The chancre is usually firm, round, small, and painless. It appears at the spot where the bacterium entered the body. The chancre lasts 1-5 weeks and will heal on its own. If adequate treatment is not administered, the infection progresses to the secondary stage. The second stage starts when one or more areas of the skin break into a rash that usually does not itch.
Rashes can appear as the chancre is fading or can be delayed for weeks.
The rash also may appear as a prickly heat rash, as small blotches or scales all over the body, as a bad case of old acne, as moist warts in the groin area, as slimy white patches in the mouth, as sunken dark circles the size of a nickel or dime, or as pus-filled bumps like chicken pox. Some of these signs on the skin look like symptoms of other diseases. Sometimes the rashes are so faint they are not noticed. Rashes typically last 2-6 weeks and clear up on their own. In addition to rashes, second stage symptoms can include fever, swollen lymph glands, sore throat, patchy hair loss, headaches, weight loss, muscle aches, and tiredness.