The cause of syphilis is a bacterium called Treponema pallidum. Request an Appointment at Mayo Clinic Causes Vivien Williams: For the Mayo Clinic News Network, I'm Vivien Williams.
Rizza: And that's during oral sex, anal sex, vaginal sex - using condoms, dental dams and any other barrier protection. Rizza recommends barrier protection during sex.ĭr. That's why all pregnant women should be screened. Congenital syphilis can lead to miscarriage, stillbirth or infant deaths. Pregnant women are not immune to syphilis. Vivien Williams: It may then progress to latent stage syphilis and, finally, the most serious stage: tertiary. Stacey Rizza, M.D.: Primary syphilis causes an ulcer, and this sometimes isn't noticed because it's painless and can be inside the vagina or on the cervix…after a few weeks, two months, they can get secondary syphilis, which is a rash. Stacey Rizza, an infectious diseases specialist at Mayo Clinic, says syphilis affects men and women and can present in various stages. Vivien Williams: Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacterium Treponema pallidum. When to see a doctorĬall your doctor if you or your child experiences any unusual discharge, sore or rash - particularly if it occurs in the groin area. However, babies born with syphilis can also be born too early, may die in the womb before birth or can die after birth. Later signs and symptoms may include deafness, teeth deformities and saddle nose - where the bridge of the nose collapses.
Most newborns with congenital syphilis have no symptoms, although some experience a rash on the palms of their hands and the soles of their feet. Congenital syphilisīabies born to women who have syphilis can become infected through the placenta or during birth. NeurosyphilisĪt any stage, syphilis can spread and, among other damage, cause damage to the brain and nervous system and the eye. These problems may occur many years after the original, untreated infection. In the late stage, the disease may damage the brain, nerves, eyes, heart, blood vessels, liver, bones and joints. Tertiary syphilisĪbout 15% to 30% of people infected with syphilis who don't get treatment will develop complications known as tertiary syphilis. Signs and symptoms may never return, or the disease may progress to the third (tertiary) stage. If you aren't treated for syphilis, the disease moves from the secondary stage to the hidden (latent) stage, when you have no symptoms. These signs and symptoms may disappear within a few weeks or repeatedly come and go for as long as a year. Some people also experience hair loss, muscle aches, a fever, a sore throat and swollen lymph nodes. This rash is usually not itchy and may be accompanied by wartlike sores in your mouth or genital area. Within a few weeks of the original chancre healing, you may experience a rash that begins on your trunk but eventually covers your entire body - even the palms of your hands and the soles of your feet. The chancre will heal on its own within three to six weeks. Many people who have syphilis don't notice the chancre because it's usually painless, and it may be hidden within the vagina or rectum. The chancre usually develops about three weeks after exposure.
While most people infected with syphilis develop only one chancre, some people develop several of them. The sore appears at the spot where the bacteria entered your body.
The first sign of syphilis is a small sore, called a chancre (SHANG-kur). You may be infected with syphilis without noticing any symptoms for years. But the stages may overlap, and symptoms don't always occur in the same order. Syphilis develops in stages, and symptoms vary with each stage. The disease can be present with the appearance of a single chancre (shown here on a penis) or many. Primary syphilis causes painless sores (chancres) on the genitals, rectum, tongue or lips.