In Search of Sexual Health: Diagnosing and Treating Syphilis in Hot Springs, Arkansas, 1890-1940

During the late 1800s and early 1900s, the central Arkansas city of Hot Springs was a major health resort, attracting Americans with syphilis. The town's medical infrastructure included private clinics, a military hospital, and a venereal disease clinic operated by the US Public Health Service. In Search of Sexual Health examines the era's venereal peril from the standpoint of medical practice, highlighting the unique role that resident doctors, visiting patients, and local residents played in shaping Hot Springs' response to syphilis. The study reveals that syphilis's status as a stigmatized disease of others had a direct impact on the kinds of treatment patients received, leading to different outcomes for the city's diverse clientele.

Format: Hardback
Length: 232 pages
Publication date: 29 September 2020
Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press

The story of how a town in the Ozark hinterlands played a key role in determining standards of medical care around syphilis is a fascinating one. During the late 1800s and early 1900s, the central Arkansas city of Hot Springs enjoyed a reputation as one of the United States premier health resorts. Throughout this period, the vast majority of Americans who traveled there did so because they had (or thought they had) syphilis—a disease whose incidence was said to be dramatically on the rise all across the country. Boasting an impressive medical infrastructure that included private clinics, a military hospital, and a venereal disease clinic operated by the United States Public Health Service, Hot Springs extended a variety of treatment options. Until the antibiotic revolution of the 1940s, Hot Springs occupied a central position in the countrys struggle with sexually transmitted disease. Drawing upon health-seekers firsthand accounts, clinical case files, and the writings of the citys privately practicing specialists, In Search of Sexual Health examines the eras venereal peril from the standpoint of medical practice. How, Elliott Bowen asks, did people with VD understand their illnesses, and what therapeutic strategies did they employ? Highlighting the unique role that resident doctors, visiting patients, and local residents played in shaping Hot Springs response to syphilis, Bowen argues that syphiliss status as a stigmatized disease of others (namely prostitutes, immigrants, and African Americans) had a direct impact on the kinds of treatment patients received, and translated into very different outcomes for the citys diverse clientele—which included men as well as women, blacks as well as whites.

The story of how a town in the Ozark hinterlands played a key role in determining standards of medical care around syphilis is a fascinating one. During the late 1800s and early 1900s, the central Arkansas city of Hot Springs enjoyed a reputation as one of the United States premier health resorts. Throughout this period, the vast majority of Americans who traveled there did so because they had (or thought they had) syphilis—a disease whose incidence was said to be dramatically on the rise all across the country. Boasting an impressive medical infrastructure that included private clinics, a military hospital, and a venereal disease clinic operated by the United States Public Health Service, Hot Springs extended a variety of treatment options. Until the antibiotic revolution of the 1940s, Hot Springs occupied a central position in the countrys struggle with sexually transmitted disease. Drawing upon health-seekers firsthand accounts, clinical case files, and the writings of the citys privately practicing specialists, In Search of Sexual Health examines the eras venereal peril from the standpoint of medical practice. How, Elliott Bowen asks, did people with VD understand their illnesses, and what therapeutic strategies did they employ? Highlighting the unique role that resident doctors, visiting patients, and local residents played in shaping Hot Springs response to syphilis, Bowen argues that syphiliss status as a stigmatized disease of others (namely prostitutes, immigrants, and African Americans) had a direct impact on the kinds of treatment patients received, and translated into very different outcomes for the citys diverse clientele—which included men as well as women, blacks as well as whites.

The story of how a town in the Ozark hinterlands played a key role in determining standards of medical care around syphilis is a fascinating one. During the late 1800s and early 1900s, the central Arkansas city of Hot Springs enjoyed a reputation as one of the United States premier health resorts. Throughout this period, the vast majority of Americans who traveled there did so because they had (or thought they had) syphilis—a disease whose incidence was said to be dramatically on the rise all across the country. Boasting an impressive medical infrastructure that included private clinics, a military hospital, and a venereal disease clinic operated by the United States Public Health Service, Hot Springs extended a variety of treatment options. Until the antibiotic revolution of the 1940s, Hot Springs occupied a central position in the countrys struggle with sexually transmitted disease. Drawing upon health-seekers firsthand accounts, clinical case files, and the writings of the citys privately practicing specialists, In Search of Sexual Health examines the eras venereal peril from the standpoint of medical practice. How, Elliott Bowen asks, did people with VD understand their illnesses, and what therapeutic strategies did they employ? Highlighting the unique role that resident doctors, visiting patients, and local residents played in shaping Hot Springs response to syphilis, Bowen argues that syphiliss status as a stigmatized disease of others (namely prostitutes, immigrants, and African Americans) had a direct impact on the kinds of treatment patients received, and translated into very different outcomes for the citys diverse clientele—which included men as well as women, blacks as well as whites.

Weight: 458g
Dimension: 160 x 235 x 22 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781421438566