From
the Journal of the American Medical Association, July 26, 2000 – Vol. 284, No.
4 .PDF on Syphilis and Symptoms
Syphilis is a disease caused by an organism called Treponema pallidum. Syphilis is treated with antibiotics, a group of drugs used to treat infections caused by bacteria. If untreated, the organisms move throughout the body and can cause damage to many organs, making syphilis a life-threatening disease if not treated early enough.
People who have been infected with syphilis experience different symptoms during the 3 stages of the disease. The early symptoms can be mild, so it is important to be watchful for the symptoms if you are sexually active. If you experience any of the following symptoms, or suspect that you may have had contact with a person infected with syphilis, get treatment from your physician or a clinic that specializes in STDs. A blood test can indicate if you need treatment.
The first symptom usually is a small sore called a chancre that can be painless. The chancre can appear any time from 10 days to 3 months after the time of infection. However, it usually appears within 2 to 6 weeks of infection. The chancre most often appears in the genital area, but it can appear anywhere on the body, such as the lips, mouth, tongue, or rectum. When it is on the penis or outer genitalia of a woman it will be visible, but if it is in a woman’s vagina or on her cervix the chancre is difficult to notice. The chancre usually disappears within a few weeks whether or not the person gets treatment.
The symptoms of the second stage of syphilis often include a rash anywhere from 3 to 6 weeks after the chancre appeared. The rash may cover the whole body or may appear only in one area, but the rash usually includes the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet. There may be other symptoms such as mild fever, fatigue, headache, sore throat, and swollen lymph glands. These symptoms may be mild, like the first-stage symptoms.
In late stage syphilis, damage occurs to the heart, eyes, brain, nervous system, bones, joints, or almost any other part of the body. The final stages of syphilis can result in neurologic problems such as mental illness or blindness, heart disease, and death.