No. of Recommendations: 4
What are the signs and symptoms of syphilis?
There are four stages of syphilis: primary, secondary, latent, and tertiary. Each stage has different signs and symptoms.
Primary stage
During the stage of syphilis, there may be a single sore or multiple sores where syphilis entered your body.
Secondary stage
During the secondary stage, there may be skin rashes and/or sores. The rash can be on the palms of your hands and/or the bottoms of your feet.
Latent stage
In the latent stage of syphilis there are no visible signs or symptoms.
Tertiary stage
Most people with untreated syphilis do not develop tertiary syphilis. When it does happen, it can affect many different organ systems, including the heart, brain and nervous system. This stage of syphilis is very serious and would occur 10–30 years after infection began. Tertiary syphilis could result in death.
Without treatment, syphilis can spread to the brain and nervous system (neurosyphilis), the eye (ocular syphilis), or the ear (otosyphilis), according to the CDC.
Signs and symptoms of neurosyphilis can include:
Severe headache.
Muscle weakness and/or trouble with muscle movements.
Changes to your mental state (trouble focusing, confusion, personality change) and/or dementia (problems with memory, thinking, and/or decision making).
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