STDs are on the rise, with syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia on an all time high. This is the second year in a row where the numbers of people infected with different STDs have increased to the point where the government is becoming concerned. Also, a new branch of antibiotic-resistant gonorrhea, called “Super Gonorrhea” (we wish that name was a joke), has been discovered in England, Japan and Canada. Needless to say, the health people are concerned and so should we.Â
A new Australian study discovered that Listerine can be huge in terms of the future of gonorrhea, aiding in the prevention of the disease, slowing the development of the bacteria, and influencing future treatment.
Now, before you decide to take a cleansing Listerine bath, you should know that the research is not conclusive and that it has only just begun. It has been conducted solely on men with throat gonorrhea, who were divided into two groups. One group gargled with Listerine while the other one gargled with a saline solution.
Afterwards, the men had a throat swab that showed some pretty surprising and uplifting results. 52 percent of the the men from the Listerine group tested positive against 82 percent of the men from the saline solution group.Â
While Listerine and STDs can on the surface look like two totally unrelated things, there’s history to back this research up. Listerine is a very old invention, developed in the 19th century, and since its very early stages the inventors claimed that it could cure gonorrhea. If only they’d advertise that on the commercials, amirite?