Why is Gonorrhea called clap?
Gonorrhea is one of the most common diseases that is sexually transmitted ‘š thus, it is not possible for you to get the disease due to sharing toilets and bathrooms. It is caused by the Neisseria gonorrhea (or Gonococcus or GC), which, when left untreated, could spread all over the body and affect joints as well as heart valves.
One of the many symptoms of gonorrhea involves a discharge from the penis, as well as frequent and painful urination. It develops within two to thirty days after infection, although there are some men who do not show any symptoms at all. It can lead to sterility if it is not treated.
You may have heard of gonorrhea being called as the clap, and wonder why it is called such. It is still confusing as to how this term became stuck to modern language, but there have been many theories on why gonorrhea is sometimes called clap.
For one, it is believed that clap refers to the old French term, ‘clapier’, which means brothel. Before, gonorrhea was easily spread through these places. However, there is also another theory, which referred to how the infection was treated. To treat gonorrhea, it involved slamming a heavy book or any object down the penis so that the discharge would come out. This might not sound like a good treatment since it involved smashing the penis.
Another probable reason why gonorrhea was referred to as clap is that it was a bastardized form of a word. During the World War days, gonorrhea was very common among the GIs. It was said that the personnel who treated the patients would refer to the GIs as having the collapse. As a bastardized form of the word collapse, it was called the clap.
There has not yet been an agreed theory as to the origin of the term ‘clap’, but the ones mentioned above seem plausible enough. Still, no matter how gonorrhea is referred to, one should remember that it could cause complications if nothing is done about it. Thus, one should learn what preventive measures have to be taken to prevent getting gonorrhea.
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