Syphilis treatment, diagnosis & prescriptions

Maple is a virtual care platform that connects you with doctors and other healthcare providers via text, audio, or video. After you log in to your Maple account, you can request an online consultation.

Consultations work similarly to in-person appointments — the doctor can complete an assessment by asking questions about your symptoms, going through your health history, and determining what treatment is right for you. If they think your condition is more serious, they may tell you to go to a clinic for an in-person examination.

As a Maple member, you get 24/7 access to virtual primary care online and more. You can connect with our network of providers via text, audio, or video call within minutes.

Our membership costs $79.99/month and covers virtual care for patients and their families, including the primary account holder's spouse and any dependents.

For patients in eligible provinces, our membership includes:

• Access to daily primary care provider visits: One daily visit with a primary care provider for each family member in their household.
• Paediatric care: Covered paediatric primary care visits, available by appointment.
• Second medical opinions: access to a network of experts for a second opinion if diagnosed with a complex condition (e.g. cancer).
• Personal Health Check-Ins: A series of personalized, evidence-based proactive care screenings to maintain and improve health.
• iCBT courses: Access to iCBT (internet-based cognitive behavioural therapy) self-assessment and courses.
• Access to specialists in eligible provinces: Easy access to specialists on Maple within days, not months. No referral is needed.
• Specialist referrals in eligible provinces: Ability to be referred to a physician specialist for in-person care, if needed.
• Credit discounts: An $80 credit per month to be applied to a Maple specialist visit.

Please note that our membership cannot be combined with other offerings, such as private insurance coverage and provincial programs, where available. In some cases, membership fees can be covered by a Healthcare Spending Account (HSA) — check with your HSA provider for more details.

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Our policies and consent processes are designed to be simple and easily understood, empowering individuals with control and a clear understanding of their healthcare journey. When using our services, a patient’s session is protected by a comprehensive security infrastructure and stringent data policies.

Patients also retain full control of their personal health information, medical records and test results at all times. Our approach is reinforced by consultations with leading experts, guaranteeing comprehensive policy frameworks that are reviewed at a regular cadence.

All providers delivering healthcare through Maple are licensed in Canada and governed by their licensing regulatory colleges, and in all instances, must act in accordance with the governing principles set out in the telemedicine policies of each medical regulator in the applicable province.

Regulators across Canada support and recognize the value of services like ours, and the way in which they can benefit patients, physicians, and Canada’s broader healthcare system by improving access to care and increasing efficiencies in the delivery of care.

Yes. It’s possible for a Maple doctor to determine whether or not you have syphilis by learning about your symptoms, ordering tests, and gathering relevant information about your sexual history. From there, the doctor will be able to recommend treatment options and prescribe medication.

Yes, our physicians can prescribe medications online during your consultation. Once you accept a prescription, you’ll have the option to pick it up from any pharmacy or to have it delivered right to your door at no additional cost.

Syphilis is a bacterial infection that spreads through sexual contact (an STI), or close skin to skin contact with an infected person. The bacteria that causes syphilis is called treponema pallidum.

Syphilis affects the body in stages. Not everyone experiences the stages in the same order, and sometimes, symptoms from different stages can happen all at once.

Primary Stage: The primary stage begins at the moment of infection, though syphilis has an incubation period of about 3 weeks (and up to 90 days). It’s defined by the presence of a syphilis chancre, which is a sore that appears on the genitals of the infected person. The sore is a painless bump (in some cases it may be a wet sore), so it can easily go unnoticed, or be mistaken for something else like an ingrown hair. On men, the chancre often appears on the penis, but it can also appear on the scrotum. Women may develop a chancre on the vulva or vagina, or sometimes, deep inside their cervix. Both men and women can develop chancres in their rectums, and rarely, in their mouths. Swelling of the lymph nodes in areas near the chancre are a clue that you may have syphilis.

During this stage, a person with syphilis is extremely contagious. The sore clears up on it’s own in about 3 weeks, but that doesn’t mean the person is syphilis free.

Syphilis symptoms are different in each of the four stages of syphilis, and don’t always happen in the same order. Sometimes they overlap, and sometimes they don’t occur at all. A person may have syphilis for years with little indication that anything is wrong.

Primary Phase: Syphilis symptoms in women during this phase include a syphilis chancre (sore) on the vagina, cervix, or vulva (and rarely, in the mouth). In men, syphilis symptoms during this phase include a syphilis chancre on the penis, scrotum or inside the anus

Secondary Phase:

• A rash with reddish brown bumps on palms and the soles of the feet, or elsewhere on the body
• Sores (condylomata lata), in the mouth, vagina, penis or anus
• Fever
• Sore throat
• Swollen lymph nodes
• Patchy hair loss
• Headaches
• Weight Loss
• Fatigue
• Muscle aches
• Nervous system malfunctions like paralysis, and stiffness in the neck and back

Syphilis transmission occurs during sexual contact, or skin contact with an infected person. Risk factors for contracting syphilis include:

• Unprotected vaginal, anal or oral sex
• Sex with multiple partners
• Sex with a person who has syphilis
• Being a man that has sex with men
• Being HIV+
• Childbirth: congenital syphilis occurs when a mother with syphilis transfers it to her newborn.

If your symptoms indicate you may have syphilis, it can be diagnosed with a blood test. If the doctor thinks your nervous system may be affected, a sample of your cerebrospinal fluid might also be tested.

Syphilis prevention, like most STI prevention, involves safer sex practices.

• Use condoms and dental dams during sex
• Limit your number of intimate partners
• Ensure that you and your partners have regular STD tests
• Avoid sex with someone who has syphilis or is undergoing treatment for it

Yes, it is possible and highly recommended that you rid your body of syphilis once you are diagnosed. The long term health complications that result from untreated syphilis can be irreversible.

If syphilis is caught in the primary or secondary stage, a doctor may prescribe penicillin to be taken orally or intravenously as syphilis treatment.

Another commonly prescribed drug to treat syphilis is doxycycline. If doxycycline treatment begins in the early stages of syphilis, it’s usually taken orally for 14 days. Treatment during the later stages of syphilis may require more of the antibiotic. In those cases, it’s prescribed for 28 days. This treatment is recommended to people with a penicillin allergy.

Penicillin is the preferred treatment for pregnant women. Pregnant women with a penicillin allergy can be introduced to treatment slowly over time to avoid triggering a reaction.

Untreated syphilis can lead to life-threatening complications that affect your heart, nervous system, and even your mental health. Regular testing and early intervention are great ways to protect yourself and your partners.

Without treatment, the bacteria that causes syphilis will never leave your body, leading to a wide range of long term complications.

Syphilis complications include:

• Increased risk of HIV: the syphilis chancre (sore) that appears in the early stages provides a more direct path for HIV to enter the body through the broken skin.
• Gummas: small bumps of dead tissue that appear under the skin, on organs and bones, and inside the mouth on the palate.
• Neurosyphilis: where the infection spreads to the nervous system. Neurosyphilis symptoms include chronic headaches, stroke, vision loss, loss of physical sensation, meningitis (brain inflammation), dementia, and paralysis.
• Childbirth complications: it is possible to pass syphilis on to a newborn during labor, a condition called congenital syphilis.
• Heart disease: syphilis can cause an inflamed aorta, which can rupture and cause internal bleeding.