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Symptoms of Syphilis
What are the symptoms of syphilis?
You may not notice symptoms of syphilis. Sometimes they are the same as symptoms for other infections. This can cause someone with the infection to put off seeing a doctor. And it can make it harder for a doctor to tell if you have syphilis.
Syphilis develops in four stages, each with a different set of symptoms.
One of the first signs of syphilis is a painless open sore called a chancre. Chancres are often found in the mouth, the anus, or the genital area. As syphilis spreads throughout the body, a person may get a skin rash and have other symptoms like a fever, swollen lymph nodes, and weight loss.
If syphilis isn't found and treated in the early stages, it can cause other serious health problems. These can include blindness, problems with the nervous system and the heart, and mental disorders. It can also cause death.
Congenital syphilis
If a woman is pregnant and has untreated syphilis, she can pass the infection to the baby through the placenta. This is called congenital syphilis. A baby can also become infected with syphilis during labor or delivery. Congenital syphilis increases the risk of fetal death and medical complications in newborns.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force strongly recommend that all pregnant women be screened for syphilis. Screening is needed because of the severe consequences of being pregnant while infected or having a child born with congenital syphilis. Screening should be done:
- At the first prenatal visit for all pregnant women.
- At the start of the third trimester of pregnancy and again at delivery for women who are at high risk for syphilis.
Symptoms of congenital syphilis include:
- A highly contagious watery discharge from the nose.
- Painful inflammation.
- A contagious rash that often 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.