Symptoms
Syphilis is a really common STD. Syphilis is spread through vaginal, anal, and oral sex. Syphilis causes sores on your genitals and are usually painless, but they can easily spread the infection to other people. You get syphilis from contact with the sores. A lot of people with syphilis do not notice the sores and feel fine, so they might not know they have it.
Primary Stage
A syphilis sore (called a chancre) pops up — that sore is where the syphilis infection entered your body. Chancres are usually firm, round, and painless, or sometimes open and wet. There’s often only 1 sore, but you may have more. Chancres can show up on your vulva, vagina, anus, penis, scrotum, and sometimes on the lips or mouth. The sores may also hide deep in the vagina, under the foreskin, inside the rectum, and other places that are hard to see.
Syphilis sores are super contagious and the infection can easily be passed to others during sexual intercourse. It can be easy to mistake a chancre for an ingrown hair, or a pimple. The sores may be hard to notice since they may not be painful and can live in hidden places.
Chancres typically show up anywhere between 3 weeks and 3 months after you get the infection. The sores usually last about 3 to 6 weeks and then go away on their own — with or without treatment. But if you don’t get treated, you still have syphilis, even if the sores are gone. You have to take medication to cure syphilis and stop it from moving to the next stage.
Secondary Stage
Secondary stage symptoms include rashes on the palms of your hands, soles of your feet, or other parts of your body. The secondary syphilis rash is sometimes hard to see, and it usually doesn’t itch. You may feel sick and have mild flu-like symptoms, like a slight fever, feeling tired, sore throat, swollen glands, headache, and muscle aches. You can also have sores in your mouth, vagina, or anus, and weight or hair loss.
Secondary stage symptoms (syphilis rash) can last 2 to 6 weeks at a time, and may come and go for up to 2 years. They’re similar to other common illnesses, so it can be hard to tell it’s syphilis. The symptoms from this stage will go away by themselves with or without treatment. But unless you get treated for syphilis, you’ll still have the infection in your body and it can move into the dangerous later stages. That’s why STD testing is so important.
Late Stage
In between the secondary stage and the late stage, there may be times when your syphilis infection is latent (there are no signs or symptoms at all) for months or even years — but you still need treatment to get rid of it. People who have had syphilis for a long time face serious health problems. Late stages of syphilis can cause tumors, blindness, and paralysis. It can damage your nervous system, brain and other organs, and may even kill you.
Syphilis is easily curable with antibiotics in the early stages. If you get treatment late, it will still cure the infection and stop future damage to your body. But the damage that late stage syphilis has already caused can’t be changed or healed. The complications from late stage syphilis can happen 10-20 years after you first get infected.
A syphilis sore (called a chancre) pops up — that sore is where the syphilis infection entered your body. Chancres are usually firm, round, and painless, or sometimes open and wet. There’s often only 1 sore, but you may have more. Chancres can show up on your vulva, vagina, anus, penis, scrotum, and sometimes on the lips or mouth. The sores may also hide deep in the vagina, under the foreskin, inside the rectum, and other places that are hard to see.
Syphilis sores are super contagious and the infection can easily be passed to others during sexual intercourse. It can be easy to mistake a chancre for an ingrown hair, or a pimple. The sores may be hard to notice since they may not be painful and can live in hidden places.
Chancres typically show up anywhere between 3 weeks and 3 months after you get the infection. The sores usually last about 3 to 6 weeks and then go away on their own — with or without treatment. But if you don’t get treated, you still have syphilis, even if the sores are gone. You have to take medication to cure syphilis and stop it from moving to the next stage.
Secondary Stage
Secondary stage symptoms include rashes on the palms of your hands, soles of your feet, or other parts of your body. The secondary syphilis rash is sometimes hard to see, and it usually doesn’t itch. You may feel sick and have mild flu-like symptoms, like a slight fever, feeling tired, sore throat, swollen glands, headache, and muscle aches. You can also have sores in your mouth, vagina, or anus, and weight or hair loss.
Secondary stage symptoms (syphilis rash) can last 2 to 6 weeks at a time, and may come and go for up to 2 years. They’re similar to other common illnesses, so it can be hard to tell it’s syphilis. The symptoms from this stage will go away by themselves with or without treatment. But unless you get treated for syphilis, you’ll still have the infection in your body and it can move into the dangerous later stages. That’s why STD testing is so important.
Late Stage
In between the secondary stage and the late stage, there may be times when your syphilis infection is latent (there are no signs or symptoms at all) for months or even years — but you still need treatment to get rid of it. People who have had syphilis for a long time face serious health problems. Late stages of syphilis can cause tumors, blindness, and paralysis. It can damage your nervous system, brain and other organs, and may even kill you.
Syphilis is easily curable with antibiotics in the early stages. If you get treatment late, it will still cure the infection and stop future damage to your body. But the damage that late stage syphilis has already caused can’t be changed or healed. The complications from late stage syphilis can happen 10-20 years after you first get infected.
Treatment
Syphilis is usually super easy to get rid of in the early stages. Your nurse or doctor will prescribe antibiotics to treat the infection — usually penicillin, unless you’re allergic or can’t take it for other reasons.
If you’re having syphilis treatment, it’s really important for your sexual partners to get treated also. Otherwise, you may pass the infection back and forth, or to other people.
If you’re getting treated for syphilis:
If you’re having syphilis treatment, it’s really important for your sexual partners to get treated also. Otherwise, you may pass the infection back and forth, or to other people.
If you’re getting treated for syphilis:
- Take all of your medicine the way your doctor tells you to, even if your symptoms go away sooner.
- Your partner(s) should also get tested and treated for syphilis so you don’t re-infect each other or anyone else.
- Don’t have any kind of sex (vaginal, anal, oral) until you and your partners have finished your treatments, and any sores are totally healed.
- Don’t share your medicine with anyone. If your partner needs treatment, you should each get your own separate doses of antibiotics. Make sure you both take all of the medicine prescribed to you.
- Even if you finish your treatment and the syphilis is totally gone, it’s still possible to get a new syphilis infection again if you’re exposed in the future. Syphilis isn’t a one-time-only deal. So use condoms and/or dental dams and get tested regularly
Resources:
https://www.cdc.gov/std/syphilis/stdfact-syphilis-detailed.htm
https://www.cdc.gov/std/syphilis/stdfact-msm-syphilis.htm
https://www.cdc.gov/std/syphilis/stdfact-congenital-syphilis.htm
https://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/stds-hiv-safer-sex/syphilis
https://www.cdc.gov/std/syphilis/stdfact-syphilis-detailed.htm
https://www.cdc.gov/std/syphilis/stdfact-msm-syphilis.htm
https://www.cdc.gov/std/syphilis/stdfact-congenital-syphilis.htm
https://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/stds-hiv-safer-sex/syphilis