Syphilis
What is it?
Syphilis is caused by a bacteria. If not treated, syphilis has serious long term effects.
What are the symptoms?
It's easy for the symptoms of syphilis to go unnoticed. A painless sore or ulcer appears in the area of sexual contact in the early stages after infection - somewhere between 10 to 90 days after exposure. The sores usually are not painful and clear up after two to six weeks, but the bacteria remains.
Women and men may not notice symptoms because sores can be painless and out of sight on the vaginal walls, on the rectum or under the foreskin. Because the sore is not painful, it is often ignored.
In the second stage, a few people sometimes notice a rash on the palms of their hands or soles of their feet, or somewhere else on the body. Second stage symptoms, if they develop, usually occur from seven to ten weeks after infection.
After stage one and two there can also be a long stage where there are no symptoms. This is referred to as latent syphilis. If left untreated for many years, it can lead to serious health complications that can include spine, heart and brain damage.
How is it transmitted?
Syphilis is usually contracted during vaginal, anal or oral intercourse. It is transmitted from one person coming into contact with the infection during sex. It can also be transmitted during pregnancy from a mother to her baby.
How can I prevent transmission?
Condoms can reduce some of the risk of transmission but they will not always cover the infected area. Avoid touching any sore or rash.
How is it diagnosed?
A swab (long cotton bud) can be taken from the sore if it is present and sent to a laboratory for testing, otherwise a blood test is needed. Once someone has been infected with syphilis the infection will always show up on a syphilis blood test even though they have been successfully and adequately treated.
Routine tests during pregnancy often include a syphilis blood test, to prevent the infection from being passed unknowingly from the mother to the unborn child.
How is it treated?
Once detected, syphilis is relatively easily cured by penicillin injections. The course of injections will vary and be dependent upon the drug used and the stage of syphilis that is being treated. Your sexual partner(s) will need treatment too so they don't give it back to you or pass it on to someone else.
If left untreated for many years, it can lead to serious health problems that can include spine, heart and brain damage. Nowadays this is quite rare as syphilis can be treated.