How does syphilis start

Syphilis can be challenging to diagnose. Someone can have it without showing any symptoms for years. However, the earlier syphilis is discovered, the better.

Syphilis that remains untreated for a long time can cause major damage to important organs, like the heart and brain. Syphilis is only spread through direct contact with syphilitic chancres. When syphilis is in the hidden, or latent, stage, the disease remains active but often with no symptoms.

Tertiary syphilis is the most destructive to health. The primary stage of syphilis occurs about three to four weeks after a person contracts the bacteria. It begins with a small, round sore called a chancre.

This sore may appear wherever the bacteria entered the body, such as on or inside the mouth, genitals, or rectum. On average, the sore shows up around three weeks after infection, but it can take between 10 and 90 days to appear. The sore remains for anywhere between two to six weeks. Syphilis is transmitted by direct contact with a sore. This usually occurs during sexual activity, including oral sex.

Skin rashes and a sore throat may develop during the second stage of syphilis. These symptoms will go away whether or not treatment is received. However, without treatment, a person still has syphilis.

The third stage of syphilis is the latent, or hidden, stage. However, the bacteria remain in the body. This stage could last for years before progressing to tertiary syphilis. The last stage of infection is tertiary syphilis. Tertiary syphilis can occur years or decades after the initial infection. Tertiary syphilis can be life-threatening. Some other potential outcomes of tertiary syphilis include:.

If you think you might have syphilis, go to your doctor as soon as possible. If a sore is present, your doctor may take a sample from the sore to determine if the syphilis bacteria are present. During this procedure, spinal fluid is collected so that your doctor can test for syphilis bacteria. This is to prevent the fetus from being infected with congenital syphilis. Congenital syphilis can cause severe damage in a newborn and can even be fatal.

You can also consider ordering an at-home syphilis testing kit. Primary and secondary syphilis are easy to treat with a penicillin injection. Penicillin is one of the most widely used antibiotics and is usually effective in treating syphilis. People who are allergic to penicillin will likely be treated with a different antibiotic, such as:. During the first primary stage of syphilis, you may notice a single sore or multiple sores. The sore is the location where syphilis entered your body.

Sores are usually but not always firm, round, and painless. Because the sore is painless, it can easily go unnoticed. The sore usually lasts 3 to 6 weeks and heals regardless of whether or not you receive treatment. Even after the sore goes away, you must still receive treatment. This will stop your infection from moving to the secondary stage. Mucous membrane lesions are sores in your mouth, vagina, or anus. This stage usually starts with a rash on one or more areas of your body.

The rash can show up when your primary sore is healing or several weeks after the sore has healed. Other symptoms you may have can include fever, swollen lymph glands, sore throat, patchy hair loss, headaches, weight loss, muscle aches, and fatigue feeling very tired.

The symptoms from this stage will go away whether or not you receive treatment. Without the right treatment, your infection will move to the latent and possibly tertiary stages of syphilis. The latent stage of syphilis is a period of time when there are no visible signs or symptoms of syphilis.

If you do not receive treatment, you can continue to have syphilis in your body for years without any signs or symptoms. Most people with untreated syphilis do not develop tertiary syphilis.

However, when it does happen it can affect many different organ systems. These include the heart and blood vessels, and the brain and nervous system. Tertiary syphilis is very serious and would occur 10—30 years after your infection began. In tertiary syphilis, the disease damages your internal organs and can result in death. Without treatment, syphilis can spread to the brain and nervous system neurosyphilis or to the eye ocular syphilis. This can happen during any of the stages described above.

Most of the time, a blood test is used to test for syphilis. Some health care providers will diagnose syphilis by testing fluid from a syphilis sore. Yes, syphilis can be cured with the right antibiotics from your health care provider.

However, treatment might not undo any damage that the infection has already done. Author: Healthwise Staff. This information does not replace the advice of a doctor.

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You are here Home » Stages of Syphilis. Top of the page. Topic Overview Syphilis is described in terms of its four stages: primary, secondary, latent hidden , and tertiary late. Primary stage During the primary stage, a sore chancre that is usually painless develops at the site where the bacteria entered the body.

In men, a chancre often appears in the genital area, usually but not always on the penis. These sores are often painless. In women, chancres can develop on the outer genitals or on the inner part of the vagina. A chancre may go unnoticed if it occurs inside the vagina or at the opening to the uterus cervix , because the sores are usually painless and are not easily visible.

Swelling of the lymph nodes may occur near the area of the chancre. A chancre may also occur in an area of the body other than the genitals. The chancre lasts for 3 to 6 weeks, heals without treatment, and may leave a thin scar. But even though the chancre has healed, syphilis is still present and a person can still pass the infection to others. Secondary stage Secondary syphilis is characterized by a rash that appears from 2 to 8 weeks after the chancre develops and sometimes before it heals.

The rash usually consists of a reddish brown, small, solid, flat or raised skin sore or sores that are less than 2 cm 0. The rash may look like other more common skin problems. Small, open sores may be present on mucous membranes.