Safe sex: the comeback of sexually transmitted diseases

Sexually transmitted diseases are probably as old as mankind. The first descriptions can be found in reports from ancient Egypt and the Old Testament. The term gonorrhea comes from ancient Greek and means nothing other than seminal discharge. In the 2nd century, the Greek physician Galen recommended sexual abstinence as a therapy - the sexual transmission of diseases was therefore already known at that time. In the 15th century, the emergence of syphilis led to a more thoroughly examination of sexually transmitted diseases. However, the cause was often seen in a “vicious and dissolute” lifestyle, as a supposed punishment from God. Attempts were also made to explain the diseases with soil vapors or “venereal poisons”. “Venereal” refers to Venus, the goddess of love - an allusion to the connection between shame and sexuality. The developing medical field was and is known as venereology. The most common diseases that venereologists dealt with in the early days were syphilis, gonorrhea, lymphogranuloma venereum, granuloma inguinale, and ulcus molle. In the meantime, medicine knows many more clinical pictures - today we speak of sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

Syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, hepatitis, and HIV are currently considered the “big five” STIs in Europe. According to the latest studies by the ECDC (European Center of Disease Control), the number of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) is on the rise again. According to WHO estimates, there are around 1 million transmissions across Europe every day.

The exhibition not only shows the history of STIs, but also refers to current topics such as AIDS therapy and HPV vaccination, the first “vaccination against cancer”. Different clinical pictures are shown and explained using historical specimens. As many STIs are now easily treatable, a special focus is placed on education and prevention - according to the motto: treatment is good, prevention is better. As sexually transmitted infections have social consequences beside physical symptoms, this topic is also covered. Stigmatization and exclusion should not really play a role in diseases today, yet those affected are still discriminated against in the 21st century. STIs can affect anyone, regardless of age, gender, sexual orientation, and socio-economic status.

Knowledge about STIs not only useful to you, but also to others.