Primary Syphilis is a disease caused by the bacteria Treponema Pallidum. It is transmitted through sexual intercourse and in the first stage of Syphilis. It presents itself as a painless ulcer-like lesion (chancre) on the male or female genital organs and it is very contagious. The chancre is like a pool filled with a bunch of Treponemas having a party in it, and it is the actual site where the infecting bacteria actually penetrated the individual. In the male it can be found on the shaft of the male genital or on the scrotum. While in the female, its can be found externally on the labia or internally on the vaginal wall or even the cervix. That is why a person should be very careful when having unprotected intercourse, because the lesion may not always be visible in the female partner.
The chancre usually appears 2 – 3 weeks after having intercourse with an infected partner. Most of the time people are embarrassed to go see a physician since the lesion is not painful and they anticipate that it will go away on its own. This is were some people make a big mistake because the chancre actually does go away on its own after 4 – 6 weeks, but now the infected individual goes into a latent period until Secondary Syphilis shows up.
Primary Syphilis has a good prognosis in an immune competent individual. It can be treated with Penicillin in an intramuscular injection, and the person can be cured. It is also very important that the infected individual notifies all his partners and have them seek treatment as well in order to eliminate the spread of disease. A good preventive measure to consider is the use of condoms during intercourse.
