More Knowledge About Symptoms Of Syphilis

Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection caused by Treponema pallidum – a specific type of bacteria called a spirochete. Syphilisis characterized by four stages: primary, secondary, latent, and tertiary.

After becoming infected with syphilis, there is an incubation period between of 9 to 90 days (the average being around 21 days) before the first signs and symptoms of the disease appear. Each stage of syphilis has characteristic signs and symptoms but any particular sign or symptom of may or may not be present.

Syphilis develops in four stages, each with a different set of symptoms.

Primary stage

During the primary stage of syphilis, a sore (chancre) that is usually painless develops at the site where the bacteria entered the body. This commonly occurs within 3 weeks of exposure but can range from 10 to 90 days. A person is highly contagious during the primary stage.

In men, a chancre often appears in the genital area, usually (but not always) on the penis. These sores are often painless.

In women, chancres can develop on the outer genitals or on the inner part of the vagina. A chancre may go unnoticed if it occurs inside the vagina or at the opening to the uterus (cervix). The sores are usually painless and are not easily seen.

Swelling of the lymph nodes may occur near the area of the chancre.

A chancre may also occur in an area of the body other than the genitals.

The chancre lasts for 28 to 42 days, heals without treatment, and may leave a thin scar. But just because the chancre has healed does not mean the syphilis is cured or that a person cannot pass the infection to others.

Secondary syphilis is characterized by a rash that appears from 4 to 10 weeks after the chancre develops and sometimes before it heals. Other symptoms may also occur, indicating that the infection has spread throughout the body. A person is highly contagious during the secondary stage.

A rash often develops over the body and commonly includes the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet.

The rash usually consists of reddish brown, small, solid, flat or raised skin sores that are less. But the rash may look like other more common skin problems.

Small, open sores may be present on mucous membranes. The sores may contain pus. Or moist sores that look like warts (called condyloma lata) may be present.

When syphilis has spread throughout the body, the person may have :

A fever of usually less than 101°F (38.3°C). A sore throat. A vague feeling of weakness or discomfort throughout the body.

Weight loss. Patchy hair loss, especially in the eyebrows, eyelashes, and scalp hair. Swelling of the lymph nodes.

Nervous system symptoms of secondary syphilis, which can cause headaches, stiff neck, vision or hearing problems, irritability, paralysis, unequal reflexes, and irregular (different-sized) pupils.

Tertiary (late) stage

This is the most destructive stage of syphilis. If untreated, the tertiary stage may begin as early as 1 year after infection or at any time during a person's lifetime. A person with syphilis may never experience this stage of the illness.

During this stage, syphilis may cause serious blood vessel and heart problems, mental disorders, blindness, nerve system problems, and even death. The symptoms of tertiary (late) syphilis depend on the complications that develop. Complications of this stage include:

Gummata, which are large sores inside the body or on the skin. Cardiovascular syphilis, which affects the heart and blood vessels. Neurosyphilis, which affects the brain or the lining that covers the brain. Congenital syphilis

Congenital syphilis refers to syphilis passed from a mother to her baby during pregnancy or during labor and delivery.  Preventive Services Task Force strongly recommend that all pregnant women be screened for syphilis because of the severe consequences of being pregnant while infected or having a child born with congenital syphilis. Screening should be done:3, 4

At the first prenatal visit for all pregnant women.

At the beginning of the third trimester of pregnancy and again at delivery for women who are at high risk of acquiring syphilis.

Congenital syphilis increases the risk of fetal death and medical complications in newborns. 

Syphilis enters the fetal blood system through the placenta, causing infection of the newborn or death of the fetus. Symptoms of congenital syphilis include:

A highly contagious watery discharge from the nose ("snuffles"). Painful inflammation of the bone coverings. Contagious rash that frequently appears over the palms of the hands and soles of the feet. Reduced red blood cells in the blood (anemia). Enlarged liver and spleen.

Swelling of the lymph nodes. Failure to grow and develop normally (failure to thrive).

Because there are other conditions with similar symptoms, an accurate diagnosis is important for treatment.

If untreated, an infected person will progress to the latent (hidden) stage of syphilis. The latent stage is defined as the year after a person becomes infected. After the secondary-stage rash goes away, the person will not have any symptoms for a time (latent period). The latent period may be as brief as 1 year or range from 5 to 20 years.

Often during this stage, an accurate diagnosis can only be made through blood testing, the person's history, or the birth of a child with congenital syphilis.

