A 30-something, 6-month pregnant lady came to clinic the other day with a complaint of having a rash on her abdomen. When she lifted her shirt, I saw three medium sized papillomas in a curved line on the right side of her pregnant belly. They appeared to be in 3 different stages of development, 2 of which had central ulcerations.
I really had no idea what it was. I looked to my translator/ nurse for an idea. She said “it looks like yaws.” “YAWS?” I said, trying to figure out if she was just pronouncing an English word in a funny way. She repeated it. Then Mrs. Faile came into the room and agreed. “That looks like yaws.” I was still confused.
Come to find out, yaws is one of those diseases that I read about a long time ago, probably just once, figuring I would never see it. It is a non-venereal cousin of syphillis. The treatment is Penicillin or Erythromycin, both of which are safe in pregnancy.