Syphilis is acquired through sexual intercourse with an infected person, by vaginal or anal penetration, but it is also spread by oral sex or any other type of intimate contact with an active syphilitic lesion.
If syphilis is not treated in its initial phase, it becomes chronic and goes through phases of symptoms alternating with other prolonged asymptomatic ones.
Syphilis can go undetected and lie dormant in the body for years.
In the first phase, the most characteristic is the appearance of a chancre or painless ulcerated lesion on the genitals or mouth, which disappears on its own. In the second phase, a rash of red spots all over the body is typical, affecting the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet. Finally, after many years without any type of symptoms, serious complications such as dementia or syphilitic aneurysm of the aorta can occur. In case of infection, the diagnosis is made by clinical suspicion by performing a blood test. In most countries, their screening (preventive medical examination) is included in the routine analysis of pregnant women to avoid congenital syphilis that can cause serious malformations and development problems in the baby. It is often associated with other sexually transmitted diseases.
Syphilis is easily prevented by using condoms during risky sexual relations. It is cured with penicillin administered intramuscularly, leaving no sequelae except in the last phases, which are currently rare.
