How long does it take for syphilis to show?

Answer 1

The time-line of a syphilis infection and symptoms from stage 1 to stage 4:

Syphilis develops in four stages, each with a different set of symptoms. Not all people with syphilis develop the same signs and symptoms while infected with syphilis.

Stage 1 "Primary" syphilis: Begins shortly after having sex with an infected person, usually within 10 days to 3 months (usually about 3 weeks) after exposure. Shortly after infected, one or more red painless ulcers (chancres) or hard firm lump will appear. Without medical treatment, the chancres (ulcers) take about 2 to 6 weeks to heal. This symptom can go unnoticed.

Stage 2 "Secondary" syphilis: Symptoms show up 1 week to 6 months (usually about 1-6 weeks) after the stage 1 chancre has healed. Flu-like symptoms: fatigue, fever, joint pain, muscle and swollen glands can develop. Symptoms will clear up and will go away with or without treatment. But without treatment the infection will remain active in the body, and without treatment the symptoms will clear up in 3 weeks to 9 months.

Stage 3 "Latent" (hidden) stagesyphilis: This stage begins after the secondary symptoms disappear. At this stage, there are usually nosymptoms, which is why they call it the latent (hidden) stage. But the infection is established in the blood, remains active and contagious.

Stage 4 "Late-stage" syphilis: The damage caused by undiagnosed syphilis can cause death. This can happen years later, at this point the syphilis is no longer contagious. During stage 4, called "tertiarysyphilis," there can be numerous health problems; these can include damage caused by the bacteria; the brain, bones, joints, eyes, heart, nervous system; thereby causing chest pain, memory loss, autoimmune problems, difficulty breathing, even cancers can develop.

The syphilis bacteria (Treponema pallidum) is responsible for all of the symptoms that follow after the infection takes hold; the symptoms do not always occur in the same order, and sometimes the symptoms can be more sever in one person, verses another. The primary and secondary stages are the most infectious. After the symptoms of the secondary stage clear up, the infection becomes latent during stage 3. In the final stage, the person develops numerous health issues and they can die from most of them. Timely diagnoses and treatment for syphilis is critical.