656 b PLAIN FACTS FOR OLD AND YOUNG 



Gonorrheal Rheumatism 



This is one of the results of the generalized infection by 

 the gouoeoccus through diffusion of the germs or their poi- 

 sons by means of the blood. This is one of the most painful 

 and dangerous forms of rheumatism. Not only the joints, 

 but the heart may be affected, and the injury may be perma- 

 nent, through damage to the heart valve or the destruction 

 of one or more important joints. 



In addition to rest and other remedies usually employed 

 in rheumatism these cases often require the use of a special 

 "vaccine," the effects of which, when properly employed, 

 are sometimes almost magical. "Vaccines" may also be 

 employed in other obstinate or chronic forms of the disease. 



Too much emphasis cannot be laid upon the importance 

 of continuing the treatment until the last vestige of the dis- 

 ease is thoroughly eradicated. The mere stoppage of the dis- 

 charge is not proof of a cure. The gonococcus often hides 

 for years in prostate and other deep structures after a severe 

 attack, and reappears in an acute relapse after sexual in- 

 dulgence, taking cold, the use of alcohol, and even without 

 apparent cause. 



No man who has had gonorrhea has any moral or legal 

 right to marry unless he knows that he has been thoroughly 

 cured. The occurrence of this disease in young men within re- 

 cent times has become so common that it is no longer safe for 

 a young woman to marry without the assurance of her own 

 safety by a certificate of health. Fortunately methods are 

 now known through which all reasonable doubt may be 

 eliminated, even in most obscure cases, by examination of the 

 blood. 



Again the reader is most earnestlj^ warned against self- 

 treatment. It should not be forgotten that this disease is 

 usually contracted through an act which is a violation of the 

 laws of God and man. The fact of possession of the disease is 

 usually evidence of the commission of a crime. The fact that 

 so large a proportion of young men are guilty of immor- 

 ality is no excuse and does not in any way mitigate the just 

 penalty which Nature inflicts. Again we repeat that any per- 



