History of the Medical Treatment of Gonorrhea

In his textbook “A Complete Practical Work on the Nature and Treatment of Venereal Diseases”, Homer Bostwick stated that “We do not know of any substance, which, taken into the system, is an antidote to the infection of gonorrheal matter. Such an antidote has been long sought for, and its pretended discovery has been often announced, but we have no good reason to believe that any of these pretended prophylactics are infallible. It is natural to suppose that a small dose of the essence or extract of cubebs, or of turpentine, might have such an effect, but it is a matter which could only be tested by a series of difficult or nearly impossible experiments, for we are not to expect that men will voluntarily submit themselves to infection, merely to oblige a scientific experimentalist.”(1)