It is spread by genital, anal or oral sex with an infected person. The second stage is a whole body rash, which comes weeks later. Syphilis affects the whole body. Syphilis symptoms go away in 6 months even with no treatment. But the germs are still spreading in your body.
Years later syphilis enters the third stage.
This may cause heart disease, brain damage or death. Early treatment can protect against this. People with genital sores may have greater chance of getting HIV infection. If you have HIV infection, the second and third stages of syphilis may come sooner and be more serious. Various blood tests are available to diagnose syphilis.