Syphilis

Introduction: Syphilis

Syphilis: Syphilis, once a cause of devastating epidemics, can be effectively diagnosed and treated with antibiotic therapy. In 1996, 11,387 ... more about Syphilis.

Syphilis: A sexually transmitted disease caused by a bacteria (Treponema pallidum). The condition is often asymptomatic in the early stages but one or more sores may be present in the early stages. Untreated syphilis usually results in remission of visible symptoms but further severe damage may occur to internal organs and other body tissues which can result in death. More detailed information about the symptoms, causes, and treatments of Syphilis is available below.

Symptoms of Syphilis

• Primary syphilis symptoms
  • Chancre - a painless open genital sore usually on penis or vagina; rarely hands, mouth or anus; sometimes inside vagina or on cervix.
  • Penis ulcer
  • Vaginal ulcer
  • Internal vaginal ulcer

See full list of 104 symptoms of Syphilis

Medical Textbooks Online about Syphilis

Book excerpts: Copyright © 2007 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. All rights reserved.

Diagnostic Tests for Syphilis

• Swab of chancre - in primary and secondary syphilis phases
• Swab/scraping test
• Syphilis blood tests
• VDRL (Venereal Disease Research Laboratory) test
• RPR (rapid plasma reagin) test

See full list of 11 diagnostic tests for Syphilis

Wrongly Diagnosed with Syphilis?

• Misdiagnosis of Syphilis

Misdiagnosis and Syphilis

Hidden diagnosis of chronic STD: The book "A Dose of Sanity" reports on a case of a many diagnosed with depression, who was correctly diagnosed with seronegative syphilis (see syphilis). The late forms of syphilis can mimic many psychological disorders....more »

Read more about Misdiagnosis and Syphilis

Causes of Syphilis

Read more about causes of Syphilis.

More information about causes of Syphilis:

• Medical news summaries relating to Causes of Syphilis

Treatments for Syphilis

• Penicillin
• Injected penicillin
• Other antibiotics - if allergic to penicillin
• Repetition of blood tests - to ensure treatment successful; see tests for syphilis

Read more about treatments for Syphilis

Videos for Syphilis

Patient Surveys for Syphilis

• Patient Profile Survey
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• Survey about the symptoms of your Syphilis
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Prognosis for Syphilis

More about prognosis of Syphilis

Reseach about Syphilis

Visit our research pages for current research about Syphilis treatments.

Clinical Trials for Syphilis

The US based website ClinicalTrials.gov lists information on both federally and privately supported clinical trials using human volunteers.

Some of the clinical trials listed on ClinicalTrials.gov for Syphilis include:

• HIV and Genital Herpes Among High-Risk Men Who Have Sex With Men (MSM) in Lima, Peru - This study is no longer recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006)
• Azithromycin/Bicillin Syphilis - This study is currently recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006) - Azithromycin,Benzathine Penicillin,Doxycycline Bicillin
• Trial of Male Circumcision: HIV, Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD) and Behavioral Effects in Men, Women and the Community - This study is currently recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006)
• Lay Health Advisors for Sexually Transmitted Disease Prevention - This study is currently recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006)
• Safety, Acceptability and Preliminary Effectiveness of Carraguard (PC-515) in Preventing HIV/STI Transmission - This study has been completed (Current: 23 Nov 2006) - Carraguard (PC-515)

See full list of 10 Clinical Trials for Syphilis

Prevention of Syphilis

Prevention information for Syphilis has been compiled from various data sources and may be inaccurate or incomplete. None of these methods guarantee prevention of Syphilis.

• Safe sex
• Monogamy
• Condoms
• Pregnancy screening for syphilis - avoids congenital syphilis in the newborn.

Read more about prevention of Syphilis

Statistics for Syphilis

• Medical statistics for Syphilis
• Prevalence and incidence statistics for Syphilis
• Death and Mortality statistics for Syphilis
• Society statistics for Syphilis

Types of Syphilis

• Primary syphilis
• Secondary syphilis
• Latent syphilis
• Tertiary syphilis
• Late syphilis

See full list of 6 Types of Syphilis

Medical Guidebooks and Ebooks for Syphilis

• Icon Health Sourcebook for Syphilis

See all guides and ebooks for Syphilis

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User Interactive Forums

Read about other experiences, ask a question about Syphilis, or answer someone else's question, on our message boards:

• I can not get a diagnosis. Please help.
• Tell us your medical story.
• Share your misdiagnosis story.
• What is the best treatment for this?
• See all the forums.

Article Excerpts about Syphilis

Syphilis, NIAID Fact Sheet: NIAID (Excerpt)

Syphilis, once a cause of devastating epidemics, can be effectively diagnosed and treated with antibiotic therapy. In 1996, 11,387 cases of primary and secondary syphilis in the United States were reported to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Although treatment is available, the early symptoms of syphilis can be very mild, and many people do not seek treatment when they first become infected. Of increasing concern is the fact that syphilis increases the risk of transmitting and acquiring the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that causes AIDS. (Source: excerpt from Syphilis, NIAID Fact Sheet: NIAID)

Syphilis: NWHIC (Excerpt)

Syphilis is a sexually transmitted disease (STD) caused by a bacteria (Treponema pallidum). The disease proceeds via four stages as the bacteria makes it's way to different organs in the body. The early symptoms of syphilis can be very mild during the early stages; later, when syphilis is no longer contagious,untreated syphilis can cause serious heart abnormalities, mental disorders, blindness, other neurological problems, and death. There is growing concern about the increased susceptibility to HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, for those in the early stages of syphilis, if they have sex with someone infected with HIV. (Source: excerpt from Syphilis: NWHIC)

Wiki article about Syphilis

See full article about Syphilis

Definitions of Syphilis:

The causative agent of venereal and non-venereal syphilis as well as yaws. - (Source - Diseases Database)

A common venereal disease caused by the Treponema pallidum spirochete; symptoms change through progressive stages; can be congenital (transmitted through the placenta) - (Source - WordNet 2.1)

Syphilis is listed as a "rare disease" by the Office of Rare Diseases (ORD) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This means that Syphilis, or a subtype of Syphilis, affects less than 200,000 people in the US population.
Source - National Institutes of Health (NIH)