Syphilis is a serious infection that is spread through sexual contact. It is caused by a bacterium (microorganism). You can get syphilis from contact with the blood or ulcers of a person with syphilis, especially ulcers in the mouth, penis, vagina or anus (the opening of the rectum). What are the symptoms of syphilis? Stage I syphilis, usually occurs 10 days to 3 months after a high-risk contact. In men, the earliest manifestation of syphilis may be an ulcer on the penis. In women, the earliest manifestation may be an ulcer in or around the vagina. You may not even notice the ulcer because ulcers in syphilis are usually not uncomfortable. The ulcer can disappear after 3 to 6 weeks. You may also develop enlarged lymph nodes in your groin. If you do not treat syphilis early enough, it can spread from the ulcer into the bloodstream. When syphilis infects the bloodstream, it enters stage 2 syphilis and can cause many problems at the same time. One of the most common symptoms is a rash. The rash is usually red-brown and can occur anywhere on the body (even on the palms of the hands and soles of the feet). The rash occurs 2 to 10 weeks after the appearance of an ulcer. Other symptoms of stage II syphilis include fever, swollen lymph nodes, sore throat, body aches, mouth ulcers and fatigue. After recovery from stage II syphilis, the disease may enter the latent phase. There are no symptoms during this stage, but the infection is always present in the body. Years later, untreated syphilis patients can progress to stage III syphilis. This stage can cause problems with the brain and spinal cord. Stage III syphilis can also damage the heart and other organs. Some people with syphilis do not have any symptoms of the infection. Other people may have very mild symptoms. They may not even know they have the disease. But even if they don’t have any symptoms or the symptoms go away, the infection is always present and can cause serious health problems years later.