Syphilis In Women (cont.)
What is syphilis?
Syphilis is an STD that has been around for centuries. It is caused by a
microscopic bacterial organism called a
spirochete. The scientific name for the organism is
Treponema pallidum. The spirochete is a wormlike,
spiral-shaped organism that wiggles vigorously when viewed under a microscope.
It infects the person by burrowing into the moist, mucous-covered lining of the
mouth or genitals. The spirochete produces a classic, painless ulcer known as a
chancre.
What are the symptoms of syphilis?
There are three stages of
syphilis, along with an inactive (latent)
stage. Formation of an ulcer (chancre) is the first stage. The chancre develops
any time from 10 to 90 days after infection, with an average time of 21 days
following infection until the first symptoms develop. Syphilis is highly
contagious when the ulcer is present.
The infection can be transmitted from
contact with the ulcer which teems with spirochetes. If the ulcer is outside of
the vagina or on the male's scrotum,
condoms may
not prevent transmission of the infection by contact. Similarly, if the ulcer is
in the mouth, merely kissing the infected individual can spread the infection.
The ulcer can resolve without treatment after three to six weeks, but the disease can recur
months later as secondary syphilis if the primary stage is not treated.
In most women, an early infection resolves on its own, even without
treatment. However, 25% will proceed to the second stage of the infection called
"secondary" syphilis, which develops weeks to months after the primary stage and
lasts from four to six weeks. Secondary syphilis is a
systemic stage of the disease, meaning that it can involve various organ
systems of the body. In this stage, patients can initially experience many
different symptoms, but most commonly they develop a
skin
rash, typically appearing on the palms of the hands or the bottoms of the
feet, that does not itch. Sometimes the skin rash of secondary syphilis is very
faint and hard to recognize; it may not even be noticed in all cases. This
secondary stage can also include
hair loss, sore throat,
white patches in the nose, mouth, and vagina,
fever, and
headaches. There can be
lesions on the genitals that look like
genital warts but are caused by
spirochetes rather than the wart virus. These wartlike lesions, as well as the
skin rash, are highly contagious. The rash can occur on the palms of the hands,
and the infection can be transmitted by casual contact.
Subsequent to secondary syphilis, some patients will continue to carry the
infection in their body without symptoms. This is the so-called latent stage of
the infection. Then, with or without a latent stage, which can last as long as
20 or more years, the third (tertiary) stage of the disease can develop. At this
stage, syphilis usually is no longer contagious. Tertiary syphilis is also a
systemic stage of the disease and can cause a variety of problems throughout the
body including:
- abnormal bulging of the large vessel leaving the heart (the
aorta), resulting in heart
problems;
- the development of large nodules (gummas) in various organs of the
body;
- infection of the brain, causing a
stroke, mental
confusion,
meningitis (type of brain infection), problems with sensation, or weakness (neurosyphilis);
- involvement of the eyes leading to sight deterioration; or
- involvement
of the ears resulting in deafness.
The damage sustained by the body during the tertiary stage of syphilis is severe
and can even be fatal.
Next: How is syphilis diagnosed? »
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