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Syphilis
Also known as: VDRL, RPR, FTA, Darkfield microscopy
Formal name: Syphilis detection test
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Common Questions
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1. What are the symptoms of syphilis?
2. What will happen if I don’t get treated?
3. How is syphilis transmitted?
4. How is it treated?
5. How can syphilis be prevented?
1. What are the symptoms of syphilis?
The first symptoms of syphilis may not be seen immediately. The primary stage begins within 10 days to three months of being infected. A sore, called a chancre, appears, usually on the part of the body exposed to your partner’s ulcer, such as the penis or vagina. The chancre may be painless and go unnoticed, and it disappears within a few weeks.
2. What will happen if I don’t get treated?
Secondary syphilis begins three to six weeks after the chancre appears. It is marked by a skin rash that usually heals in several weeks or months. There may be other symptoms as well, such as fever and sore throat. If untreated, syphilis may continue into a latent stage, during which you have no symptoms and are no longer contagious. However, about one-third of all cases will progress into the complications of late, or tertiary, syphilis. In these cases, the bacteria can damage the heart, eyes, brain, nervous system, bones, joints, or almost any other part of the body. This stage can last for years, with the final stage leading to mental illness, blindness, other neurological problems, heart disease, and death.
3. How is syphilis transmitted?
The bacterium is passed on through direct contact with a syphilis sore. This generally happens through sexual contact, such as vaginal, anal, or oral sex. An infected mother can spread the disease to her fetus, with serious and potentially fatal consequences for the baby.
4. How is it treated?
Syphilis can be treated with the antibiotic penicillin. Newly acquired infections can be cured easily. A longer treatment may be needed to cure someone who has been infected for more than a year.
5. How can syphilis be prevented?
For information on prevention, visit the American Social Health Association’s Facts & Answers about STDs.
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This article was last reviewed on
August 28, 2006.
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