Sex problems of man in health and disease

by Moses Scholtz

Gonorrhea.

Gonorrhea, commonly termed a clap, is unquestionably the most widespread of venereal diseases. So common it is, so insidious and deceiving in its appearance, that most men fail to realize its serious and often dangerous nature and regard it as a trifling affection. How often one hears boys repeat this hackneyed and silly expression, “I would rather have a clap than a bad cold.” What childish recklessness, what arrogant ignorance, and how terribly it is punished and regretted later on!

The more medical and social workers study the clinical and social ravages produced by gonorrhea and its complications, the more they are impressed by its enormous and far-reaching destructive power on human health and happiness. It is a wellestablished opinion among the medical scientists at the present time that the total amount of damage and suffering to individuals and to society at large produced by gonorrhea falls not far below that produced by Syphilis, which is justly known as a black scourge of humanity. Gonorrhea is considered now a very serious disease, requiring, for a complete and permanent recovery, long and painstaking treatment. The complications of gonorrhea are numerous and far-reaching. Ninety per cent of inborn blindness in children in institutions for the blind are due to Gonorrhea, and tens of thousands of little sightless victims are a pitiful evidence of the disastrous consequences following the neglect or indifferent handling of Gonorrhea cases. It is also known that possibly half of all operations performed on women are due to neglected or unrecognized cases of Gonorrhea, and thousands and thousands of young women become permanent invalids thru the ignorance or indifference of their husbands. Only a Genito-Urinary specialist, who sees how many of these cases are mistreated or untreated because they are regarded by the patients as trifling and not worthy of any particular attention, who sees how these cases, once the sickness takes deep roots in the body, drag on for months and months in spite of the best treatment; only a physician can realize to the full extent how seriously and carefully each case of Gonorrheal infection must be handled. The respect and fear of Gonorrhea comes to young men only after a sad and distressing experience as an afterthought. How much better it would be as a forethought. It is the writer’s hope that the following lines will serve as a torch of knowledge, shedding light and guiding to safety the traveler through the darkness and dangers of sex ignorance.

Diagnosis (Recognition of Gonorrhea).

Gonorrhea is an inflammation of the lining of the urethral canal, produced by a certain kind of germ called Gonococci. These germs are so small that millions of them can be found in one drop of pus (matter), and they can be seen under a microscope grouped in pairs, and resembling in shape the halves of coffee beans put together. Gonorrhea is also called a specific urethritis, which means an inflammation of the urethra caused by a specific germ, to be distinguished from a simple non-specific urethritis, produced by other germs not Gonococci.

There is a great difference in seriousness and possibilities of developing various dangerous complications between real Gonorrhea, i. e., specific and simple non-specific urethritis. Simple urethritis is a mild and harmless catarrh of the urethra, which ordinarily clears up in from one to two weeks with a very simple treatment and even without treatment. Simple urethritis never leads to any deep or dangerous complications, never goes into the blood of the patient, and does not carry over affection to the wife and children. Unfortunately, from every hundred cases of urethritis, the majority of them, not less than ninety per cent, are real Gonorrhea, and the balance of ten cases are simple urethritis. For a man who has contracted a venereal affection of this character it is of greatest importance to determine whether his case is a simple urethritis or real Gonorrhea; but this is not as simple as could be desired, and as most of the patients believe it is. It is absolutely impossible to differentiate between real Gonorrhea and simple urethritis by the clinical appearance of the case or to estimate the seriousness and duration of the case by the visible symptoms, such as the amount of discharge, intensity of pains, etc. Not only the patient, but even the physician can not establish the presence of Gonorrhea in the case without a microscopical examination. A man who claims to be able to estimate the nature and seriousness of the case from the looks of things is either an ignoramus or impostor, or both.

Clinical Course of an Acute Gonorrhea.

The first signs of Gonorrhea usually appear not before two and not later than five days after unclean intercourse. This is the so-called incubation period—a period that differs in length in various diseases. The first thing that attracts the patient’s attention is a slight itching or tickling feeling and a sense of heat in the end of the penis. From twelve to twenty-four hours later a swelling is noticed at the opening of the urethral canal, and a whitish discharge begins to ooze from the canal. This discharge begins to increase rapidly in thickness and amount, and soon a greenish yellow thick pus begins to flow profusely. Correspondingly, the swelling and inflammation increase more and more, and urination becomes more difficult and painful, very often so agonizing that the patient holds the urine as long as he possibly can. Usually it takes from one to two weeks until the sickness reaches its climax, then for a week or two it stands at the same height, and from the third or fourth week it begins to go down, the discharge diminishes in amount, turns to creamy white, then becomes thinner, slimy, the urine becomes clearer and clearer, and in five to six weeks from the beginning of the disease the patient recovers completely. This is the course of a somewhat normal case of Gonorrhea, with smooth, regular development and without any complications. A man must consider himself very lucky if he recovers from Gonorrhea in five to six weeks completely. Only a small minority of all Gonorrhea cases run so smoothly, probably not more than 25 to 30 per cent. The majority of the cases, sometimes in spite of the best treatment and the best care, develop different complications, which increase the duration of the disease for a much longer period.

Complications of Gonorrhea.

In the beginning of Gonorrhea the inflammation is limited to the front part of the urethral canal, but in many cases the inflammation goes in deeper and spreads to the rear part of the urethral canal nearer to the bladder.