Female Syphilis Symptoms and Ways to Treat It
Syphilis is one of the most widely spread sexually transmitted diseases. The condition is ultimately dangerous and can reach life-threatening consequences if not diagnosed and managed at an early stage. According to the statistics of the World Health Organization, over 12 million people get syphilis yearly. The disease is transmitted mainly sexually, though several instances of infection through pregnancy have been reported.
The reason for syphilis occurrence is a bacteria of Treponema pallidum that enters the body, starts interfering with the central nervous system and other important body organs and causes irreversible damage. The complications caused by syphilis can be various, starting from mild at the primary stage up to drastic and fatal at the last stage.
Stages and Symptoms of the Disease
Both men and women can experience different signs of syphilis, which will depend on the immune system, overall health state and stage of the disease. The first symptoms can be noticed after 21 days of being infected. However, some patients can witness it within 10 days, while others will not even think about the condition within 90 days.
There are three main stages of syphilis, and symptoms will vary greatly depending on the current state of things:
- Primary stage. The symptoms of the infection will appear within 10 days – 3 months. Lymph nodes enlargement, sores on the body that are painful. It will take 3-6 weeks to heal the sores, but it does not mean the infection is gone. Instead, it means the condition aggravates and you enter the second stage.
- Secondary syphilis develops for another 2-10 weeks after sores occurrence. The stage is characterized by the appearance of devastating symptoms, such as fever, mouth, anus and vagina sores, skin rash, reasonless weight loss, muscle aches, headache, hair loss, swollen glands and others.
- Tertiary or latent syphilis. If untreated, secondary syphilis will progress to the hidden phase. It means that you may not have any symptoms or complications, but the infection is still in the body, and it is aggravating. Severe health impairments, life-threatening complications, and death can be results of this condition.
If diagnosed at the early stage, syphilis can be easily treated with penicillin or similar antibiotics. Intramuscular injections and other measures will not reverse the already existing body damage but prevent further complications.
