The Grim Unexpected Reason They Call Gonorrhea 'The Clap'

STIs haven't always been as easy to treat as they are now, and there was a very strange technique used for people with gonorrhoea, that actually led to its nickname. Watch the explanation:

TikTok user Mina Moriarty explained to followers how British women coped with STIs in the 18th century.

In the video, which has been viewed more than 750,000 times, she talks about how various conditions were dealt with before modern medicine.

She said: "Well it wasn't exactly pretty.

"In the 18th century, Georgian London was riddled with syphilis, with one in five people affected by age 35.

"Gonorrhoea and chlamydia were even more common."

TikTok

The video goes on to explain that the treatment for syphilis was mercury. Some of the side effects of ingesting mercury include emotional changes, tremors, insmonia and headaches even in small doses.

The video continued: "Since it caused excess salivation, it was though that it would rid the body of disease

"Side effects included using teeth, kidney failure and even death."

So why exactly do people call gonorrhoea 'the clap'? Well it dates all the way back to Georgian London.

TikTok

The video explains: "Gonorrhoea was known as 'the clap' because one treatment involved smacking the genitals with a heavy object, such as a book, to release the pus.

"In 1746, London Lock hospital provided treatments for those dealing with venereal disease."

Lovely.

TikTok users were shocked by the revelation.

One said: "It's fascinating. But thank gosh for medical advancements."

Another wrote: They literally had no idea what they were doing lol."

Someone else replied: "I can finally understand abstinence based teaching if this is the context."

TikTok

But others still have questions. One said: "Sooo how didn't they clear up those different STIs back then?

"If the drugs hadn't been developed I doubt it just went away on its own after a while."

The account looks at various elements of life in different eras, with one of the videos discussing type of contraception used.

In a separate TikTok, the user says: "Condoms were made from the bladder or intestines of sheep and other animals and were known as 'armour'."

According to the video, women who didn't have much money or decent food found it harder to get pregnant because of malnutrition.

It also adds: "The pull out method was also popular, while herbal concoctions were used to induce miscarriage."

Topics: Weird, TikTok

Amelia Ward

Amelia is a journalist at LADbible. After studying journalism at Liverpool John Moores and Salford Uni (don't ask), she went into PR and then the world of music. She spent a few years working on festivals and events before joining LADbible. In her spare time, Amelia likes music and spending good, quality time with her cat, Paul. You can contact Amelia at [email protected].

@ameliasward