Syphilis

British Sign Language (BSL) | 简体中文 | Polski | Română | slovenčina

Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection caused by a bacteria.

It can be serious if it's left untreated or passed on to a baby during pregnancy or childbirth.

The number of people getting syphilis in Scotland has greatly increased over the last 5 years. You could be at higher risk if you:

are a man who has sex with men
have had sex overseas
have had multiple sexual partners

How do you get syphilis?

Syphilis is usually spread by contact between moist skin areas anywhere on or inside the body. Some of the ways you can catch it include:

unprotected vaginal, anal or oral sex (without a condom)
kissing or licking the anus
sharing sex toys that aren't washed or covered with a new condom each time they're used
your genitals coming into contact with your partner's genitals – this means you can get syphilis from someone even if there is no penetration, orgasm or ejaculation

It can also be passed to a baby during pregnancy or childbirth.

Syphilis also makes HIV easier to pass on and catch.

Symptoms of syphilis

Many people with syphilis will not notice any symptoms either at the time of infection or later.

Syphilis usually has 3 stages.

The first stage (primary syphilis)

Ten days to 3 months after infection, a small, painless sore or ulcer will appear on the part of your body where the infection was transmitted. This is typically on either the:

penis
vagina
anus
rectum
tongue
lips

Most people only have one sore, but some people have more.

The sore will then disappear within 2 to 6 weeks. If the condition is not treated, syphilis will move into its second stage.

Swelling in your lymph glands (such as in the neck, groin or armpit) often happens with the ulcers.

The second stage (secondary syphilis)

The symptoms of secondary syphilis will begin a few weeks after the disappearance of the sore. At this stage, common symptoms include:

a non-itchy skin rash appearing anywhere on the body, but commonly on the palms of the hands or soles of the feet
tiredness
headaches
swollen lymph glands

Less common symptoms include:

fever
weight loss
patchy hair loss
joint pains

These symptoms may disappear within a few weeks, or come and go over a period of months.

Syphilis will then move into a stage where you will experience no symptoms, even though you remain infected. This is called ‘latent syphilis’. You can still pass it on during the first year of this stage. However, after a couple of years, you can't pass the infection to others, even though you remain infected.

The latent stage can continue for many years (even decades) after you first become infected. Without treatment, there is a risk that latent syphilis will move on to the most dangerous stage – tertiary syphilis.

The third stage (tertiary syphilis)

The symptoms of tertiary syphilis can begin years or even decades after the initial infection. Up to 1 in 3 (10 to 30%) people who are not treated for syphilis develop serious symptoms eventually.

The symptoms of tertiary syphilis will depend on what part of the body the infection spreads to. For example, it may affect the brain, nerves, eyes, heart, bones, skin or blood vessels, potentially causing any of the following symptoms:

stroke
dementia
loss of co-ordination
numbness
paralysis
blindness
deafness
heart disease
skin rashes

At this stage, syphilis can be dangerous enough to cause death.

Testing for syphilis

If you think you may have syphilis, you should make an appointment with your GP or local sexual health services.

The only reliable way to tell if you have syphilis or not is to have a blood test. This is usually sent to the lab. However in some sexual health services a same day test can be done if you have symptoms.

In the very early stage of the infection, syphilis in an ulcer can be seen if a swab is taken from the ulcer and looked at under a microscope or sent to the laboratory for syphilis detection. These tests are only available in some sexual health services.

Online appointment booking

You may be able to book an appointment for an STI test online using the online booking system. This varies for different NHS board areas.

Book an appointment online

Treatment for syphilis

Early syphilis infections can be easily treated with antibiotics (usually penicillin), even during pregnancy.

In late stage syphilis infections, treatment at any time can stop further illness and cure the infection itself, though it does not repair any damaged organs.

Treatment is usually given by injection and may involve one or more doses, depending on the stage of the infection. In some cases tablet treatment may be offered.

Once the treatment has finished, further blood tests are carried out to make sure the infection has gone. These tests may be required at intervals for up to a year.

Avoiding passing on syphilis to a partner

While you are being treated and until you get a clear test result you should:

not have any kind of sex
avoid intimate contact with your partner and others

This will stop you from infecting your partner if they're clear, and stop you being re-infected if they also have syphilis.

Your partner should also get tested for syphilis. It can be hard to spot in its early stages and they might not realise they have it. They will generally be offered treatment regardless.