Syphilis

Bacterial infection usually passed during sexual intercourse is Syphilis. It can also be passed by using intravenous drug, from mother who is infected to the unborn child and blood transfusion. This cannot be developed by normal contact like sharing cutlery and toilet seats.
Syphilis can be very dangerous if it stays dormant for a long time and then it can suddenly result severe damage in:

• Heart
• Nervous Systems
• Eyes
• Brain
• Almost each part of body
• Syphilis symptoms start with painless infectious sores called as chancres on skin surface. During sexual intercourse if anyone comes in contact with chancres, this condition can pass on to them. This is referred as primary stage of syphilis.

Second stage of symptoms usually develop in 2 – 10 weeks after chancre appear. Like:

• Skin rash
• Sore throat
• Tiredness
• Headache

The stage of syphilis is called secondary syphilis. Without treatment the symptoms usually disappear. There are chances that syphilis can return after many years, resulting in severe damage to organs and eventually leading to death. This is the most last and dangerous stage of syphilis and is called as tertiary or late syphilis. Antibiotics can treat syphilis successfully. Towards the last stages of World War II syphilis was very common in UK. With the current antibiotics availability it has become very rare.
Recently the cases of syphilis in people have increased again. In UK about 2766 cases were reported in the year 2006. Men are mostly affected by syphilis, especially gay men. Syphilis also increases chances of developing HIV.

Symptoms

Syphilis symptoms are similar in both women and men and can go unrecognized. The symptoms are mild in nature and can be easily passed on to others without you being aware of it. There are three stages wherein the symptoms develop,
Primary syphilis or first stage
Secondary syphilis or second stage
Tertiary syphilis or third/latent stage

Primary syphilis 
Syphilis initial symptoms can appear at times between 3 months to 10 from the time you have come in with this condition. Tiny painless chancre or sore appears in the area of body where this infection is transmitted like lips, tongue, rectum or genitals. At least one chancre appears on most of them but at times many can also appear.
Swelling is experienced in lymph glands like groin, armpit and neck. Since chancres are painless, it can be ignored and be passed on to others unknowingly. Chancre usually disappears on its own in about 3-6 weeks, in case this condition isn’t treated syphilis moves in the next stage.
Syphilis – Secondary
Secondary syphilis symptoms usually begin in about 6-3 weeks after chancre disappear.
Some commonly occurring symptoms include:

• Skin rash in some parts of body like palms and soles. These rash are often non itchy
• tiredness,
• headaches,
• Swelling of lymph glands.
• Some seldom occurring symptoms include:
• fever,
• weight loss,
• hair loss,
• joint pains,
• Sores in the mouth or genitals.
  In few weeks these symptoms disappear or go and come for some time. Syphilis then moves in latent stage where mostly no symptoms are experienced. In case no treatment is given during this time, syphilis enters into tertiary stage and can be very dangerous.

Syphilis – Tertiary
Tertiary syphilis symptoms usually begin decades or years after subjecting yourself to the infection. The symptoms depend on which body part this infection has spread. Below mentioned are few potential symptoms which can also be serious.
Even though the tertiary syphilis symptoms largely depend on which body part has been infected. Few common symptoms mentioned below can arise.
stroke,
lose coordination,
numbness,
paralysis,
blindness,
deafness, and
Heart ailments

Causes

Treponema palladium is a bacterial organism which causes syphilis. It comes in contact due to infected sore during oral, anal or vaginal sex. It can also spread through blood transfusion. In UK, blood transfusions are screened routinely for syphilis. This condition can also develop in case of sharing of needle with an infected person if you are an illegal drug user. Syphilis can also be passed to an unborn baby through an infected mother. Similarly to other bacteria, treponema palladium also cannot survive without a human body. Hence by using bathroom, cutlery, clothing and toilet of infected person, syphilis cannot spread.