Symptoms of Syphilis in Different Stages

With today's health conditions, you never know if you have a disease or not. Therefore, it is very important to understand STDs and their manifestations before it is too late.

Syphilis, or more commonly known as bad blood, syphilis, pox, and syphilis, is a systemic, highly contagious STD. It became less common after penicillin, but the disease has been on the rise since about 1960 and is one of the most commonly reported infectious diseases in the United States. It is caused by sensitive active Treponema pallidum. 

Although it cannot survive long outside the body, syphilis is highly contagious. Sexual transmission occurs only when primary and secondary syphilis are present. Adolescents, young adults, African American men, and homosexuals are most at risk.

Treponema pallidum enters the body through broken mucous membranes or broken skin, almost always through direct sexual contact. Once internalized, the organism reproduces locally and spreads systemically through the blood and lymphatic system. 

Infection can also be transmitted to the fetus through the placenta of an untreated pregnant woman at any stage of the disease. In rare cases, syphilis is acquired through nonsexual contact, accidental vaccination, or a blood transfusion from a syphilis donor. 

It can lead to irreversible blindness, mental illness, stroke, heart disease and even death. Get tested at your nearest STD clinic to find out if you have syphilis to prevent the disease from spreading.

Syphilis is characterized by well-defined successive stages that occur over years. They are primary, secondary, latent, terminal or tertiary. The main manifestation of primary syphilis is the appearance of a chancre. It is a raised, oval lesion with a firm border that does not bleed easily and is painless unless infected. At the injection site, a chancre usually develops on the genitals, anus, or mouth. 

Most commonly, a chancre develops about 4 weeks after the initial infection. Chancre is often underdiagnosed in women. Other symptoms associated with syphilis include painless, firm, and swollen lymph nodes. If left untreated, a chancre will heal spontaneously in 4 to 6 weeks, leaving a thin, atrophic scar.

If the primary disease is not treated, secondary syphilis appears 6 to 8 weeks after infection. Indications General rash; Common, nontender, isolated disease of the lymph nodes; sticky spots; extensive flat popular lesions; Common symptoms include nausea, anorexia, constipation, headache, muscle, joint and bone pain and chronic body temperature. 

Hair also falls on the eyebrows and scalp. Stage 2 symptoms usually disappear after two to six weeks, and then the incubation period begins. The incubation period of syphilis is usually asymptomatic. Latent syphilis is defined as the period after infection with Treponema pallidum, when the client has a positive blood test, with no other evidence of disease. 

At this stage, syphilis is not contagious unless transmitted through the placenta or blood transfusion. The incubation period is usually one to two years after the primary injury and can last up to 50 years.

About 33% of people with untreated syphilis develop chronic inflammation of the bones and joints, cardiovascular problems, granulomatous lesions anywhere on the body between 1 and 35 years after the initial infection, and a devastating, irreversible eye infection. , hearing and central nervous system problems. . System problems. This third stage, although not contagious, can be terminal.