by David Winston, RH (AHG)
Eclectic physicians practiced in a time before medical specialization, the average physician treating men, women, adults, the elderly, and children. Thus the Eclectic physician was typically experienced in treating a wide spectrum of human ills. As today, women frequented physicians more than men, and as a consequence there are numerous Eclectic texts on women’s health and gynecology, yet none focusing on men’s health (there is one physio-medical text by William H. Cook, MD on the once feared condition known as spermatorrhea). Thus to do this article on Eclectic treatment of the male reproductive system, many texts were consulted.
Though we tend to believe that sexual behaviors were generally repressed during the 1800’s and early 1900’s, early medical records and texts reveal that sexually transmitted diseases such as gonorrhea, syphilis, and venereal warts were common. Eclectic medical texts discussing male or female reproductive health devoted significant space to the treatment of such conditions.
Upon searching the Eclectic literature one finds a substantial repertoire of medicines used to treat a broad range of male reproductive issues such as BPH, acute prostatitis, orchitis, impotence, sexual neurasthenia, along with recommendation for treating the perceived threat of “self-abuse” (masturbation).
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