A person is contagious during the early part of the latent stage and may be contagious during the latent period when no symptoms are present.

About 20% to 30% of people with syphilis have a relapse of the disease during its latent stage.2 A relapse means the person was symptom-free but then started having symptoms again. Relapses can occur several times.

When relapses no longer occur, a person is not contagious through contact. But a woman in the latent stage of syphilis may still pass the disease to her unborn baby and may have a miscarriage or a stillbirth or give birth to a baby infected with congenital syphilis.

Chlamydia and Infertility

Chlamydia is the most common, curable, bacterial, sexually-transmitted infection in the UK. Last year there were almost 104,000 cases in genito-urinary clinics alone. The number of sexually active people under 25 infected with Chlamydia is now thought to be just under half a million - about one in ten.

It often has no obvious symptoms. But if it is left untreated it can lead to severe complications. It is widely believed to cause Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID) and sometimes infertility in women, and in men it can lead to inflammation of the testicles and sperm conducting tubes, and affect joints.

But in August 2005 Lord Robert Winston suggested the link between Chlamydia and infertility was not clear. He said:

"I think the evidence that Chlamydia affects fertility is very dubious. Most infertility is not due to Chlamydia. I haven't seen any figures that demonstrate that it is causing infertility. The link between Chlamydia and tubal disease is based on only two papers written in Sweden in the Sixties and it has never been checked. There's no British data."

But there is little room for doubt according to Professor Bill Ledger, a consultant at Sheffield's Royal Hallamshire hospital and one of the UK's leading infertility specialists. In Sheffield, he and his three colleagues treat around 100 women a year who are experiencing problems due to Chlamydia. Nationally, he believes that up to a third of all IVF treatments are because of the damage caused by Chlamydia - that's somewhere between 5,000-10,000 couples.

It's believed that the Chlamydia infection damages the hairs along the fallopian tubes which help the egg travel from the ovaries to the womb. This damage can lead to scarring, which in turn leads the tubes to be blocked. 

Women with damaged tubes do occasionally fall pregnant but there is an increased risk of the pregnancy developing in the tubes rather than the womb. This is called an ectopic pregnancy. The tube can split apart causing serious pain and bleeding. This is an emergency because the bleeding can be life threatening. 

Women with damaged tubes do occasionally fall pregnant but there is an increased risk of the pregnancy developing in the tubes rather than the womb. This is called an ectopic pregnancy. The tube can split apart causing serious pain and bleeding. This is an emergency because the bleeding can be life threatening. 

One of the key papers, "Chlamydia and its effect on reproduction (1996)" by L.V. Westrom measured the likelihood of infertility after episodes of Chlamydia. His research found that 79 out of 1025 women (7.8%) were infertile because of post-salpingitic tubal occlusion compared with a control group where the incidence was just 0.9%.

The paper also measured the relative risk (RR) of infertility when considering the number of episodes of Chlamydia. It was 1% with no episodes, 5% after one episode, 11.3% after two episodes and 19.8% after three episodes

There is also evidence showing a relationship between Chlamydia screening and a fall in genital tract infections and Pelvic Inflammatory Disease amongst women. In Sweden in 1985 a Chlamydia screening programme was introduced across the country in a variety of health settings - including primary care (such as GPs) and at specialist clinics (such as GUMs). Rates of testing increased from 1985 to 1991 and a corresponding decrease occurred in the number of cases diagnosed. In one county the number of cases had falled to 40% of initial levels

In Wisconsin (USA), a state wide initiative in 1986 used risk factors to determine who should be screened. By 1990 a 53% decrase in prevalence was seen.4 In one randomised controlled trial of 2607 women, the number of Pelvic Inflammatory cases fell by 56%. 

Genital Herpes Information

What most refer to as herpes is actually family of socially transmitted diseases caused by the herpes simplex viruses type 1 (HSV-1 cold sores) and type 2 (HSV-2 genital herpes). Other types of the virus are commonly known as shingles and the Epstein-Barr virus. Most people who carry the virus have no or only minimal signs of an infection. Because of this, many people are unaware that they have the virus. Telling signs of an infection include one or more blisters on the face or genitals that break and leave small ulcers that may take 2 to 4 weeks to heal initially. The blisters recur periodically over time, typically about 5 times per year. The frequency of outbreaks usually reduces over time.

