Syphilis
Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection (STI). Learn more about testing, prevention, and treatment for syphilis.
What is syphilis?
Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection (STI) caused by bacteria. If left untreated, it can lead to serious health problems, including blindness, dementia, and damage to the heart.
How is syphilis spread?
Syphilis is spread through sexual skin-on-skin contact with someone who has syphilis. The rate of syphilis has been rising dramatically among gay, bisexual, and/or men who have sex with men.
What are the symptoms of syphilis?
The average time between infection and symptoms, called the incubation period, is approximately 21 days. But symptoms can occur as early as 10 days or as far out as 90 days after infection. It’s possible for someone to have syphilis for years and not know it. The only way to know if you have syphilis is to get tested.
The first sign of infection is usually a sore that appears on the body part that came in contact with syphilis. It’s easy to not notice the sore since it’s usually painless—especially if it appears inside the mouth, anus, or vagina. The sore may last for several weeks then eventually disappear. In other instances, a rash may appear on the palms of your hands, bottoms of your feet, torso, or other part of the body.
The symptoms of syphilis will eventually go away, but if it’s left untreated the bacteria remain active in your body and can lead to serious health problems, including blindness, dementia, and damage to the heart.
Ocular syphilis is a condition in the eye that can cause changes to vision. Ocular syphilis can occur at any time if a person has untreated syphilis. Symptoms include seeing “floaters,” blurry vision, and a serious eye infection called uveitis. If you’re experiencing these or other symptoms, it doesn’t mean you have ocular syphilis. However, you should visit your doctor right away to get tested and treated.
When should I get tested for syphilis?
Are you sexually active? STIs are a risk at any age if you’re sexually active with more than one partner or if you and your partners haven’t been tested regularly. If you think you’ve been exposed to syphilis or another STI, or if you have symptoms, see your provider right away to get tested. Providers will often test for HIV at the same time, since having syphilis increases your chances of HIV infection. Nearly half of gay, bisexual, and/or men who have sex with men that test positive for syphilis also have an HIV infection.
Be sure to tell your provider if you’ve had sex with someone who was recently diagnosed with syphilis. If you’ve been exposed to syphilis within the last three months, your health care provider will likely prescribe antibiotics regardless of your test results. It may be possible that you are infected but it’s too early to detect infection. If left untreated, you may experience symptoms later and possibly pass the infection to someone else. Learn more about testing for STIs.
How do I get tested for syphilis?
A simple blood test can detect syphilis. Your health care provider may also examine you for sores or rashes to help determine if you have the infection.
What is the treatment for syphilis?
While an antibiotic injection can cure syphilis, it won’t prevent you from getting syphilis again, so be sure to use condoms and get tested often as part of your sexual health care routine.
When syphilis goes untreated, it can progress to a bacterial infection of the brain or spinal cord called neurosyphilis. While the infection can be treated intravenously with an antibiotic, any damage it has already caused to your heart or brain could be permanent.
How can I prevent syphilis?
Condoms are a good method of protection against syphilis (and other STIs), but they aren’t a surefire solution since a condom can’t cover everything. That’s why it’s important to get tested regularly for syphilis, even if you use condoms—and especially if you have any sexual skin-on-skin contact involving the penis, scrotum, anus, mouth, or vagina. One of the best ways of preventing syphilis infection and re-infection is to encourage your sexual partner(s) to get tested and treated, too.
I tested positive for syphilis, what should I do next?
Follow your health care provider’s instructions and take your medications as prescribed. You’ll also want to take steps to prevent giving your STI to any sex partners. Learn more about what you can do after a positive STI test result, including resources for notifying your partners.
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