Syphilis

Syphilis develops in four stages, not all of which show visible symptoms.

The most common symptom in the early (primary) stage is the appearance of a single sore or multiple sores at the location where syphilis entered your body. 

At any stage, without treatment, syphilis can spread to your eyes (ocular syphilis), ears (otosyphilis), and/or brain and nervous system (neurosyphilis).

How It’s Transmitted

You can get syphilis through direct contact with a syphilis sore during vaginal, anal, or oral sex.

Women can also pass syphilis to their baby during pregnancy, which is called “congenital syphilis.” 

Symptoms

Each stage of syphilis (four total) has different signs and symptoms, ranging from a single sore or multiple sores in the first stage, to a rash, swollen lymph glands and/or hair loss later on. (See the full list of symptoms per stage on the CDC website.)

Treatment

With the right antibiotics from your provider, syphilis is curable. While most providers use a blood test to detect syphilis, some may test fluid from a syphilis sore (if present).

Left untreated, syphilis can spread to the brain and nervous system (neurosyphilis), the eye (ocular syphilis), or the ear (otosyphilis)—and this can happen at any time during infection.