For most healthy people it is harmless. Rare severe cases of HSV-1 on the head or face may lead to serious conditions. Extra precautions for pregnant women at the time of delivery are needed to prevent genital herpes transmission to the baby which can sometimes be fatal to infants.
The disease is very common. In the US about 20% of adults are have the infection. Because the symptoms can often be mild, most people do not know they have the disease or mistake it for other causes like insect bites. About 1 million new cases are reported every year. Millions more likely go unreported.

Use Hiv Saliva Test The Right For You

Many people live with the myth, that HIV and its harmful components are present in the saliva of a HIV positive person. Hence, kissing or sharing food with the patient can be contagious due to the presence of HIV in saliva. However, this is not true. Though the saliva might carry HIV viral RNA or proviral DNA, they are not harmful, when they reside in the human saliva.

The saliva does not carry HIV that could be infectious or contagious. This is because; the saliva does not offer a very favorable condition for the sustenance of HIV. In fact, saliva is a good agent of destroying this virus. It carries special antibodies that fight the HIV components. The antiseptic and "hypotonic" property of saliva is conditioned to destroy any foreign cell that is present in the mouth. It works as a natural defense mechanism in our body.

HIV requires a good quantity of salt for its survival. Therefore, blood gives HIV the most favorable environment for propagation. Saliva, on the contrary, deactivates 90% of the HIV- infected leukocytes, due to lack of salt. Leukocytes or the blood cells, which help in the transmission of HIV to the mucosal surface, fail to succeed in their purpose. The HIV in saliva expands and bursts, due to lack of salt.

Choose The Best Rapid Syphilis Test

Syphilis is a disease caused by a spirochete called Treponema pallidum (TP). If untreated, the organism moves across the body and can cause damage to many organs, making syphilis life-threatening diseases if not treated early fully. Serological response to syphilis involve the production of antibodies against various antigens, including non-specific antibodies and specific anti-TP antibody. The first response to infection is detected the production of specific anti-treponemal IgM, which can be detected within 4 to 7 days after the chancre appears and until the end of the second week of infection, anti-treponemal IgG appeared in about four weeks later. The symptoms of syphilis as the disease progresses, most patients have both IgG and IgM detected. Syphilis infection can spread through the bloodstream to all parts of the body. If untreated, syphilis can cause severe heart disease, brain damage, spinal cord damage, blindness, and death.

Syphilis is a public health problem in many persistent low-income countries that have limited capacity for testing, which has traditionally relied on non-treponemal tests are sensitive and specific treponemal tests. However, the development of new rapid treponemal tests provide opportunities to enhance syphilis screening in many settings where traditional tests are not available.

The reason you might not be able to perform the test or why the results can not be helpful include:

# The use of antibiotics before having the test.

# A blood transfusion in the weeks before a test.

# Has other conditions or diseases, like lupus, heart disease, HIV infection, or yaws.

Gonorrhea, pregnancy & newborn

The CDC currently recommends that pregnant women who live in a community where the infection is relatively widespread, as well as those who are otherwise at risk for the infection, should be tested for gonorrhea at their first prenatal visit and again in the third trimester if they remain at risk.

Sexually active females younger than 25 are at highest risk. Other risk factors include prior gonorrhea infection, other STIs, onset of sexual activity at a young age, new or multiple sex partners, commercial sex work, inconsistent condom use, and substance abuse. Those who are nonwhite, unmarried, or of a low socioeconomic level are also at higher risk.

If you think there's any possibility that you might have contracted gonorrhea or any other STI, let your caregiver know and ask to be tested. You should also be tested (or retested) at any time during pregnancy if you or your partner develops any symptoms of gonorrhea, or if you contract another STI, because they're often found together.

To test for gonorrhea, your practitioner will swab your cervix and send the swab to the lab for analysis. Sometimes a urine specimen is used instead.

If your test is positive, you'll be treated immediately. And if you weren't tested for other STIs along with the gonorrhea test, you'll be tested for them now. You'll be retested for gonorrhea in two to three months (sooner if you have symptoms) to make sure you haven't been reinfected, and again in the third trimester.

Babies can get the infection during birth as they pass through the birth canal. In babies, gonorrhea can cause blindness, joint infection, or a life-threatening blood infection.


How does Gonorrhea affect pregnant women?
Infected women can pass gonorrhea to their newborn baby during delivery. If a baby catches gonorrhea during childbirth, they might have eye infections. When the infection occurs in the genital tract, mouth, or rectum of a child, it is due most commonly to sexual abuse.

