Having unprotected sexual intercourse with someone you barely met or don’t know very well, may represent an extremely high risk of contracting a sexually transmitted disease. Some of these illnesses, which are most commonly spread, are silent viruses, which are hard to be recognized due to lack of symptoms. If you don’t get checked in a prompt manner, you may face serious health problems. This is why it is best to stick to one partner you know, you trusted and took some medical tests. For instance, syphilis is one of those sexually transmitted diseases that can provoke severe damages to the body, as it spreads the infection throughout the entire organism. You need to be aware of symptoms of syphilis, so that you can tell if something is wrong with you.

The most recognizable symptom of syphilis is a canker sore that usually appears in the genital area. These sores are the main reason the illness spreads rather fast because on many occasions they go unnoticed. In men, the sores, rather similar to a broken blister, appear on the penis. Thus, they are noticeable. But in women, since they also appear on the genital area, it isn’t necessary to be on the surface. The cores can easily appear on the inside of the cervix, making them untraceable. So it is very easy to contact syphilis through unprotected sex because no one will ever tell if a symptom is present or not.

Still, these sores can also appear in the mouth, as a result of oral sex with an infected person. Thus, in this care, the bacteria causing syphilis can be transmitted through kissing. There are cases when the cankers appear on the palm, arms, legs, or other body parts. So a close body contact with a person carrying the bacteria can also trigger the disease. Also, keep in mind that syphilis can also be transmitted through anal sex. And using condoms may not help, because the risk of coming in contact with a sore is very high. The only way would be to locate all sores and cover them, which is practically impossible.

But canker sores are syphilis symptoms of the first phase of the disease, as it has several development stages. The sores appear within 10 to 90 days from first exposure to the bacteria. What is amazing is that the sores usually heal by themselves, without any treatment, after about six weeks. This is rather dangerous, as many people believe to be healed and fail to seek medical help, which will only make things worse. A secondary phase will begin between six weeks to six months after exposing. Red patches, like small rashes, will start to appear on the palms and sole of the feet, but also in other parts of the body. White spots appear on the inside of the mouth, warts on the groin develop in men, lymph glands swell, fever gets installed, and the person starts losing weight. Again, these symptoms will go away, eventually without treatment, but syphilis will continue making damages in the body.

Next, a latent phase of the illness may occur, causing no syphilis symptoms for a while. But after a period, the third stage will take place, which is far more severe than the rest. It manifests with issues of the heart and brain. Nerves can be damaged, causing paralysis. Blindness, dementia, deafness, impotence, and in the worst cases even death may occur, if syphilis is not treated. Thus, if you notice any canker sore, do get checked out. Syphilis can be easily treated with penicillin and will have no serious consequences if found and treated in time.

Source: MedRition