The Use Of Mercury
- Time Period: Early-16th Century to Mid-20th Century
Mercury used to be relatively common to see in the medical world, with some diseases only treated with it and nothing else. It might seem odd to see that today since mercury is a highly toxic chemical that we only use in incredibly small doses if it is used at all. Yet some believed it could be the cure to things like syphilis, a disease primarily caught through sexual transmission. In fact, the prime treatment for syphilis used to be mercury dating back to the 16th Century. It could either be eaten or injected into the body somehow.
Mercury might also be used for several other less serious illnesses too. The infamous explorers, known as Lewis and Clark, were accompanied by several men to help with their expedition. The men had so many pills containing mercury chloride that archeologists are now able to find the exact places they camped on their expedition, simply due to the high mercury content still in the area. The sad part in all of this is that doctors knew by the 18th Century that mercury was toxic, yet STILL gave it to people to treat syphilis up to the 20th Century!! Old medical treatments used like this are sad to see, honestly.