Treatment of Mariners Suffering from Urethritis before Attendance at a Vd Clinic.

Disquiet has been expressed in the past at the treatment of patients suffering from venereal diseases by non-specialists (British Medical Association/British Cooperative Clinical Group, 1959). Mariners, however, are at greater risk than the general population with regard to non-specialist treatment, because of the readily available drugs in the ship's medical stores for use when at sea, and the fact that treatment is given by ship's officers or stewards. This form of treatment by laymen is outside the National Health Service and is not recognized by the Venereal Diseases Act of 1917. The "Ship Captain's Medical Guide" (Ministry of Transport, 1952) lays down recommendations for the management of illnesses on British ships. It states that the treatment of gonorrhoea should consist of only one injection of penicillin of half the "normal dose" (i.e. 1 ml. instead of 2 ml.) and that it must not be repeated (page 153). Under "Venereal Diseases" (page 289) is detailed the treatment of gonorrhoea: