Syphilis is a notorious disease that has been stigmatized throughout history because it is believed to be associated with immorality and sacred punishment. While we now know these are misconceptions, there is no doubt that the disease still caused great pain and discomfort to people in the past. Here are 10 crazy facts about the history of syphilis.
One of the most incredible facts about syphilis is that it often uses mercury to**. This extremely harmful substance is most commonly applied directly to the affected area by applying a medicine (ointment), but it can also be administered through pills or steam baths.
Of course, this is very dangerous and often does more harm than good, as mercury can cause some painful *** including mouth sores, tooth loss, and kidney failure. In fact, mercury may be responsible for more syphilis deaths than the disease itself.
Syphilis is not the first disease for which people have tried mercury**. This substance has been used in medicines for a variety of ailments such as constipation, flu, parasites, and depression. As early as 1363, the Pope's physician, Guy de Chauliac, in his La Grande Chirurgie, mentioned the benefits of using it for ailments.
While the first recorded outbreak of syphilis was in the 1490s, when Charles VIII of France went to war with Italy, the actual biological origin of syphilis remains unknown and is hotly debated.
There are two main theories that disagree about how and when the disease first appeared. It is believed that Columbus and his crew brought it to the continent after an expedition to the Americas in 1492. Often referred to as the Columbus hypothesis, it cites written documents from their return trip documenting that some of the crew members suffered from syphilis-like symptoms that were simply labeled as "unknown diseases."
Another theory is that syphilis was already present in Europe (and elsewhere in the world) long before Columbus arrived in the Americas, just unnoticed. Evidence for this theory was found in Mexico in 2020, when the bones of a woman suffering from syphilis-like disease were discovered 10,000 years ago.
The first concrete evidence of a syphilis outbreak came in the summer of 1494, when King Charles VIII of France crossed the continent with an army of 50,000 men to go to war with Italy.
As the French advanced, the soldiers "celebrated" their victory, and with it the emergence of a mysterious, painful and incredibly uncomfortable disease. Then, when soldiers return to their homes or the victims of celebrations return to their homes, they carry this new deadly disease.
This is how syphilis spreads in Europe. It soon spread to France, Switzerland, Germany, and eventually to England and Scotland.
It was then spread around the world by European explorers and colonizers. By 1498, syphilis had spread to Calcutta, and by 1520, syphilis had spread to Africa, China, Japan, and even Oceania.
While there is some debate about whether Europeans are the first to have syphilis in these countries, there is no doubt that even if they didn't bring syphilis in the first place, they would certainly have made the situation worse.
Syphilis is given many nicknames that derive from the stigma surrounding the disease. People started naming it after people they didn't particularly like as an insult.
For example, for the French it is the "Neapolitan disease", for the Poles it is the "German disease", and for the British, Germans and Italians it is called the "French disease".
It is believed that the first use of the word "syphilis" was in 1530 by the Italian poet and physician Girolamo Fracastoro in a poem entitled "Sive Morbus Gallicus". The poem tells the story of syphilis (syphilus), a shepherd who cares for syphilis. The sheep of King Arsinos (from Greek mythology). In short, when Siphilus refused to do what he wanted, the god Apollo went mad and began to curse humanity with a terrible disease called syphilis, which he named after the shepherd who made him so angry.
In 1906, with the development of the Wasserman blood test, the first effective** method of syphilis appeared. Until then, however, the diagnosis of this disease was based only on the obvious symptoms it caused, such as rashes and chancre. Because of this, it either goes undiagnosed for a long time or is ineffective, meaning it never will.
In its early history, syphilis went through three distinct stages. The first involves *** ulcers, and the second involves a rash all over the body, accompanied by fever and pain, and this condition can last for months or even years.
The third stage involves abscesses and ulcers. If the disease progresses to this point, the outcome is often terrible – either severe disability or death. It is from this stage that the stigma surrounding syphilis appears to a large extent, since it often gives people a pronounced disability. All in all, the disease can last for years and become a major source of pain and discomfort for patients.
In England, King Henry VIII (1491-1547) took action against the disease very early. Since syphilis is a sexually transmitted disease, it was soon associated with sex workers, who themselves were heavily stigmatized for their alleged immoral practices.
As a result of these stereotypes, Henry VIII decided that it was necessary to close all brothels and baths in London. While the motives behind these acts are misleading, because syphilis is spread through direct contact with the affected area rather than through immoral or unethical behavior, they are somewhat effective because they prevent close contact, often between strangers.
Henry VIII was not the only European monarch to take such action. In other countries, there are similar regulations on people's free time. As a result, many sex workers, who are already abused and impoverished, have lost their jobs and money.
Many of the diseases of the early modern period were thought to be related to divine intervention. However, this is especially true in the case of syphilis, as it has become closely linked to ethical issues. Many people believe that syphilis is God's punishment.
Some even believe that proper ** is more punishment or, in some cases, should not be accepted at all, but should be made to suffer as God desires.
However, not everyone agrees with this view. An English physician named Thomas Sydenham (1624-1689) noted in 1673 that doctors should not be involved in the morality of their patients, but should simply ** the patient as needed, without the need to make judgments.
Before the development of our modern scientific understanding of syphilis, diagnosis was based on visual symptoms. As a result, it is extremely common for syphilis to be mistaken for gonorrhea and vice versa. Both are bacterial infections, and while the bacteria at the root are different, the symptoms are similar, leading to frequent confusion. It wasn't until at least 1761 that doctors began to realize that the two diseases were different.
In the same year, the anatomist Giovanni Battista Morgagni (1682-1771) wrote in De Sedibus et Causis Morborum per Anatomen Indagatis that the symptoms of the two diseases were caused by different diseases.
However, some were still arguing until the French physician Philippe Ricord (1800–1889) quite conclusively pointed out in 1838 that the two were separate, and the controversy completely subsided. He provided evidence that the stages of syphilis were different from those of syphilis. Gonorrhea. As a result of his work, the main lesion formed on the body of a syphilis patient was named "Ricode's chancre".
As mentioned earlier, sex workers are heavily stigmatized when it comes to sexually transmitted diseases. Due to the nature of their work and the primitive nature of sexual health care at the time, they were the most common group of people hospitalized with syphilis.
So, this means that doctors and scientists are looking for answers for them. These medical personnel carried out so-called "syphilis" experiments based on the theory of inoculation. Just like the early smallpox vaccination, it was believed that after one episode of the disease, the patient would not suffer from a second one. As a result, doctors try to infect sex workers with the disease, hoping to boost their natural immunity once they develop the disease.
Unfortunately, this is not the case for many sex workers. Many people contract the disease for the first time through these experiments and then die or are permanently disfigured when they can't.
Another method of syphilis is guaiac wood (nicknamed "sacred wood"), a type of wood from the Dominican Republic. In 1508, it was introduced to Europe as one of the first drugs for syphilis.
It is used in a variety of ways, from the bark itself to other plants and flowers of the guaiac genus. People raved about the "miracles" it could bring, and it soon became the favorite method of many European doctors (in addition to mercury).
In 1588, Johannes Stradanus (1523–1605), an artist working for the Medici family, depicted the substance in one of his engravings (pictured above). There is some disagreement on how to manage timber. Some recommend boiling it in water, others suggesting grinding or chopping it.
Others argue about what kind of water should be added, some about river water, others about well water. According to some ***, it was very popular in the 16th century, and Livorno alone imported 10 tons a year!
In conclusion, syphilis is a disease that not only causes great pain and suffering, but also carries with it the stigma that can ruin reputation. People rarely get completely out of the disease, and many are left with physical scars that mean they will be judged and treated badly for the rest of their lives.