This ‘horrific’ disease emerged in the 15th century, and it changed the way we have sex forever

If anyone ever raises an objection about condoms, remind them of James Boswell stalking London with sheep guts tied onto his weeping penis

Earlier this month, the Centre for Contagious Diseases, a leading health institute in America, was forced to issue a statement warning people about the dangers of washing and reusing condoms. They added: “We say it because people do it.”

Oh dear. Quite what the thought process is behind bunging a used condom in the dishwasher instead of the bin is beyond me, but at least they’re trying to practice safe sex.

Despite these recent issues, condoms (when used properly) are still the most effective protection against both STDs and pregnancy – apart from abstinence, of course, and that one has always been a hard sell.

Syphilis is on the rise in England

There is no doubt that the condom saves lives, yet health authorities still struggle to get people to use them. Last year, there were 7,137 cases of syphilis reported in England, a 20 per cent increase from 2016, and a shocking 148 per cent increase from 2008.

Gonorrhoea is also on the increase in the UK, with 44,676 diagnoses reported in 2017, a 22 per cent increase from 2016.

‘A dose of the clap is surely worse than any of these, so why are some people still so reluctant to wrap it up?’

I get it. No one really likes using condoms. They’re fiddly, can dull sensation, and make a penis look like a clingfilmed bratwurst. But, a dose of the clap is surely worse than any of these, so why are some people still so reluctant to wrap it up?

I suspect one of the reasons is that antibiotics and antiviral drugs have thankfully provided us with something of a safety net. Of course, if left untreated chlamydia and gonorrhoea can cause infertility, herpes still isn’t curable, and HIV remains life-changing, though not life-threatening with effective antiviral medications. No STD is pleasant or to be minimised. But, if caught early the vast majority of STDs require a dose of antibiotics and a few awkward phone calls to previous partners. This is a luxury our ancestors never had.

A return to a pre-antibiotic world of STD infection

This might not be the case for much longer. So-called ‘super gonorrhoea’, a multi-drug resistant strain of the disease, is on the rise, and incidents of antibiotic resistance in both chlamydia and syphilis have been reported. If alternative treatments aren’t found, we could find ourselves back in a pre-antibiotic world of STD infection.

The history of the condom has a lot to teach us about safe sex. For as long as people have been having sex, there have been methods of preventing pregnancy and disease by covering the penis during intercourse.

‘The Kahun Medical Papyrus doesn’t mention condoms but does recommend a contraceptive pessary made from crocodile dung and honey’

Evidence of condom use is found throughout the ancient world. Two caves in France known as Grotte des Combarrelles have paintings on the wall dating to 11,000 BC that some archaeologists have claimed depict condom use, though this is very much open to artistic interpretation.

Linen condoms were found among the grave goods of the Egyptian King Tutankhamen, who ruled C.1332–1323 BC. The Kahun Medical Papyrus (C.1825 BC), doesn’t mention condoms but does recommend a contraceptive pessary made from crocodile dung and honey, which would be inserted into the vulva before sex.

‘In its early and secondary stages, syphilis causes weeping sores to appear on the genitals, swollen glands, hair loss and skin growths’

It was the arrival of syphilis in the fifteenth century that made finding a reliable method of preventing sexually transmitted diseases particularly urgent. The origins of syphilis are intensely disputed by historians, who argue about whether or not syphilis was first picked up in the Americas by Columbus’s fleet in 1493, or if it has been around much longer than that. But, wherever it came from, by 1494 French troops besieging Naples had come down with a very nasty disease indeed.

A truly horrific disease, and rightly feared

Picture: Wellcome Trust
Picture: Wellcome Trust

When German physician, Joseph Grunpeck (1473-1532) became infected he described syphilis as being “so cruel, so distressing, so appalling that until now nothing more terrible or disgusting has ever been known on this earth”. And with good reason. In its early and secondary stages, syphilis causes weeping sores to appear on the genitals, swollen glands, hair loss and skin growths. In its later stages, syphilis attacks the brain, the soft tissues of the face, and causes legions to form on the bones. It is a truly horrific disease and one that was rightly feared.

