Last Updated on July 29, 2021 by Debra Rose Wilson, PhD, MSN, RN, IBCLC, AHN-BC, CHT
Pictures of STIs/STDs
When looking for pictures of STIs/STDs on google or any other search engine, you’re bound to come across incredibly graphic, disgusting, and down right scary pictures of STDs.
While these pictures are sometimes real depictions of specific STIs/STDs, they are often the very worst case scenarios and can be meant to scare people into abstinence.
This serves absolutely no purpose when you think you might have something and would like to compare your physical symptoms to more realistic photos of first occurrences of STDs in people who are not immunocompromised (a lot of the gruesome photos you come across are from people who have additional medical conditions and, as a result, have much worse STD symptoms).
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So, The STI Project has scoured the web yet again and has found the most reputable resources for syphilis pictures. These images of syphilis come from dermatologist’s websites or other similarly authoritative locations, include multiple syphilis symptom severities, and also incorporate different skin types, symptom locations, and stages of syphilis.
While The STI Project STRONGLY encourages getting tested and discourages diagnosing or treating oneself via pictures alone (syphilis pictures disclaimer), we realize the desire to compare one’s own symptoms with those of others in hopes of narrowing the possibilities. Maybe all of this is new to you; that’s ok – it’s not always easy to know if you should get STD testing done.
Remember, the most common STI/STD symptom is NO symptom at all; so, if you find your symptoms do not match any of the syphilis images below, this does NOT mean you are STI/STD negative and you should be tested as soon as possible to avoid complications of untreated STDs.
Furthermore, if you’ve engaged in ANY partnered sexual activity, you are at risk of contracting or transmitting an STI/STD (see this list of sexual activities that put you at risk for contracting an STI/STD).
Without further ado, happy photo hunting!
Pictures of Syphilis
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References
- Symptoms
- Chow, E. P. F., et al. “Duration of syphilis symptoms at presentations in men who have sex with men in Australia: are current public health campaigns effective?.” Epidemiology & Infection 144.1 (2016): 113-122.
- Patel, Nupur U., et al. “Early congenital syphilis: recognising symptoms of an increasingly prevalent disease.” Journal of cutaneous medicine and surgery 22.1 (2018): 97-99.
- Yao, Xiao, et al. “Novel predictors of neurosyphilis among HIV-negative syphilis patients with neurological symptoms: an observational study.” BMC Infectious Diseases 17 (2017).
- Nyatsanza, Farai, and Craig Tipple. “Syphilis: presentations in general medicine.” Clinical Medicine 16.2 (2016): 184-188.
- Gevorgyan, Ofelya, et al. “A nodular-ulcerative form of secondary syphilis in AIDS.” Baylor University Medical Center Proceedings. Vol. 30. No. 1. Taylor & Francis, 2017.
- Testing
- Chow, Eric PF, et al. “Increased syphilis testing of men who have sex with men: greater detection of asymptomatic early syphilis and relative reduction in secondary syphilis.” Clinical Infectious Diseases 65.3 (2017): 389-395.
- Swartzendruber, Andrea, et al. “Introduction of rapid syphilis testing in antenatal care: A systematic review of the impact on HIV and syphilis testing uptake and coverage.” International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics 130 (2015): S15-S21.
- Adeyinka, Daniel A., et al. “Elimination of mother-to-child transmission of syphilis: Is it a reality in Nigeria by 2020?.” Scandinavian journal of public health 46.8 (2018): 794-797.
- Tipple, Craig, and Graham P. Taylor. “Syphilis testing, typing, and treatment follow-up: a new era for an old disease.” Current opinion in infectious diseases 28.1 (2015): 53-60.
- Hall, Brian J., et al. “Barriers and Facilitators of Rapid HIV and Syphilis Testing Uptake Among Filipino Transnational Migrants in China.” AIDS and behavior (2019): 1-10.
- Treatment
- Stamm, L. V. “Syphilis: antibiotic treatment and resistance.” Epidemiology & Infection 143.8 (2015): 1567-1574.
- Seña, Arlene C., et al. “Rate of decline in nontreponemal antibody titers and seroreversion after treatment of early syphilis.” Sexually transmitted diseases 44.1 (2017): 6.
- Taylor, Melanie M., et al. “The amount of penicillin needed to prevent mother-to-child transmission of syphilis.” Bulletin of the World Health Organization 94.8 (2016): 559.
- Antonio, Marilia B., et al. “Natural experiment of syphilis treatment with doxycycline or benzathine penicillin in HIV-infected patients.” Aids 33.1 (2019): 77-81.
- Lawrence, David, et al. “Syphilis treatment in the presence of HIV: the debate goes on.” Current opinion in infectious diseases 28.1 (2015): 44-52.
- Prevention
- Kidd, Sarah, et al. “Use of national syphilis surveillance data to develop a congenital syphilis prevention cascade and estimate the number of potential congenital syphilis cases averted.” Sexually transmitted diseases 45 (2018): S23-S28.
- Chesson, Harrell W., and Kwame Owusu-Edusei Jr. “Relative Impact of Different Strategies for Allocating Federal Funds for Syphilis Prevention.” Sexually transmitted diseases 45 (2018): S72-S77.
- Kroeger, Karen A., et al. “Pathways to congenital syphilis prevention: A rapid qualitative assessment of barriers, and the public health response, in Caddo Parish, Louisiana.” Sexually transmitted diseases 45.7 (2018): 442-446.
- Plotzker, Rosalyn E., Ryan D. Murphy, and Juliet E. Stoltey. “Congenital Syphilis Prevention: Strategies, Evidence, and Future Directions.” Sexually transmitted diseases 45 (2018): S29-S37.
- Wu, Xiaobing, et al. “Poor awareness of syphilis prevention and treatment knowledge among six different populations in south China.” BMC public health 16.1 (2016): 287.
- Transmission
- Stahlman, Shauna, et al. “Acceptable interventions to reduce syphilis transmission among high-risk men who have sex with men in Los Angeles.” American journal of public health 105.3 (2015): e88-e94.
- Stoltey, Juliet E., and Stephanie E. Cohen. “Syphilis transmission: a review of the current evidence.” Sexual health 12.2 (2015): 103-109.
- Gumel, Abba, et al. “Mathematics of a sex‐structured model for syphilis transmission dynamics.” Mathematical Methods in the Applied Sciences 41.18 (2018): 8488-8513.
- Taylor, Melanie M., et al. “The amount of penicillin needed to prevent mother-to-child transmission of syphilis.” Bulletin of the World Health Organization 94.8 (2016): 559.
- Braccio, Serena, Mike Sharland, and Shamez N. Ladhani. “Prevention and treatment of mother-to-child transmission of syphilis.” Current opinion in infectious diseases 29.3 (2016): 268-274.
ette
Gnite I am unable 2 get pregnant after having 2 kids,4 sum unknown reason.c
Jenelle Marie
Hi ette –
There could be a myriad of reasons why you’re unable to get pregnant again not necessarily related to a treated or untreated STD. Have you seen a healthcare provider yet? That should be your first step – if you do not have insurance, almost all of the links here: https://thestiproject.com/std-resources/std-testing-centers/ provide additional services aside from just STD testing – they are generally free or very low-cost and can be income-based.
Best of luck to you and your hopes for another pregnancy! 🙂