Syphilis is a contact disease. It is spread through direct contact with a chancre. Your chancre will appear where you had contact with a partner's chancre. Because chancres don't hurt, you may never know you have it. On the penis, it is most often on or close to the head (glans) of your penis. It can also be further down the shaft, on the scrotum, or in the genital area. Sometimes it has been mistaken for a hair bump, zipper cut or bite mark. Women can even have a chancre in their vagina, where it can’t be seen without a pelvic examination. If you have an anal chancre, it might be inside your anal opening making it hard to spot. The chancre might also be mistaken for an anal fissure or a hemorrhoid. In fact, some men have even undergone surgery when the chancre would have gone away on its own. The chancre can also be on your lip, in your mouth, on your tongue, in your throat or anywhere in the genital area.
Remember, even when the symptoms go away, unless you have received the right medication, the disease process will continue in your body.
Although a condom will sometimes prevent syphilis infection, it must be worn from the start of close physical contact. If your partner has a chancre at the base of his penis, on his scrotum or in the groin area, a condom will probably not protect you as it will not cover the chancre. A female condom will cover some of this area, but it would be better to wait to have sex until the syphilis has been treated and the chancre healed. It’s always smart to look before you leap – check your partner out, look their body over, asking about any sore or rash you may see, and then make a decision whether or not to engage in sexual contact. Avoid making assumptions. And for your own health and peace of mind, get tested.
If you’re at risk, get tested.