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Article Source : Buzzle.com

What is Syphilis
Syphilis is a sexually transmitted disease (STD) that is caused by the spirochaete bacterium known as Treponema pallidum and affects both men and women. Syphilis has gained the nickname ‘the great imitator’ or ‘the great imposter’ because almost all of the signs and symptoms of syphilis are identical to other infections and diseases. This is one reason why diagnosing syphilis is difficult. Syphilis is infectious and is spread through broken skin or the mucous membranes usually through intimate sexual contact. Pregnant women who have syphilis run a high risk of passing on the infection to the unborn baby. Syphilis can also be transmitted through blood transfusion.

Syphilis Symptoms
Symptoms of syphilis depend on the stage of the infection. Following are the four stages of infection:

– Primary syphilis
– Secondary syphilis
– Latent syphilis
– Tertiary syphilis

Many infected persons will have very few signs and symptoms of syphilis which tend to go unnoticed. Generally the person will have painless sores and swollen lymph nodes. If this goes into the next phase the person could suffer from body pain, loss of appetite, fatigue and fever. If not treated at this stage it could prove fatal, causing problems to the liver, heart, brain, and nervous system.

Signs and Symptoms of Primary Syphilis
Primary syphilis will show between 2 weeks and 3 months after contracting the infection. It begins with a skin sore known as a chancre. You could have one or many chancres. They could appear on the penis, scrotum, on / in the vagina, on / in the anus, or on / in the mouth and are usually not painful. Even if totally ignored they will go away within a few weeks. This does not mean that the infection has left you; the infection is still very much present and if not treated at this stage, will go into the next stage of secondary syphilis.

Signs and Symptoms of Secondary Syphilis
The second stage of syphilis is secondary syphilis. This is the most contagious of all stages. The bacteria spreads and causes syphilis throughout the body. Following are some of the symptoms of secondary syphilis.

– Skin rash appears anywhere on the body, but mainly on the palms and soles
– Fever
– Fatigue
– Swollen lymph nodes
– Sudden hair loss
– Sudden weight loss
– Headache
– Body pain
– Loss of appetite
– White patches anywhere on the body

It is very difficult for a person to link these symptoms to syphilis because they are exactly similar to many other infections and diseases. If not treated at this stage it will all clear away in some time but will progress to the next stage known as latent syphilis.

Signs and Symptoms of Latent Syphilis
Once the symptoms of secondary syphilis have cleared away, it will progress into latent syphilis. There are no symptoms for latent syphilis and the infection can only be detected by a blood test. If left untreated, latent syphilis will continue for life. Most of the persons will never have any problem due to this, but in some it could progress to the final and deadliest stage known as tertiary syphilis.

Signs and Symptoms of Tertiary Syphilis
When syphilis is not treated in the secondary stage and progresses to latent syphilis, it remains dormant for some time before going into the final stage of tertiary syphilis. It could take from 2 to 20 years (as much as 50 years in rare cases) for the infection to reach the tertiary syphilis stage. All the while the bacteria keep multiplying and gradually damaging and forming lesions in the bones, nervous tissues, skin, liver, heart, and arteries. Lesions of the central nervous system can cause various neurological diseases. Lesions of the heart can cause serious damage to the aorta and heart valves. Tertiary syphilis could cause blindness, mental problems, deafness, paralysis, heart failure, and even death.

Treatment of Syphilis Symptoms
As soon as any symptom of syphilis is observed you must visit your physician immediately. The physician will check for external symptoms such as a chancre or a skin rash. A blood sample will be taken and sent for analysis. If found positive for syphilis, and depending on the stage of infection, the physician will prescribe the medication. Penicillin is the most effective medication in eliminating the bacteria that cause syphilis. There are other treatments available but not as effective. It is important that treatment occurs in the first or second stage. If it reaches the final stage before treatment begins, there is already a lot of damage done and the treatment could be very complex and could involve treating much more than just syphilis.

By Kevin Mathias Published: 5/18/2007