Syphilis, or Treponema pallidum, is a bacterial organism that enters the human body via an open wound, most commonly during sexual intercourse. Other ways the infection can be spread are through the transfusion of infected blood, direct, unprotected contact with an open lesion (such as during kissing), and from a mother to her unborn child. Syphilis occurs in four stages. There are many signs and symptoms that appear during these stages and can last a lifetime. The result is often a life of pain and suffering. The stages of syphilis are as follows:.
Primary Stage.
Ten to ninety days after the onset of the infection, a chancre develops at the site. This sore is usually painless, smooth, and red and lasts one to five weeks. Another sign of the infection is swollen or enlarged lymph nodes in the groin. A chancre usually heals whether or not a person gets treatment. However, if a person is not treated, syphilis infection persists. Virtually everyone who is not treated for primary syphilis will develop secondary syphilis. This is considered the most infectious stage.
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Illustration courtesy of MEDLINEplus Medical Encyclopedia.
Secondary Stage.
From six to twelve weeks after the infection starts, spots or patches appear on the soles of the feet and palms of the hands, damp raised or elevated lesions, hair loss, flu-like symptoms, mucous patches in the throat, mouth, and cervix, accompanied by a rash that can cover the entire body. For these symptoms, that makes the second stage the worst.
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Sings of second stage syphilis on the palms of hands. Photo courtesy of MEDLINEplus Medical Encyclopedia.
Latent Stage.
After almost four months of suffering, there is some relief. Even if there is no treatment regimen that is followed, the symptoms seem to disappear. This stage can last a lifetime and be a short as a few years.
Tertiary Stage.
One in three people who have latent Syphilis develop the third stage of the disease.
TUSKEGEE SYPHILLIS EXPERIMENT During the years of 1932 through 1972, doctors from the United States Department of Public Health conducted a study on 399 poor, black sharecroppers from Macon County, Alabama, who were all infected with the incurable disease, syphilis, and 201 men of similar backgrounds who were uninfected. ...