Syphilis: Sexually Transmitted Disease

Syphilis has many other names such as syph, cupid’s disease, the pox, lues, and the French disease. It’s a sexually transmitted infection, a highly contagious stealthy infection that is caused by the bacterium Treponema palladium (a species of spirochaete bacterium with subspecies that cause treponemal diseases). Syphilis has been spread by humans all over the world since the year 1500,it’s been around longer then any other sexually transmitted disease. This disease was rampant in Europe and some say that it may have been carried here to the United States when the Europeans settled here. Today over 36,000 people are infected with the disease in the United States each year. Even though syphilis infects a large amount of people and is highly
Syphilis causes sores on the infected area, the genitals and the mouth are the most common places. It can be contracted through multiple kinds of sexual activity vaginal, anal and oral sex just to name a few, even kissing and touching with an infected person could spread this disease. This disease can also be spread from mother to baby if mother is infected and untreated at the time of birth and has a vaginal delivery. Syphilis can also be spread by having an open wound on the skin and come in contact with a syphilis sore or rash and sharing needles, blood exposure past. Syphilis can only be transmitted through skin to skin contact or bodily fluids. You can’t pick this disease up by touching objects used by an infected person, nor by toilet seats, swimming pools, hot tubs, shared clothing, eating utensils, or things of that
Some people have been infected for years and may have never aware of it because they may not have shown any symptoms, and some may experience symptoms at different stages of infection. The first stage is called the primary stage some Symptoms are sores or lesions, which are the first sign of syphilis this can happen within 10-90 day of exposure. they are usually painless and are found on the outside or inside area of the vagina, the cervix, or anywhere on the mouth ,lips, and/or tongue. Syphilis can also infect the anus, urethra, or penis. The next symptom or usually is a rash, the rash this stage develops from several weeks to months after infection. usually occurs on the skin on the bottom of the hands or feet. The rash usually lasts 2-6 weeks. It doesn’t usually itch, but it looks like a rough patch of skin, it may be red or brown in color, different rashes my appear on the body elsewhere like the groin area, mouth. The latency(resting) stage is the stage the infection is present but there are no symptoms showing this could last for many years this is when the blood test would come back positive early latency is when the disease is mostly spread to others. Early latency is usually the first