Mercury treatment for syphilis
Europe recorded its first major outbreak of syphilis in 1495 and for many years researchers believed the disease to have been brought to the Old World from the New World following the voyage of Christopher Columbus. But this theory does not explain the recorded treatments for the disease which date to the eleventh century in Persia. There is no dispute that its first major outbreak in Western Europe was in the years following Columbus’ return and during the Renaissance it was often referred to as the Great Pox, to differentiate it from another major killer of the day, smallpox.
The use of mercury to treat syphilis dates from around the same time. Mercury was applied to the patient in one or more of several methods, it could be rubbed directly into the skin, taken orally, or sometimes mixed into a plaster which was then applied to the body. Mercury was also heated until it vaporized, with the patient (one begins to see the relationship between the words patience and patients) inhaling the fumes. The application of mercury increased salivation, which was believed by the medical profession to expel the disease from the body. Heavy sweating was also a desired curative effect.
Exposure to mercury had toxic effects, which led to the loss of teeth due to the degeneration of the gums, a minor problem in a time when the loss of teeth due to tooth decay was commonplace. The alternative to the mercury treatments was the disfigurement characteristic of the disease as it advanced, which led to the development of masks and false noses to hide the physical evidence presented by the sufferer.
Later treatments for syphilis included exposing the patient to malaria, since it was believed that the induction of fever helped cure or control the disease. Malaria at the time was incurable, but could be controlled through the use of quinine, and was considered to be an effective option for doctor’s treating syphilis, which of course carried considerable social stigma along with serious health risks.
The many side effects of using mercury to treat syphilis included loss of vision, loss of muscular coordination, speech impairment, trouble walking, loss of hearing, general malaise, loss of teeth, and ulcers on the gums. As time went on many of these symptoms were linked to mercury but it continued to be used as a treatment for syphilis – which was a leading killer in the United States as late as the 1930s – until the widespread availability of penicillin following World War II.