Symptoms of this disease can be difficult to notice. They can come and go with time. Therefore, the best way to know whether a person has syphilis is to undergo testing.

Most of the time, people do not even realize that they have syphilis - this is part of the reason why this is a common infection (and why it's so important to get tested).

Symptoms of syphilis can be so mild that people do not even notice. Sometimes, patients do not distinguish syphilis symptoms from other things, such as pimples or rash. Symptoms of syphilis come and go with time, but this does not mean that the infection is leaving the body. The only way to get rid of syphilis is to take medicine for this disease.

Syphilis leads to serious problems if not treated. But, it is usually easy to cure with antibiotics, if you immediately start to be treated. That's why, regular testing for STDs is so important if you have sex, no matter how healthy.

What are the symptoms of this disease?.

Syphilis can be confusing, because there are several different stages, and they can overlap or occur at about the same time. And there may be cases when people do not have any symptoms, but the infection will still be present until it is treated. Symptoms may vary, depending on each stage, and they may not always occur in the same order for all.

Primary stage.

Chancre is a disease, then, where the infection of syphilis has entered the human body. These ulcers are usually hard, round and painless, and sometimes - open and moist.

These abscesses can appear on the vulva, vagina, anus, penis, scrotum and rarely, on the lips. They can also hide deep into the vagina, under the foreskin, inside the rectum and in other places that are difficult to see.

The diseases of syphilis are very contagious and easily transmit the infection to other people during sex. It is easy to mistakenly accept infection for ingrown hair, pimples or harmless abscesses. And, since sores are not painful and can live in hidden places, people can not notice them.

Abscesses usually appear 3 weeks to 3 months after infection. Ulcers usually last for 3 to 6 weeks, and then go off on their own - with or without treatment. But, if the patient is not treated, then he still has syphilis, even if the ulcers have disappeared with time. Patients should take medicines to cure syphilis and prevent its transition to the next stage.

Secondary stage.

Symptoms of the secondary stage include a rash on the hands (palms), legs (on the soles) or on other parts of the patient's body. Symptoms of secondary syphilis are sometimes difficult to see, and usually the rash does not cause itching. A person can feel sick and have mild flu symptoms such as a mild fever, a feeling of fatigue, a sore throat, muscle pain, swollen glands and, headache can hurt. Also, the patient can have ulcers in the mouth, vagina or anus or hair loss.

Symptoms of the secondary stage (syphilis rash) can last from 2 to 6 weeks at a time, for up to 2 years. They are similar to other common diseases, so it is difficult to say that this is syphilis. Symptoms from this stage will go away by themselves, without treatment. But, if you are not being treated for syphilis, there will still be an infection in the body, and it can move to dangerous later stages. That's why STD testing is so important.

Late stage.

There may be cases between the secondary stage and the late stage when syphilis infection is hidden (there are no signs or symptoms at all) for months or even years - but the patient still needs treatment in order to get rid of it. People who have had this infection for a long time in the body, face serious health problems. Late stages of syphilis can cause tumors, blindness and paralysis. It can damage the nervous system, the brain and other organs, and can even kill the patient.

Syphilis is easily cured with antibiotics in the early stages. If you start treatment late, you can still be cured of an infection that damages the body. But the damage that has already caused syphilis of a late stage can not be changed or cured. Complications from the late stage of syphilis can occur after 10 or even 20 years, after the first infection.