STI TEST · BANGKOK
Syphilis Test in Bangkok
A syphilis blood test with a doctor who visits you in Bangkok. Syphilis often causes painless or no symptoms, and it is curable once found.
Message Ovio Medically reviewed by Kewalee Rujikajorn, MD · 24 September 2026
Syphilis test at a glance.
- SampleBlood; a swab if there is a sore
- Final test12 weeks after exposure
- Early signsA painless sore that heals by itself
- TreatmentCurable with penicillin
- Who comesA doctor, to your home, condo, hotel or office
- ResultsExplained by your doctor
- PriceConfirmed before your visit
THE INFECTION
What is syphilis?
- Cause
- A bacterium, Treponema pallidum
- Also called
- Treponema pallidum infection · Lues
Syphilis is a bacterial infection caused by Treponema pallidum. It spreads through direct contact with a syphilis sore during vaginal, anal or oral sex, and from a pregnant person to their baby. It is fully curable with antibiotics, usually a penicillin injection.
What makes syphilis easy to miss is that it moves through stages. The first sign is often a single painless sore that heals by itself, and the rash that can follow also fades without treatment. The infection does not go away when the symptoms do. Untreated, it can stay hidden for years and later damage the brain, nerves, eyes and heart.
A simple blood test finds it at any stage. Reported syphilis in Thailand has risen sharply in recent years, which is one reason doctors now recommend testing for it whenever you test for other STIs.
Symptoms of syphilis.
Syphilis has distinct stages. Symptoms in each stage go away without treatment, but the infection stays and can progress.
Primary (around 3 weeks after exposure)
- A single firm, painless sore (chancre)
- On the genitals, anus or mouth
- Heals within a few weeks without treatment
Secondary (weeks to months)
- A non-itchy rash, often on the palms and soles
- Grey or white patches in the mouth or genitals
- Fever, swollen glands, patchy hair loss
Latent and late
- No symptoms, sometimes for years
- Later, damage to the brain, nerves, eyes or heart
- Can affect vision or hearing at any stage
Most syphilis infections go unrecognised. A painless sore or a rash you barely notice is enough reason to test.
How the syphilis test works.
Syphilis is diagnosed with blood tests that detect the body's response to the bacterium. Two types are used together.
Treponemal test (TPHA, TPPA or EIA)
Blood
Detects antibodies specific to Treponema pallidum. Very accurate for past or present infection, but usually stays positive for life after a cure.
Non-treponemal test (RPR or VDRL)
Blood
Measures activity. The level (titre) rises with active infection and falls after successful treatment, so it is also used to follow up.
Swab of a sore
Swab
If there is an open sore, a doctor may also test it directly, which can pick up very early infection before blood tests turn positive.
Sources: CDC2, Thailand Department of Disease Control3, WHO1
Testing with Ovio
- Tell us what you needCall or message Ovio, privately. Say where you are in Bangkok and when suits you.
- A doctor comes to youAt your home, condo, hotel or office. The doctor asks about your concerns and recommends the right samples.
- Samples go to the laboratoryTaken there and then; for most tests the visit itself is short.
- Your result, explainedWhat it means, and what to do next if anything needs treatment or a repeat test.
Not sure which test you need?
Speak to one of our doctors. They will ask about your situation and suggest the tests, samples and timing that fit it.
When to test for syphilis.
Every test has a window period: the time after exposure before it can reliably detect an infection. A test taken too early can be negative even when the infection is there.
| Test | Sample | Timing after exposure | Good to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| Treponemal and non-treponemal serology | Blood; lesion assessment if present | Test from 12 weeks | NHS service guidance uses a 12-week window. CDC advises presumptive care for some recent contacts even with negative serology. |
Sources: The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust4, CDC2
Who should get tested
- Anyone with a new sexual partner, or more than one partner
- Anyone with a painless sore, an unexplained rash, or swollen glands
- Anyone whose partner has been diagnosed with syphilis
- Men who have sex with men, usually every 3 to 6 months
- Anyone living with HIV or taking PrEP
- Everyone who is pregnant or planning a pregnancy
AFTER THE TEST
Results and next steps.
If syphilis is confirmed, the standard cure is benzathine penicillin by injection; the number of doses depends on the stage. Other antibiotics are used for people who cannot have penicillin. The doctor will also check for other STIs, including HIV.
Follow-up RPR blood tests at 6 and 12 months show whether the treatment has worked: a falling level is the sign of a cure. Avoid sex until you and your partners have finished treatment and any sores have healed.
Recent partners should be tested and often treated even if their own test is negative, because early infection may not show on a blood test yet.
This page is general information, not a diagnosis. If you are unwell, in severe pain or worried about something urgent, contact a doctor now or go to a hospital emergency department.
Syphilis testing:
your questions.
Can't see your question? Ask one of our doctors.
Yes, very easily. The first sign, a chancre, is usually painless and can be inside the vagina, anus or mouth where you would not see it. It heals within a few weeks without treatment, and the infection carries on silently. Many people are only diagnosed through a routine blood test.
They are the two kinds of syphilis blood test. TPHA (and similar treponemal tests) detects antibodies specific to the syphilis bacterium. RPR (or VDRL) detects a broader reaction that rises with active infection and falls after treatment. Doctors use them together: one to confirm syphilis, the other to judge whether it is active and to check that treatment worked.
Syphilis blood tests can take up to about 12 weeks after exposure to become positive, so NHS services use a 12-week point for a final test. If you have a sore or rash, or a partner has been diagnosed, see a doctor straight away rather than waiting: the doctor may treat you before the blood test turns positive.
Probably, yes, for one of the two tests. Treponemal antibodies (such as TPHA) usually stay positive for life, even after a cure. That is why a doctor looks at the RPR level, and compares it with earlier results, to decide whether a new positive means a new infection.
Yes. Syphilis is cured with antibiotics, and an injection of benzathine penicillin is the first-line treatment recommended by the World Health Organization. Damage that happened before treatment may not be reversible, which is why testing early matters. After treatment, follow-up blood tests confirm the cure.
Syphilis can pass to the baby and cause miscarriage, stillbirth or congenital syphilis. Treatment during pregnancy prevents this. Everyone who is pregnant or planning a pregnancy should be tested.
MEDICALLY REVIEWED
Kewalee Rujikajorn, MD
General Practitioner, Bangkok
Reviewed 24 September 2026
Kewalee Rujikajorn is a general practitioner in Bangkok, providing outpatient care for urgent, acute and chronic illness and remote consultations through a telemedicine platform. A graduate of the Medical University of Lublin, Kewalee completed postgraduate medical training at Thammasat University Hospital and has published research in ophthalmology.
Sources.
- Syphilis: fact sheetWorld Health Organization, 29 May 2025
- Syphilis: STI Treatment GuidelinesUS Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- National Guideline on HIV, Syphilis, HBV and HCV Testing (2025)Thailand Department of Disease Control
- Sexual health home testing: window periodsThe Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust
Ovio uses official public-health sources and reviews this page when they change. Questions about this content: info@oviowellness.com.
Speak to one of our doctors.
A doctor comes to your home, condo, hotel or office in Bangkok, talks through what you are worried about, takes the samples for your syphilis test and explains what happens next.