What Is Syphilis?

A bacterium called Treponema pallidum is the source of the STI known as syphilis. If untreated, the virus, which is transmitted through sexual contact, can advance through four stages. The primary, secondary, latent, and tertiary stages each have distinct indications and symptoms.

The body-wide spread of the infection-causing bacteria can result in a variety of health problems. Syphilis can manifest as neurosyphilis, ocular syphilis, or otosyphilis. The mouth, genitalia, anus, throat, heart, blood vessels, liver, bones, and joints are just a few of the organs that can be impacted by syphilis.

The stages of infection including the symptoms, causes, and available treatments for syphilis are covered in this page.

Stages and signs of syphilis

A syphilis infection has four stages. Untreated syphilis can cause a person to progressively progress from one stage to another over the course of ten or more years.

Primary

Typically, three weeks after introduction to the germs, the major stage of syphilis sets in. Infection symptoms, however, might show up in as little as 10 days or take up to 90. Syphilis enters the body through the site of the chancre. The following are the indications and symptoms of primary syphilis:

• chancres or sores in the vaginal area that cause no pain
• enlarged lymph nodes
• Chancres that develop on different parts of the body (not just in the genitals)
• Syphilis sores will naturally heal after three to six weeks, but if ignored, the infection will develop into secondary syphilis.
• Undiagnosed Syphilis Wounds

Because they are painless, small, and difficult to spot if they are inside the body, as in the vagina or anus, primary syphilis chancres frequently go undiagnosed. They might occasionally fill with liquid, although it's not always the case.

Secondary

Typically, the secondary stage starts eight weeks after a chancre appears in the primary stage. The symptoms that emerge during this stage are radically different from those in primary syphilis and can include:

• Fever Headaches Rough, red or reddish-brown skin rashes can appear on the palms of the hands or soles of the feet, and a maculopapular rash, which combines flat discoloration and raised bumps, can appear elsewhere on the body. Sores in the mouth, vagina, or anus can also appear. Raised and large gray or white lesions (condyloma lata) can also appear.

In some instances, secondary syphilis can also result in the emergence of neurological symptoms, such as:

• Nerve palsies that can result in discomfort, dizziness, or paralysis
• eye discomfort or rosiness
• When the brain's and spinal cord's protective membrane becomes inflamed, meningitis results.
• Memory problems
• confusion and character shifts

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