Syphilis: What You Need to Know About It

Do you know the disease called Syphilis and do you know how you could get it? What would be the symptoms of this disease and what would be its effect on your health? Do you know how you would be cured? This article could help you answer these questions regarding the disease called syphilis.

According to Wikipedia, Syphilis is a sexually transmitted disease (STD) that is caused by the bacteria Treoponema Pallidum. It often targets the areas of the body used in sexual activities such as the genitalia, lips, mouth, and the anus. This infection mostly happens on people with multiple sex partners, prostitutes, people who rent prostitutes, and people who have unclean sexual practices.

As a STD, its main mode of transmission is via sexual activities such as vaginal, oral, and anal sex. If a pregnant mother is infected by this disease, she could transmit the disease to her baby upon birth. This could cause complications to the baby such us eye and respiratory infections.

Syphilis generally has 3 stages and each stage shows a corresponding symptom. This infection is also referred to as the "Great Imitator" because it shows symptoms that are similar to other diseases. This often causes confusion and mistake on diagnosis.

The first stage of syphilis is called primary syphilis and this stage happens 2-12 weeks after you have been infected. Symptoms of this stage include the appearance of skin lesions. These skin lesions are called chancre. It appears on the site that has been infected by the bacteria. It could be in your genital (from vaginal intercourse), mouth (from oral sex), or rectum (from anal sex). But it could appear on any site of your body as long as it got a direct contact with the bacteria. The chancre last for 4 to 6 weeks and could heal without applying any treatment. But if the infection is not treated at this stage, it would move to the next stage.

The next stage is the secondary syphilis. It happens 6 to 8 weeks after the primary syphilis. At this point, the bacteria have already entered your blood and have been transported to different parts of your body. This stage could show symptoms such as small red rashes on your extremities and palms. But these rashes are not itchy. When they appear on moist skin, these rashes are called condylomata. They occur at the vaginal area and the mouth. You would be most contagious at this stage of the infection. Other symptoms would include sudden loss of weight, headaches, fevers, muscle pain, sore throat, and enlargement of lymph nodes. You could also develop meningitis and liver or kidney complications at this stage.

The last stage is the tertiary syphilis. The infection reaches this stage if it was not cured during the first 2 stages. In this stage, you would develop granulomas. Granulomas are characterized as soft, tumor-like balls of inflammation. It could appear on any part of your body including your bones.

So the lesson here is that once you have been diagnosed with this infection, have it cured immediately. Going to STD clinics is a sure-fire way to ensure that you can diagnose this disease early and prevent further complications.