Venereal Disease Prevention in WW2

[Louis]

This US War Department brochure is entitled Sex Hygiene and VD – Venereal Disease. It was first printed in 1940 under the direction of the Surgeon General of the Army with an introduction by Secretary of War Marshall. It was issued to every new recruit and discusses sexuality in general and attempts to educate the young soldier on all of the emotions and desires he might encounter away from home. It was issued again in 1943 with a slightly changed cover.-

psywarrior
soldiersmuseum
thesocietypages

 

[Louis]

During the war, medics are generally supplied with prophylactic kits in bulk, designed to allow him to perform prophylactic treatment on himself if he feared he might have had sex with an infected woman. The individual packet contained a tube containing 5 grams of ointment (30% calomel + 15% sulfathiazole), a direction sheet explaining how to apply the ointment, a soap impregnated cloth and cleansing tissue. Sometimes the men were issued condoms (usually three to a pack) and sometimes they were given sulfa or other pills to carry “just in case.”

 

[Hedgehog]

Louis very Good Info there mate, That me smile and cringe at the same time........Thanks for sharing that

 

[2054172]

Good info sir...where did you find this stuff.

 

[Louis]

Thanks Ted & Wayne... Glad you liked it. -
I found interesting comment here. -

Everything is on the Internet, Wayne.-

 

[Louis]

There are no official statistics to show how many people contracted sexually transmitted diseases like syphilis and gonorrhoea, though the prevalence of these diseases jumped radically due to the movement of troops during that time.-

It can be stated very simply that the lowest venereal disease rates in the U.S. Army occurred during 1943 and that the rates began to rise in 1944, further increased in 1945, and showed marked increases after the cessation of hostilities. The most striking factor, however, was that during this same period rates for noneffectiveness because of venereal disease, which had been very high in 1941 and 1942, dropped to new record lows by the end of the war in spite of increased incidence of the diseases. This decrease in noneffectiveness undoubtedly reflected the tremendous advances in treatment made during the war.-

history.amedd.army.mil
dailymail.co.uk

 

[Louis]

An illustration showing a leaflet which was printed on 1st January, 1943, and that was issued to all troops stationed at Ft. Benning GA.

 

[Louis]

Venereal Prophylactic Unit.

Contains:
Chest, Venereal Prophylactic Unit, Empty ....... 1
Mercurous Chloride, Mild, Ointment, 1 lb. ........ 2
Mercury Bichloride, 250 Large Poison Tablets ......... 1
Syringe, Urethral Prophylaxis .............. 4
Towel, Hand ................. 12
Soap, White, Floating, 6 oz .............. 2
Basin, Hand ........... 3
Graduate, Glass, 125-cc .............. 1
Tissues, Cellulose, 75 ................ 8
Protein Silver, Strong, 100 Tablets ........... 2

med-dept.com

 

[Louis]

This poster was painted by Salvador Dali in 1942.
He just wanted to help the war effort. Notice the skull: Women equal death.

 

[Louis]

At a US base outside Munich, a soldier inspects a gallery of german girls who have spread venereal disease among the troops.

 

[Bidermann]

I remember seeing a picture issued to WW1 soldiers the condom was a thick rubber which was reusable you just had to wash is it .In fact it looked more like a inner tube for a car lol

 

[Louis]

The Dough Boy Prophylactic kit was first distributed by the U.S. military in 1910, and contained a painful ointment to be applied post-intercourse.

When draft examinations for World War I revealed infections for nearly a quarter of all recruits, military policy was altered to accept some soldiers with pre-existing VD. Over the next two years, around 380,000 American soldiers would be diagnosed with some form of VD, eventually costing the U.S. more than $50 million in treatment. Jim Edmonson (chief curator at the Dittrick Medical History Center), explains that during World War I, American soldiers weren’t issued condoms; instead they were given a “Dough Boy Prophylactic Kit.” The idea behind these kits was that soldiers who “went out on a weekend furlough and had sexual contact would then clean themselves up afterwards with antiseptics and urethral syringes and so forth.” Edmonson points out that this method was like “closing the gate after the horse is out of the barn; not very effective.”

collectorsweekly.com

 

[Bidermann]

I dont fancy rubbing Mercury on my cock!! lol

 

[Louis]

 

[Louis]

On this announce the Axis leaders are portrayed as in the advanced stages of general diseases. To combat venereal disease, the army had chemical prophylactic kits for men to use after sexual encounters to hopefully prevent catching something.