Isabella Bryan by

Name of STI and what is it?

igbryan — 2025-07-18 02:25:26 UTC

Syphilis is a bacterial infection that can occur in stages. It is typically spread through sexual contact.

What is the pathogen that causes syphilis?

igbryan — 2025-07-18 02:25:36 UTC

The pathogen that causes syphilis is bacterium Treponema pallidum.

How does syphilis effect the body?

igbryan — 2025-07-18 02:25:43 UTC

It is very common for syphilis to cause fevers, a sore throat, rashes, genital sores, swollen lymph nodes, and muscle aches. The syphilis enters the skin through tiny breaks during sexual contact. It then spreads through the blood and lymph system.

What to do if a newborn does have syphilis?

igbryan — 2025-07-18 02:25:49 UTC

If a newborn has this, it is important to get prenatal syphilis screenings. Penicillin is safe during pregnancy and treating a mother can almost always prevent congenital syphilis.

Are there effects on newborns?

igbryan — 2025-07-18 02:26:56 UTC

Yes syphilis can have life-threatening effects on newborns if the infection is passed from the mother. This is called congenital syphilis.

The effects on newborns include:

igbryan — 2025-07-18 02:27:01 UTC

Some babies can seem healthy at first but later in life start to develop symptoms later. Some babies might die before birth. Some babies might be premature. Other side effects are rashes, typically on palms and soles, fevers, enlarged liver or spleen, yellow-ish skin or eyes, or even bone deformities. While there are other effects, these are some of the most common ones.

What are the symptoms?

igbryan — 2025-07-18 02:27:12 UTC

The symptoms of syphilis come in stages such as the primary syphilis, secondary syphilis, latent syphilis, and tertiary syphilis. The primary syphilis is a painless sore that occurs around 3 weeks after exposure and can typically heal on its own in 3-6 weeks. Second syphilis occurs months after the painless sore heals. This includes, skin rashes, fever, hair loss, fatigue, and other symptoms. The latent stage does not have symptoms and it can last for years while detected with a blood test. The tertiary syphilis stage is very rare with treatment. It can occur years after the first infection if untreated. It can damage the heart,, blood vessels, brain and nerves, and bone and joints.

Are there long term effects for males?

igbryan — 2025-07-18 02:27:19 UTC

Yes, there are long term effects of untreated syphilis in males. These include, memory loss, stroke symptoms, vision and hearing loss, personality changes. It can even cause heart failure, chest pain, and aneurysms. It can also cause tumor growths that harm the skin, bones, and liver.

Are there long term effects for females?

igbryan — 2025-07-18 02:27:23 UTC

Yes there are long term effects if it is untreated similar to males. It can cause memory loss, mood or personality changes, vision or hearing loss. It can also effect the heart and blood vessels and effect fertility and reproductive health such as increasing risk of miscarriage or infect the reproductive organs.

Is there treatment?

igbryan — 2025-07-18 02:27:31 UTC

If syphilis is caught early, an injection of penicillin G benzathine can help. However, later stages require three injections of penicillin G benzathine for once a week for three weeks. If you are allergic to penicillin there are other antibodies that may be possible to use. There are some important things to do/not do while you are taking treatment. The faster you diagnose and treat this can prevent further complications.