Signs and symptoms

• "The great imitator". You may not notice symptoms or may mistake symptoms for something else.
• A sore (chancre) on the genitals, mouth or rectum usually appears1- 3 weeks after exposure, and can last up to 3 months.
• A skin rash, often on the trunk, palms and soles, but not always, commonly starts 5 - 12 weeks after infection.
• Swollen lymph nodes
• Heaped up wart like lesion in gluteal folds, perineum or perianal
• Neurosyphilis, which can occur at any stage of the disease:
  • Ringing in the ears or hearing loss
  • Vision changes, including vision loss
  • Other neurologic signs/symptoms

Transmission

• Oral, anal or vaginal sex
• Infected mother to baby during birth

Prevention

• Use condoms/barriers consistently and correctly during oral, anal or vaginal sex
• Maintain a mutually monogamous relationship with a partner who has been tested for syphilis and is not infected
• Get tested regularly and treated for STDs
• Get an infected partner treated
• Do not have sex with a partner who has syphilis until they complete treatment

Treatment

• See a health care provider for exam and tests to figure out the best treatment
• Treatment includes medicines prescribed by a health care provider and depends on the stage of infection
• Neurosyphilis may require more intensive therapy
• Get a follow-up exam to make sure the treatment has worked

If not treated

• Can increase risk for getting HIV
• Damage major organs including the brain, heart and liver
• Damage blood vessels, bones, eyes and joints
• Paralysis, blindness, dementia or death
• Neurosyphilis:
  • Blindness - hearing loss - other irreversible condition
• During pregnancy:
  • Premature delivery, birth defects including deafness & blindness - if left untreated, can lead to miscarriage or death in the newborn

If you have syphilis

• Refrain from sex (oral, anal or vaginal sex) if there are symptoms
• Seek medical care, including STD tests
• Get tested for HIV
• Do not have sex until you have completed treatment
• Take all medicines prescribed, even if your symptoms are gone
• Re-test in 1, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months
• Make sure sex partners get treated
• Get yearly STD screens if sexually active