by Jerilee Wei

Created on: July 12, 2008   Last Updated: April 23, 2011

Nowhere else in history, has one disease crossed the lines of class and privilege, more than has syphilis. Actors, artists, poets, gangsters, kings and queens, dictators, the rich and famous - all joined the ranks of the poorest of poor, when they contracted this dread bacterial infection.  Despite the fact that this is a highly curable sexually transmitted disease in its early stages, 12.2 million people will contract syphilis this year. Additionally, 157,000 will die from it. It is caused by an organism called Treponema pallidum, which is a form of bacterium called a spirochete. There is no vaccine for it. It is usually caused by sexual contact (although some children get it at birth from their mothers).

Its symptoms are so varied and numerous, that diagnosis has been difficult until recent years.   Even so, there are only three standard ways to diagnose this disease:  1) the doctor being trained in knowing its signs and symptoms; 2) lab blood tests; and 3) microscopic confirmation, especially with respect to the stage of infection.  Untreated, it can damage major organs, such as the heart and brain. Untreated and in its final stage, it is a devastating and deadly disease. 

Syphilis has four known stages:

Primary syphilis is the initial contact lesions, which can be just a single, tiny painless sore. It will heal without action on its own. This stage lasts between ten days and less than two months. Lymph node involvement at this stage can be an additional symptom.

Secondary syphilis is a rash that appears six weeks to six months from the healing of the sore(s). This can be a very mild and hardly noticeable skin irritation. Yet, at the same time, seemingly unrelated aches and pains of bones and joints occur. Additionally, other mild feelings of not being well may be symptomatic. Syphilis is most contagious at this stage.

Latency syphilis next occurs. Symptoms can appear, disappear and reappear. Symptoms can be so vague, that some people don't notice they have a problem for years. The really scary part about this stage of the disease is that it can last for weeks or more than thirty years.

Tertiary syphilis (late syphilis) attacks the heart and central nervous systems. Other signs the late stage of syphilis, consist of trouble coordinating muscle movements, paralysis, numbness, slowly going blind, and dementia. These impairments may be serious enough to cause death.

Syphilis Symptoms and Treatment:

Syphilis is easy to heal in its early stages. Universal medication is pretty much limited to the most effective, accepted, and common treatment, which is Benzedrine penicillin in sufficient doses. Syphilis is a multifaceted illness to treat simply, because it's difficult to diagnosis in its early stages. It mimics many other illnesses. Generally, it is diagnosed by a blend of a dark field microscope and blood tests.   Only further laboratory tests can confirm whether someone has syphilis. There are known problems with receiving some syphilis false positive results from these tests.

There is a link between HIV and syphilis. The sores from syphilis can put you at a much bigger risk for contracting HIV. Syphilis can also cause birth defects and the loss of a pregnancy in a syphilis woman.

The best way to avoid getting this and other sexually transmitted diseases, is to abstain from unsafe sexual contacts and to be in a long-term reciprocally monogamous relationship with a companion who agreeable to being tested

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