores around the genitals and/or mouth
Secondary stage – Red or brown rashes on your hands and/or feet
Tertiary stage – Paralysis, numbness, blindness, heart disease (usually only after having untreated syphilis for several years)

How do you get syphilis?
Through oral, anal or vaginal sex with someone who has syphilis
If you are pregnant, you can pass on syphilis to your baby
You can pass on syphilis even if you don’t have any symptoms

How is syphilis treated?
With penicillin, an antibiotic
It is completely curable with treatment
However, if left untreated there can be lasting impacts

(Information from the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention www.cdc.gov/std/syphilis)

Á. Óskarsson
Á. Óskarsson

Á. Óskarsson offers a variety of products and services to sports centers, swimming pools, schools, kindergartens, and the general public. The company specializes in sport-related products, activity-focused games, and a wide range of solutions for sports facilities.

Á. Óskarsson has been involved in numerous big projects related to building sports facilities and has made it their benchmark to offer good quality products and equipment since the company was founded.

See links to social media in the upper left-hand corner

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Á. Óskarsson selur fjölbreytt vöruúrval fyrir íþróttahús, sundlaugar, skóla og leikskóla og einnig ýmsar vörur til einkaafnota. Fyrirtækið selur vörur til íþróttaiðkunnar og leikja ásamt því að bjóða upp á ýmsar lausnir fyrir íþróttamannvirki.

Á. Óskarsson hefur komið að fjölda stórra verkefna við byggingu íþróttamannvirkja og hefur frá stofnun kappkostað að bjóða vandaðar og endingargóðar vörur.

Tenglar á samfélagsmiðla eru í efra horninu vinstra megin.

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      Our creative flavors are carefully crafted by meticulous chocolate makers. The cacao beans are roasted, winnowed, ground, and refined into melty-smooth chocolate.

      Omnom’s process is one of constant exploration, invention, and experimentation. If it doesn’t please us, if something isn’t absolutely delicious, there’s no reason to be doing it. So, we always start with our taste buds and follow our instincts. Our team searches for the finest ingredients in the world and new ways to improve chocolate. This obsession with knowing where our ingredients come from has led us around the corner to dairy farms in the Icelandic countryside and all the way to rainforest cacao farms of Nicaragua.

      In only a few short years, we’ve grown from our 50 sq. m. petrol station space and become an award-winning chocolate maker. Now, with our headquarters in 101 Reykjavík, our chocolate is sent out around Iceland and all over the world.

      At the end of the day, our goal is to make chocolate.

       

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        With over 4,300 employees in 39 offices around the world, at Nasdaq we all contribute to the success of the company and its culture, and each one of us has the ability to make a difference. When it comes to our core mission and values, we embrace the role of Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging (DIB) as a fundamental driver of our corporate growth, workplace culture and market development. We strive to create a culture that embraces the power of different perspectives—a culture where people’s unique backgrounds and different experiences helps us fuel innovation and support our clients around the world.

        Our unique position at the center of the capital markets allows us to see firsthand how these values have redefined corporate culture and success, deepening and accelerating our own commitment to champion inclusive growth and prosperity, as we strive to create more equitable opportunities to help people of all backgrounds reach their full potential. Most notably, we published our diversity statistics for the first time in 2020. These metrics serve as a quantitative assessment of where we are today and help determine what strategies we need to adopt to enhance diversity in the workplace. We recognize that we have much work to do, but we are steadfast in our commitment to creating a diverse and inclusive culture—one that reflects the communities in which we live, allows all employees to be their true, authentic selves and fosters individual growth and achievement.

        As we move forward together, we will continue advancing diverse ideas and perspectives that help fulfill the promise of a more inclusive and prosperous world. We aim to set the pace for rethinking capital markets and economies anywhere and everywhere. To learn more about the company, technology solutions and career opportunities, visit us on LinkedIn, on Twitter @Nasdaq, or at www.nasdaq.com.

        Blue Lagoon
        - One of the 25 Wonders of the World

        Named by National Geographic as one of the 25 Wonders of the World, the Blue Lagoon is a shimmering expanse of warmth, relaxation, and rejuvenation. Its unique geothermal seawater
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        From its humble beginnings in the shadows of a geothermal power plant, Blue Lagoon has evolved into a world of wonder, now encompassing two hotels, three restaurants, three
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        It intends to achieve this aim by building solid infrastructure and a strong team of 1.100 employees, by listening to its customers and by respecting and encouraging its employees to actively participate in their community. Landsbankinn was a founding member of Festa, a Centre for Corporate Social Responsibility, and is a member of the UN Global Compact.

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        VSÓ Ráðgjöf

           

          VSÓ Ráðgjöf er alhliða ráðgjafar- og verkfræðifyrirtæki sem leggur áherslu á trausta og faglega þjónustu sem tryggir viðskiptavinum hagkvæmustu lausnir hverju sinni, skilar raunverulegum árangri og stuðlar að samkeppnisforskoti.  Á skrifstofum VSÓ í Reykjavík og í Noregi starfar yfir 80 manna samhentur hópur verkfræðinga og annarra tæknimenntaðra starfsmanna.

          Macland
          - for all your Apple needs
          Macland

          From starting out as a proper startup with only a good idea and the need to change things, to becoming an established company with 6 employees. Starting from scratch and expanding organically has allowed us to love our expansion and take our customers on the ride with us.

          Macland is located at Laugavegur 23 (101, Downtown Reykjavik)
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          Ísey skyr
          - once tasted never forgotten

          Our Story
          Once upon a time, 1,100 years ago in fact, Nordic settlers began arriving in Iceland. They brought with them the skills and knowledge for producing skyr. As time passed, the know-how and recipe for this nutritious food slowly faded out elsewhere in the Nordic region. Luckily, the Icelandic skyr-making tradition continued.

          For centuries, Icelandic skyr formed a cornerstone of the national diet, helping to keep people strong in living conditions that were often harsh. On family farms countrywide, it was the women who nurtured this dairy and passing on both the recipe and the original Icelandic skyr cultures from mother to daughter.

          Ísey skyr builds on this remarkable legacy. It was some of those very same women, the recipients of their mothers’ expertise, who, around 90 years ago, taught Icelandic dairy scientists the art of skyr-making. The production process is more high-tech these days, and the quality standards more rigorous. However, the basic recipe and the use of original cultures to ferment the skimmed milk remain the same. Protein rich, fat-free, creamy and delicious – Ísey skyr is as relevant to consumers now as it was all those centuries ago.
          This is our secret and you are in on it

          You can read more about Ísey skyr on our website.

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