Syphilis is a chronic STD, which can be acquired or congenital. It is easy to diagnose and treat in its early stages, but if left untreated it can cause complex complications in many organs and eventually lead to death. The disease is caused by TreponemaPallidum.

Syphilis may progress through 3 distinct stages, and each of the stages manifests different symptoms.

Primary phase: The primary phase usually starts between 10-90 days with a sore at the site of infection. The sore is called a chancre. This sore usually appears as a crater like lesion on the male or female genitals, although any part of the body is at risk. Anyone who touches an infected sore can transmit the infection. Regional painless swelling of the lymph nodes also occurs in association to the sores. All these initial lesions develops 3-4 weeks after infection and heals spontaneously after 1 week. Though the sore goes away, the disease does not. It progresses into the secondary phase.
Secondary phase: The secondary phase may develop 4-10 weeks after the appearance of genital ulcer.The genital ulcer is however still present in few people. This phase has many symptoms, which is why syphilis is called the great pretender. It may look like a number of other illnesses. This phase of syphilis can go away without treatment, but the disease then enters the third phase. These are the most frequently reported symptoms of the secondary phase:
Fever
Joint pain
Muscle aches
Sore throat
Flulike symptoms
Whole-body rash (usually involving the palms and soles)
Headache
Decreased appetite
Patchy hairloss
Swollen lymph nodes

Latent (dormant) phase: The early latent phase (first 1-2 years) is characterized by occasional relapses back to symptoms of the secondary phase of syphilis. More than 2 years after the start of the latent phase, you may have no symptoms and are generally not infectious. However, you can still transmit the infection from mother to fetus or through blood transfusions.

About a third of people with latent syphilis will progress after many years (or decades) into tertiary syphilis. During this phase, the heart, brain, skin, and bones are at risk. Luckily, with the advent of penicillin, this phase is very rarely seen today.

Congenital syphilis occurs after a fetus is infected in the womb. This form of syphilis causes teeth abnormalities, bone problems, liver/spleen/kidney enlargement, brain infection, failure to thrive/poor growth, swollen lymph nodes, yellow skin (Jaundice), low blood counts, and skin rashes.

When to Seek Medical Care

Contact your doctor to examine any strange sores on your penis or vagina. You should also speak to your doctor about any abnormal rashes that fail to go away within 1-2 days.

You should also call your doctor if you develop a new rash, sore throat, joint swelling, fever, or any new symptoms during or after the time you are being treated for syphilis.

Although syphilis may be treated in your doctor’s office, you should seek emergency care if you have any vision changes, pain with viewing bright lights, a stiff neck, high fevers, or sudden weakness in any part of the body. Syphilis can cause strokes.

Diagnosis

Syphilis can masquerade as any disease. Therefore, your doctor will carefully sort out the symptoms, ask when they appeared, and take a complete sexual history. The doctor may ask about your use of condoms and if your sexual partners show any similar symptoms.

During the primary phase, the doctor will look for a single, painless sore on the male or female Instruments . The mouth, anus, and other parts of the body may also be the site of the initial infection. Lymph nodes near a sore may be swollen.

During the primary phase, the doctor may obtain a sample of your sore and perform a dark-field (microscope) exam. This test may also be useful during the secondary phase.

Secondary syphilis frequently presents with a diffuse rash and swollen lymph nodes. Your doctor will also ask you about the progression of the rash. Your accurate and descriptive answers are very important. Lesions on the palms and soles of the feet make a diagnosis of syphilis more likely.

Blood testing is the cornerstone of diagnosis during the secondary phase. The doctor will usually order one of the following tests. All three help diagnose a syphilis infection.

RPR (rapid plasma reagin)
VDRL (venereal disease research laboratory)
FTA-ABS (fluorescent treponemal antibody absorption) or MHA-TP (microhemagglutination assay for T pallidum)
During the tertiary phase, the doctor may need to obtain a sample of your spinal fluid to check for infection and to measure the success of treatment.

Treatment

Unlike the diagnosis, treatment is fairly straightforward. During the primary, secondary, and early latent phases of syphilis, a single injection of penicillin cures the disease. People who are allergic to penicillin (and not pregnant) may be given oral antibiotics (such as doxycycline, tetracycline, or erythromycin) for 2 weeks.

People who are diagnosed to be in the late latent stage of syphilis (and are not sure how long they have been in this stage) and those with tertiary syphilis will require 3 injections, each 1 week apart. Oral antibiotics (most likely, doxycycline or tetracycline) are usually given to people in this stage who are allergic to penicillin.

If syphilis has advanced to neurosyohilis (or brain involvement), treatment with IV penicillin every 4 hours for 10-14 days may be required. An alternative is penicillin injections (once per day) with oral probenecid (4 times a day) for 10-14 days.

A pregnant woman with syphilis must have penicillin, even if she is allergic to it. She must tell her doctor of this allergy to allow for desensitization procedures.

After treatment with penicillin, a Jarisch-Herxheimer reaction may occur 2-12 hours after . For more disease symptoms & Treatments

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