When the cure is worse than the disease… No. 97: Metallic stomatitis sores, concurrent with re-emergence of syphilitic mucous papules. Caused by mercuric injections.No. 98: Bullous Erythema multiforme brought on by arseno-benzene injections. Patient had nine injections of mercury and eleven of arseno-benzene, and presented his rash two-and-a-half months later. His urine had much protein in it and showed signs of acute yellow atrophy of the liver. He was given three more injections of arseno-benzene and apparently recovered?No. 99: “Typical” presentation of nails after acute arsenical dermatitis, after the rash has disappeared. There were many recorded deaths from the “cure” for syphilis, often from infection of open wounds caused by reactions to the deadly poisons that people were ingesting to try and avail themselves of an illness that, if anything, would probably have killed them much more slowly… Venereal Diseases: Their Clinical Aspect and Treatment. J. E. R. McDonagh, 1921.

When the cure is worse than the disease…

No. 97: Metallic stomatitis sores, concurrent with re-emergence of syphilitic mucous papules. Caused by mercuric injections.

No. 98: Bullous Erythema multiforme brought on by arseno-benzene injections. Patient had nine injections of mercury and eleven of arseno-benzene, and presented his rash two-and-a-half months later. His urine had much protein in it and showed signs of acute yellow atrophy of the liver. He was given three more injections of arseno-benzene and apparently recovered?

No. 99: “Typical” presentation of nails after acute arsenical dermatitis, after the rash has disappeared.

There were many recorded deaths from the “cure” for syphilis, often from infection of open wounds caused by reactions to the deadly poisons that people were ingesting to try and avail themselves of an illness that, if anything, would probably have killed them much more slowly…

Venereal Diseases: Their Clinical Aspect and Treatment. J. E. R. McDonagh, 1921.

265 notes

Show

  1. bandodeabandonos reblogged this from biomedicalephemera
  2. perolapreciosa reblogged this from scientificillustration
  3. caruncula reblogged this from zooplancton
  4. 3rdorgan reblogged this from scientificillustration
  5. goodiecornbread reblogged this from thebiobabe
  6. thebiobabe reblogged this from biomedicalephemera
  7. zooplancton reblogged this from biomedicalephemera
  8. asymptotic-silence reblogged this from biomedicalephemera
  9. il-an reblogged this from biomedicalephemera
  10. lemmymerckx reblogged this from scientificillustration
  11. amarandie reblogged this from scientificillustration
  12. jaafrica reblogged this from scientificillustration
  13. artofunconformity reblogged this from bonestoneandwood
  14. femstatic reblogged this from scientificillustration
  15. bonestoneandwood reblogged this from scientificillustration
  16. higgsupernova reblogged this from scientificillustration
  17. kakotechnia reblogged this from scientificillustration and added:
    Ian Hacking uses the treatment of syphilis to illustrate how styles of reason change over time. Paracelsus recommends...
  18. time-asanimploadingunit reblogged this from scientificillustration and added:
    Things like this.
  19. hookteeth reblogged this from scientificillustration
  20. compositionfinale reblogged this from haalwayz