Syphilis
Syphilis is a serious STI which is back on the rise again.
Syphilis is caused by a bacteria. The bacteria that causes syphilis lodges in the vagina, the penis or the rectum and sometimes in the mouth. Where the infection is situated depends on the way people have had sex. The bacteria can later spread throughout the body via the blood. Luckily, syphilis can easily be cured if you catch it in time. If you have syphilis, it is important to warn everyone with whom you have had sex, so that they can also be tested and treated.
Syphilis (lues, hard chancre, hard ulcer) is a disease with several stages.
During the first stage you may have one or more (small) ulcers on or around the penis, vagina, rectum or sometimes in the mouth. This happens two to twelve weeks after you have contracted syphilis. Even if untreated, the ulcer disappears by itself within two or three weeks.
A few weeks to several months later, the second stage sets in. The syphilis has then spread throughout the body via the bloodstream. At this point you may be affected by skin eruptions or flu-like symptoms. These symptoms, too, disappear without treatment.
If you have not had any treatment during the first two stages of syphilis, the disease enters the third stage. The syphilis is still in your body and it can cause serious damage to various internal organs.
