Venereal disease prevention

Outlining his interest and work in the prevention of VD, especially gonorrhea and syphilis, the author addresses the questions of prophylaxis and contraceptives, together with their technological advances, and ties these two concepts into the complex fabric of human behavior, history of available therapy in both world wars as well as the economic, social, moral and national concepts of what constitutes proper emphasis: prevention or cure. Thus, the absence of therapeutic modalities spurred the United States Armed Services to utilize Credé's solution for urethral irrigation and locally applied calomel ointment for prophylactic purposes in World War I but abandoned this mode when cheap penicillin therapy became available after World War II. Similarly, the utilization of combined prophylactic and contraceptive methods for women has to await the overcoming of societal and parental resistance. Particularly where teenagers are concerned the importance of combined modalities is stressed.