Questionnaire
Question 1.—Is sexual continence harmful to health?
Answer.—At the age before full sexual maturity, that is, up to 22–25 years, sexual continence is not only not harmful, but even advisable and extremely effective in keeping up the physical and mental freshness and full vigor of a growing body. After full sexual maturity is reached, a regular sexual life thru marriage is desirable, but even at this age sexual continence can be kept up for many months without the slightest harm to the individual whatsoever, provided he keeps away from unnecessary stimulating and exciting influences.
Question 2.—Are the pimples on the face of young men an indication of the necessity of sexual intercourse?
Answer.—Not at all. The pimples on the face of young people is a harmless skin disease known under the name of Acne, and is due to the surplus of fat secreted by the young skin, but it has nothing to do with the sexual function. It is just as much and to an equal degree spread among people indulging in sexual intercourse as among those who are continent. Acne is often a result of eating too much sweets and other heavy food. It is treated by regulation of the diet and local applications.
Question 3.—How often can a wet dream occur without being injurious to health?
Answer.—There is no definite dividing line and exact time limit between normal and abnormal wet dreams. In sexual life, individual differences vary more than in any other function of the human body. Some men get wet dreams once in 1–2–3 months; some once in 2–3 weeks. The figures are immaterial. The only safe rule to measure injuriousness of a wet dream is by its effect on the general health and spirit. If a man, after a night emission, feels just as fresh and strong or even better than before it, it is normal; if not, it is abnormal.
Question 4.—What may the habit of masturbation lead to?
Answer.—In a young child (the younger the more disastrous the results), persistent masturbation can lead to perfect physical and nervous exhaustion, and even serious organic diseases. In older boys and men, it affects mainly the nervous system and mentality.
Question 5.—Is every discharge from the urethral canal a sign of venereal disease?
Answer.—Not necessarily. It depends on the character and quality of the discharge. A white, yellow, or greenish thick discharge—pus—is always an indication of a venereal, or at least a genito-urinary disease (bladder, kidney, etc.), but a clean, watery, or slimy like white of an egg discharge may occur in perfect health as a result of sexual excitement, or it may remain as a harmless temporary phenomenon, due to overtreatment of the urethral canal in any venereal disease. The exact condition, of course, can be recognized only by a physician after a careful examination.
Question 6.—What can Gonorrhea lead to if not treated?
Answer.—Most common complications of Gonorrhea are: (1) Epididymitis (inflammation of the testicle), with the possibility of sterility later on. (2) Chronic Prostatitis, leading often to nervous weakness and irritability (Neurasthenia). (3) Stricture, the most dangerous complication of all. (4) Gonorrheal Rheumatism, affecting different joints. (5) Gonorrheal infection of the eye.
Question 7.—Can Gonorrhea turn into Chancroid or Syphilis?
Answer.—No, it cannot. All three diseases are produced by different germs, and for this reason none of these diseases can turn into any other. It may happen, tho, that a double infection takes place, when two diseases may coexist.
Question 8.—Can chronic Gonorrhea (Gleet) be cured?
Answer.—Unquestionably so, tho in some neglected or mistreated cases it takes many months to effect the complete cure. The only complication of Gonorrhea that may prove incurable if neglected is a stricture, yet it can be always improved or relieved.
Question 9.—How can a real Gonorrhea be distinguished from a simple catarrhal Urethritis?
Answer.—The only sure way to differentiate these two conditions is by finding Gonococci under the microscope.
Question 10.—How long does it take to cure a Gonorrhea?
Answer.—There is no way whatsoever to predict the exact duration of an individual case. In average, the cases of acute Gonorrhea, without any complications, lasts from 5–6 weeks, and these constitute a very small minority of all cases of Gonorrhea. The largest majority of Gonorrhea cases develop one of the complications and last from 2–3 months. The cases that turn into chronic, last from 6–12 months.
Question 11.—How soon can a man who has been suffering from Gonorrhea marry without danger of infection to his future family?
Answer.—Not before the physician, after a most careful and repeated examination by all known methods and tests, can positively establish that there are no more Gonococci present in the patient. All other symptoms do not bear on the contagiousness of the case, and contraindicate marriage only if they affect the general condition of the man.
Question 12.—What is the difference between soft and hard chancres?
Answer.—Soft and hard chancres are produced by different kinds of germs, and are entirely different diseases.
Soft Chancre or Chancroid always remains a local disease, and leads only to one complication—to abscess of the glands in the groin, a Chancroidal bubo.
Hard Chancre is a primary syphilitic sore and always penetrates into the blood, becoming a constitutional disease. Syphilitic buboes are hard and never produce an abscess.
Question 13.—Can Syphilis be cured perfectly?
Answer.—Undoubtedly so, tho to be sure of it, a long time of observation after treatment is concluded and thoro testing are necessary.
Question 14.—How long does the contagious period of Syphilis last?
Answer.—The most contagious period of Syphilis is the secondary period, when a syphilitic has the most active lesions—mucous patches in the mouth or around the genital organs.
The tumors—gummata of the tertiary period—are considerably less contagious.
Question 15.—How long does it take to cure Syphilis?
Answer.—No case should be declared cured before at least one year has elapsed, even tho no active lesions are noticeable. Most cases take between two and three years to render their blood free from syphilitic poison.
Question 16.—When can a syphilitic marry?
Answer.—Not before repeated blood tests have shown a persistent freedom from Syphilitic poison, which, as pointed out in previous questions, takes from two to three years.