Chlamydia, pregnancy and the newborn

Men and women can both be affected by Chlamydia, but symptoms of the infection are not always present. In fact, up to 75% of women and 50% of men experience no symptoms of Chlamydia. Because Chlamydia can easily be passed to your newborn, causing illness and possible tissue damage, it is important to get tested if you are experiencing any Chlamydia symptoms or are pregnant.

A baby who is exposed to C. trachomatis in the birth canal during delivery may develop an eye infection or pneumonia.

Symptoms of conjunctivitis, which include discharge and swollen eyelids, usually develop within the first 10 days of life.

Symptoms of pneumonia, including a cough that gets steadily worse and congestion, most often develop within 3 to 6 weeks of birth. Health care providers can treat both conditions successfully with antibiotics. Because of these risks to the newborn, many providers recommend that all pregnant women get tested for chlamydia as part of their prenatal care.
(Reproduced from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases)

If you are pregnant it is important to be tested, even if you are exhibiting none of the signs and symptoms of Chlamydia. Chlamydia has been linked with premature delivery resulting from the infection stimulating the rupture of your uterine membranes. Additionally, Chlamydia can cause your baby to have a low birth weight at birth. The infection can also be easily passed to your child during birth.

HIV & Pregnancy

Doctors recommend all pregnant women get tested for HIV. Medications are available to prevent the spread of the virus to your unborn baby. In addition, steps can be taken during delivery to prevent spreading the infection. Some studies show a woman can further reduce the risk of spreading the virus to her baby by having acesarean section before her water breaks. Moreover, your health care provider can take steps to help you stay healthy longer.

There are a number of interventions that can reduce the risk of HIV transmission between a couple when attempting to conceive a child.


Orasure is a non-invasive, quick, accurate way to test for HIV-1 antibodies without blood, needles, or lancets. It's the only FDA approved HIV-1 collection device that may be legally marketed in the U.S. It has a complete diagnostic system that is approved for professional use.Orasure is a rapid HIV diagnostic tool with over 99% accuracy.


If the woman is HIV positive and the man is HIV negative
An HIV positive woman and an HIV negative man can conceive without HIV transmission occurring by using artificial insemination (the process by which sperm is placed into a female's genital tract using artificial means rather than by natural sexual intercourse). This simple technique provides total protection for the man, but does nothing to reduce the risk of HIV transmission to the baby.

If the man is HIV positive and the woman is HIV negative
Sperm washing is a process used to prevent HIV transmission from an HIV positive man to his partner during conception. Sperm washing involves separating sperm cells from seminal fluid, testing these cells for HIV, then inserting the cells into the woman's womb (intrauterine insemination), or directly into the egg (in vitro fertilisation or intracytoplasmic sperm injection). Sperm washing is a very effective way to reduce the risk of HIV transmission during conception, but it is not widely available and can be difficult to access, even in well resourced countries. Alternatives to sperm washing have been researched, such as the method of using PrEP and timed intercourse when the HIV-positive male partner is taking antiretroviral drugs.

If both man and woman are HIV positive
When both partners are HIV positive, it might still be sensible for them not to engage in frequent unprotected sex, because there might be a small risk of one re-infecting the other with a different strain of HIV.

If a pregnant woman is infected with HIV, she can transmit the virus to her baby during pregnancy, labour and delivery, or breastfeeding. Without treatment, around 15-30 percent of babies born to HIV-infected women will become infected with HIV during pregnancy and delivery. A further 5-20 percent will become infected through breastfeeding.

HIV Testing for Pregnant Women

In many countries across the world, women are tested for HIV during pregnancy. There are a number of important reasons for this:

Using A Rapid Chalmydia Test, Best Test Equipment

Chlamydia is a disease caused by the bacteria Chlamydia trachomatis. It's most commonly contracted during sexual contact. If Chlamydia is left untreated it may cause scarring of the fallopian tube, internal urethral infections, and can result in infertility. In pregnant women Chlamydia can cause premature labor and delivery. Chlamydia is a curable disease so it needs to be tested for anytime a check is needed.

It is not easy to tell if you are infected with chlamydia since symptoms are usually not apparent. But when they do occur, they are usually noticeable within 1-3 weeks of contact and can include the following :

Symptoms in Women
Abnormal vaginal discharge that may have an odor
Bleeding between periods
Painful periods
Abdominal pain with fever
Pain when having sex
Itching or burning in or around the vagina
Pain when urinating

Symptoms in Man
Small amounts of clear or cloudy discharge from the tip of the penis
Painful urination
Burning and itching around the opening of the penis
Pain and swelling around the testicles