Syphilis; Signs and Symptoms, Treatment and Prevention.

Syphilis is a bacterial infection that is sexually transmitted. It progresses in distinct stages. The disease is curable and progression is preventable if syphilis is caught early and treated. But if it isn't treated, it can cause serious damage to the cardiovascular system and brain and lead to blindness and nerve problems.

Syphilis is a highly contagious disease spread primarily by sexual activity, including oral and anal sex. Occasionally, the disease can be passed to another person through prolonged kissing or close bodily contact. Although this disease is spread from sores, the vast majority of those sores go unrecognized. The infected person is often unaware of the disease and unknowingly passes it on to his or her sexual partner.

Pregnant women with the disease can spread it to their baby. This disease, called congenital syphilis, can cause abnormalities or even death to the child.

Syphilis is often called "the great imitator," because its signs and symptoms are indistinguishable from those of other diseases.

Causes of Syphilis 
Syphilis is caused by a spiral-shaped bacterium called Treponema pallidum, which can enter the body through minor cuts or abrasions in the skin or through mucous membranes, most often during sex.

How common is Syphilis?
Syphilis was once a major public health threat, commonly causing serious long-term health problems such as arthritis, brain damage, and blindness. It defied effective treatment until the late 1940s, when the antibiotic penicillin was first developed.

According to the CDC, the rate of new cases of syphilis had plummeted in the 1990's and in the year 2000 it reached an all time low since reporting began in 1941. However, new cases of syphillis doubled between 2005 and 2013 from
8,724 to 16,663.

How is it transmitted? 
Syphilis is passed from person to person through direct contact with an infected ulcer. These ulcers occur most frequently on the external genitals, vagina, anus, or in the rectum. Occasionally, the sores also occur on the lips and in the mouth. Rarely, transmission can occur from ulcers on the hands. The genital ulcers of early syphilis can increase the risk of HIV transmission.

Thus, syphilis is transmitted during vaginal, anal, and oral sex. Pregnant women can pass the disease to the babies they are carrying.


Syphilis cannot be spread from toilet seats, door knobs, pools, hot tubs, shared clothing, or eating utensils.

How to know if one has Syphilis 
Syphilis infection occurs in three distinct stages:

Early or primary syphilis:
People with primary syphilis will develop one or more sores. The sores are usually small painless ulcers. They occur on the genitals or in or around the mouth somewhere between 10-90 days (average three weeks) after exposure. Even without treatment they heal without a scar within six weeks.

Secondary stage:

The secondary stage may last one to three months and begins within six weeks to six months after exposure. People with secondary syphilis experience a rosy "copper penny" rash typically on the palms of the hands and soles of the feet. However, rashes with a different appearance may occur on other parts of the body, sometimes resembling rashes caused by other diseases. They may also experience moist warts in the groin, white patches on the inside of the mouth, swollen lymph glands, fever, and weight loss. Like primary syphilis, secondary syphilis will resolve without treatment.

Latent syphilis. This is where the infection lies dormant (inactive) without causing symptoms.

Tertiary syphilis. If the infection isn't treated, it may then progress to a stage characterized by severe problems with the heart, brain, and nerves that can result in paralysis, blindness, dementia, deafness, impotence, and even death if it's not treated.

How is Syphilis Diagnosed?

Syphilis can be easily diagnosed with a quick and inexpensive blood test given at your doctor's office or at a public health clinic.

How Does Syphilis Affect a Pregnant Woman and Her Baby?

Depending on how long a pregnant woman has been infected with syphilis, she has a good chance of having a stillbirth (birth of an infant who has died prior to delivery) or of giving birth to a baby who dies shortly after birth.

If not treated immediately, an infected baby may be born without symptoms but could develop them within a few weeks. These signs and symptoms can be very serious. Untreated babies may become developmentally delayed, have seizures, or die.

Treatment 

If you've been infected with syphilis for less than a year, a single dose of penicillin is usually enough to destroy the infection. For those allergic to penicillin, tetracycline, doxycycline or another antibiotic can be given instead. If you are in a later stage of disease, more doses will be needed.

People who are being treated for syphilis must abstain from sexual contact until the infection is completely gone. Sexual partners of people with syphilis should be tested and, if necessary, treated.

What if Syphilis Is not Treated?

If syphilis is left untreated, it can cause serious and permanent problems such as dementia, blindness, or death.


How to Prevent Syphilis infection
To reduce your risk of syphilis infection:

Avoid intimate contact with a person you know is infected.
If you do not know if a sexual partner is infected, use a condom in every sexual encounter.

Prognosis 

Syphilis is a curable disease with prompt diagnosis and treatment. However, if treated too late, there may be permanent damage to the heart and brain even after the infection is destroyed.