• Get tested if you are worried you might have it, have symptoms or a sexual partner has been diagnosed with syphilis.
• All tests are free in state clinics.

What the test for syphilis involves

• a blood test
• a swab test, where a swab (a small cotton bud) is used to take a small sample of fluid from any sores
• a physical examination, where a doctor or nurse will also ask to check your genitals or other parts of your body for sores.

Syphilis treatment

• Antibiotics cure syphilis. They’re usually given by a injections or a course of tablets. You might feel hot and achy for a short time after treatment.
• You need to avoid any sexual contact – anal, vaginal or oral – until at least 2 weeks after your treatment has finished, to make sure the infection does not return or spread. It’s best to wait until you’ve had a test and know the treatment has worked.
• People you’ve had sex with also need to get checked. If they know, they can be treated.
• Untreated syphilis will not go away on its own. It can cause serious heart, brain and nerve problems years later and can even lead to death.

Syphilis bacteria spread through unprotected oral, vaginal or anal sex.

You can catch it by making close contact with:

• a sore on someone’s body in the first stage, or
• a rash on someone’s body in the second stage.

Syphilis bacteria can also spread:

• by sharing sex toys
• from a mother to baby.

If you don’t get it treated, you can pass on syphilis for up to 2 years after it becomes latent or hidden. That’s between the second and third stages.

• Avoid touching the sores or the rash.
• Using external or internal condoms can cut the risk, but only if the condom covers the sores or rash. Using a dental dam during oral sex can also cut the risk.
• Avoid sharing sex toys – if you do, wash them and cover them with a condom every time.
• Other types of contraception, like the contraceptive pill, give you no protection from syphilis or other STIs.

• Get tested if you are worried you might have it, have symptoms or a sexual partner has been diagnosed with syphilis.
• All tests are free on the NHS.

What the test for syphilis involves

• a blood test
• a swab test, where a swab (a small cotton bud) is used to take a small sample of fluid from any sores
• a physical examination, where a doctor or nurse will also ask to check your genitals or other parts of your body for sores.

Syphilis treatment

• Antibiotics cure syphilis. They’re usually given by a single injection or a short course of tablets. You might feel hot and achy for a short time after treatment.
• You need to avoid any sexual contact – anal, vaginal or oral – until at least 2 weeks after your treatment has finished, to make sure the infection does not return or spread. It’s best to wait until you’ve had a test and know the treatment has worked.
• People you’ve had sex with also need to get checked – a clinic can let them know if you don’t want to. If they know, they can be treated.
• Untreated syphilis will not go away on its own. It can cause serious heart, brain and nerve problems years later and can even lead to death.

The more people you have sex with, the more chance you have of getting infections like syphilis. Having unprotected sex makes the risk bigger.

You can have STIs without knowing, so regular check-ups are a good idea. This is especially the case if you’re starting a new relationship or you want to stop using condoms with your partner.

If you live with HIV

As syphilis is a severe disease, the earlier it is detected, the shorter the treatment required and the more effective it is. In general, HIV infection doesn’t affect the treatment regimen.

If you are coinfected with HIV and syphilis, it can develop severe organ and nerve damage much more rapidly. Syphilis can decrease the CD4 count, causing damage to the immune system as well as increasing the viral load. It is, therefore, important to start treatment as soon as possible.

When you have syphilis, even if your viral load stays undetectable and your CD4 count remains average, it may put your HIV-negative partners at a higher probability of getting HIV from you. This is because syphilis often rapidly damages the immune system, increasing HIV viral load. Together with syphilis, its manifestations such as ulcers, sores, inflammation or broken skin, HIV may leave your body and expose your partner more easily.

Certain medications for HIV can have unwanted interactions with drugs used for syphilis treatment. Therefore, the treatment should be provided by a professional with experience in both infections. You can verify HIV and non-HIV drug interactions at www.hiv-druginteractions.org/checker.

If you don’t live with HIV

If you have syphilis, you are more likely to get HIV than someone STI-free. This is because the same types of behaviour and conditions that may put you at risk of getting a sexually transmitted infection STI increase the risk of getting HIV. The presence of STI manifestations such as ulcers, sores, inflammation or broken skin caused by STI may allow HIV to enter your body more easily.