‘Gabriele Falloppio (1523 – 1562), of Fallopian tube fame, invented a linen sheath to wrap around the penis to protect against syphilis’

The disease was first called “syphilis” by the Italian physician and poet Girolamo Fracastoro in 1530. Until then, it was known as the pox, the French disease, the Italian disease, the English disease, the Neapolitan disease, Spanish sickness, the Spanish itch, or the evil of Naples. But how to defeat it?

Gabriele Falloppio (1523 – 1562), of Fallopian tube fame, invented a linen sheath to wrap around the penis to protect against syphilis, or ‘the French Disease’ as he called it. Falloppio’s sheath fitted just around the glands of the penis and fastened at the end with a ribbon. The linen was to be soaked in a salty, herbal solution, and lubricated with saliva.

The first practical weapon against it

Falloppio boldly claimed he had instructed over 1000 soldiers in how to use his condom and none of them contracted the pox. We don’t know if this bit is true, but Falloppio’s sheath was the first practical weapon in the fight against syphilis.

Soon, sheaths made of animal guts replaced Falloppio’s linen creation. These early condoms were soaked in milk or water to rehydrate them, fastened on the penis with a ribbon or string, and then washed out and reused – several times. During an excavation at Dudley Castle in the 1980s, a privy was discovered that had been buried during the demolition of the castle’s defences in 1647. Contained within were the remains of ten animal gut condoms – the earliest physical evidence of such condoms in Europe.

It would have been a condom such as this that the Scottish biographer James Boswell (1740 –1795) used during his considerable sexual exploits. Although the word ‘condom’ dates to the early eighteenth century, Boswell refers to condoms in his diary as ‘machines’ or his ‘armour’. (It’s often said it was named after a ‘Dr Condom’ or ‘Colonel Condom’, but there is no evidence of that at all.)

‘Tuesday 10 May 1763
At the bottom of the Haymarket I picked up a strong, jolly young damsel, and taking her under the arm I conducted her to Westminster Bridge, and then in armour complete did I engage her upon this noble edifice. The whim of doing it there with the Thames rolling below us amused me much’.

Despite Dr Turner’s claim in 1717 that ‘the Condum [is] the best, if not the only Preservative our Libertines have found out at present’, it actually offered very little in the way of protection and Boswell contracted gonorrhoea at least nineteen times. In his diary, he referred to the infection as ‘Signor Gonorrhea’ and his ‘memorandum of vice’.

The great lover Casanova (1725 – 1798) writes about inflating animal gut condoms before using them to test for any rips, but this did not prevent him from contracting gonorrhoea four times, cancroids five times, syphilis and herpes. These early condoms may actually have made the spread of venereal disease worse as they created a false security.

Charles Goodyear (1800-1860) changed the condom forever when he invented vulcanised rubber in 1839. The first rubber condoms were produced in 1855. These condoms were designed to be reused and had to be made to measure, but they did protect against pregnancy and STDs.

What to say to a partner who objects to wrapping up

‘Thank your lucky stars, and always wrap it up’ (Pexels)

Latex condoms were invented in the 1920s. These condoms were mass produced, affordable and for single use only. After epidemic levels of VD among Allied troops in WW1, latex condoms were standard issue for all recruits in WW2. The American military also began an aggressive ‘sexual hygiene’ campaign to try and keep their troops VD free. Infection rates of syphilis and gonorrhoea were still extremely high during WW2, but the condom and messages around safe sex were becoming normalised.

‘If anyone should ever raise an objection about them to you, remind them of James Boswell stalking London with sheep guts tied onto his weeping penis’

Condoms have never been cheaper, more comfortable, less stigmatised and more effective than they are today. If anyone should ever raise an objection about them to you, remind them of James Boswell stalking London with sheep guts tied onto his weeping penis, or condoms made from linen and ribbons, or the original vulcanised (reusable) condoms that were as thick as a welly boot. And if that doesn’t do it, remember the truly horrific, disfiguring diseases our ancestors would go to any length to avoid (other than not having sex, obviously).

Thank your lucky stars, and always wrap it up.

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