Talk to your partner(s) about sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and
your health before you have sex. You can pass on an STI without
knowing you have one. During sex, you can use latex condoms to lower
Syphilis is an infection that is caused by bacteria. It is a reportable infection,
meaning that if you test positive for Syphilis, you will be contacted by a clinic or
health department and asked to provide the contact information for current and
past sexual partners for notification and testing purposes. Your name is not
disclosed when a current or past sexual partner is notified.
You can get syphilis if you have oral sex, vaginal sex, anal sex or share a
needle with a person who already has the infection. Syphilis can cause sores
around the genitals and mouth, and a rash on the skin. The infection can be
HEALTH. passed on through these sores and the rash. Some people with syphilis may
have no sores or rash, but can still pass on the infection. A pregnant woman
with syphilis can pass on the infection to her baby before it is born.
Most people that have syphilis have no symptoms. They can unknowingly
¹ Within the first 10 to 90 days, you may notice a painless sore called
a chancre on or near the point of infection (penis, buttocks, vagina, anus, mouth or throat)
¹ If the sore is not treated, the infection will continue to spread.
¹ Three to 16 months after the chancre first appears, you may get a
rash on the palms of your hand, soles of your feet, chest and/or back.
¹ You may feel like you have the flu. ¹ In some cases you may experience patchy hair loss, muscle and
¹ If left untreated, you may develop problems with your brain, liver,
heart and other arteries. It may also lead to bone disease and blindness. You may experience these symptoms from 10 to 20 years after first becoming infected.
A blood test can confirm whether or not you have syphilis. It can take
between 2 to 12 weeks for the infection to show up in your blood.
You should be treated for syphilis as soon as you find out that you
have it. Syphilis can be cured with antibiotics, usually penicillin. You
will get one or more injections of penicillin, on a weekly basis. It is
important to go each week for your injection until the treatment is
finished. If you are allergic to penicillin, you will be given another
use condoms or a antibiotic. You should tell your sexual partner(s) that you have syphilis.
Yes. The clinician will do several blood tests over the next two years
to make sure that the infection is gone.
How do you prevent passing the infection on to your partner(s)?
Once you have had a negative follow up test, you can no longer pass
on the infection, and you are cured. Until you have a negative follow
up test, you may be able to pass on the infection and should abstain
If you need further information or would like to book an
Planned Parenthood Toronto Health Services for youth ages 13
to 29. 416-927-7171. Health Services offers same-day,
scheduled and drop-in appointments. For more information visit
Women’s Programming at the Bay Centre for Birth Control for
Youth can also access information about sexual health by calling
the Teen Sex InfoLine at 416-961-3200 or chat live using MSN
messenger at spiderbytes@hotmail.com from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Monday to Wednesday and 12 noon to 6 p.m. Saturday and
Sunday. You can also email us a question anytime at
askus@spiderbytes.ca or visit www.spiderbytes.ca.
Trans fats clean out—Pantry Products we found that contain trans fat Substitution suggestions (just a few ideas that can be found in mainstream *See ingredient information below; we’ve stores. Good brands can also be found at Betty Crocker Fruit Roll-Ups Strawberry Sensation Chef Boyardee Microwave Macaroni & Cheese* -Annie’s homegrown macaroni and cheese (options for s
TIPS FOR TREKKERS TO MALIAU BASIN There are few mosquitoes during the trip. You can choose not to take the pill but rememberto use insect repellent. Most visitors are more worried about the leeches. As the trip to Maliau Basin involve three days of trekking and lots of up and down the hill, itis highly recommended that visitors are reasonable fit, at least to endure 6 to 8 hours oftrekking per