"In February last year I found a scab at the end of my penis. I was a bit concerned about it but didn't feel unwell so I didn't actually go to the doctor for a couple of weeks. They didn't know what it was, but they took some blood tests.

A week or so later the surgery rang me and said I had syphilis. I was mortified. Syphilis sounded so medieval. I was in a long-term relationship and practised safe sex, so I couldn't understand how I had got it. The first question the doctors asked me was whether I had been to Manchester recently, as there had been something of an epidemic there. That's when it all fell into place. My boyfriend lived in Manchester and he had obviously been sleeping with other people.

It was all very upsetting. We had been together for three years and my boyfriend was shame-faced. We split up pretty much there and then.

He didn't have any visible symptoms, but I know now that they can take 90 days to show. The scab - called a chancre - is the first sign and when it gets contagious, you get a rash. By the time I got the diagnosis, I did have a rash and was feeling a bit tired. Some people can get fevers and aching muscles.

The treatment was really unpleasant and embarrassing. I had to have a daily injection of antibiotics in my buttocks for two weeks. That meant I had to go to the doctor either before work or in my lunch hour every day.

The whole thing was very painful. Fourteen injections leave you pretty bruised. The antibiotics themselves seemed to be very thick, so it wasn't exactly a pleasant experience.

I suppose I knew that syphilis was around, but it wasn't really anything I was worried about. I hadn't realised it was so easy to pick up, so contagious. It's actually much easier to catch than HIV, but it was HIV and Aids that I had always worried about.

I think if people were more aware that syphilis is around, they would behave more warily. I didn't go to the doctor for a while, so if I had been sleeping around, I could have infected loads of other people.

Even though all this was over a year ago, I still have to have blood tests every six months and the fact that I've had syphilis will be seen in my blood for years to come. I'm not too happy about that.

The whole thing has knocked my trust in human beings. It was frightening, stressful and depressing. I now have a new boyfriend but didn't have sex for about four months after being diagnosed with syphilis.