[Urology and alternative medicine (1900-1970)]

Disorders of the lower abdomen were often associated with sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) or related conditions. The urological diagnostic workup and treatment was based on the idea that technical devices and objective scientific examination methods would lead to targeted success. The fact that illnesses such as urinary retention, urinary incontinence, urge incontinence, orchitis or urethritis often implicated psychosomatic complications and had a possibly far more important impact on sexual life did not play a role in the early years of urology. In contrast, the concepts of naturopaths and homoeopaths were based on the humoral pathology view that was rejected by conventional medicine after 1850. They advocated abstinence and the use of hydrotherapeutic measures instead of urological surgery or potassium bromide treatment commonly prescribed by psychiatrists. The success of the naturopaths and homeopaths was based on several factors: they relied on taking into account a comprehensive patient history including psychosomatic factors and a combined dietary and pharmacological treatment. Naturopathic or homeopathic treatment was cheaper and more acceptable to the patient than conventional medical treatment or use of catheters and dilators. In addition, lay practitioners often came from the same milieu as their patients, so that the physician-patient communication, which is extremely important for psychosomatic disorders, was much easier.