The chancre is generally a dark pink color and does not bleed easily. It must be stressed that the appearance of this chancre can vary greatly. If the lesion is untreated, it may heal on its own. However, without the attention of a physician the disease will progress. Once the primary lesion has healed, new symptoms will affect the patient.
Secondary lesions are likely to form.
Other symptoms include a sore throat, low-grade fever, headache and a rash. This third stage of syphilis usually begins from 6 months to 2 years after the initial infection. Yet in most cases, the latent stage is asymptomatic. Many may assume that the disease has cured itself and it is therefore sometimes left untreated. Latent syphilis may stay with the patient for life or late syphilis may appear within 2 years of the initial infection.