VD (1950s)

Among the most destructive enemies of mankind are the venereal diseases. Ghanariah and Siflas have left a trail of human wreckage across the pages of history. Kings, conquerors and peasants alike have fallen before the onslaught of the dreadful scourge.

Venereal disease is no respecter of class. In the old days, it thrived among the poor and in the brothels of the slums. By the end of World War II, with the aid of powerful new antibiotics, gonorrhea and syphilis were brought under control.

Tragically, today it is back with us again in alarming proportions, raging through our high schools and colleges and infecting our young people everywhere. Last year in California alone, it was estimated that there were more than one-half million new cases.

60% were under 20 years of age, and 20% were not aware they had it. Our best weapon against venereal disease is knowledge. Now, let us examine both gonorrhea and syphilis. Gonorrhea is one of the oldest diseases known to mankind.

Extremely destructive to the glands, it does not enter the bloodstream and cannot be detected by blood tests. This is the gonococcus. the germ that causes gonorrhea. These may attack the urinary tract, the urethra, or the gland's nirrit, or the gland's amylavia, or the gland's in the cervix.

Even without treatment, these symptoms may disappear, but the germs will remain. If a man has sexual relations with someone who has gonorrhea, in a few days or a week, he probably will notice a burning pain when he urinates, or may notice a discharge. A woman almost never notices any pain or other signs when she has gonorrhea.

Without treatment gonorrhea, while rarely fatal, may spread to other areas, for instance to the fallopian tubes and ovaries. gonorrhea is one of the principal causes of sterility in both men and women. It can also cause heart trouble and sometimes even death is a killer.