A Look Back at Mercury Soap as a Treatment for Yaws.

The centuries-old practice of using mercury as a treatment for syphilis is well-known. The historical use of mercury for other treponematoses is less well-recognized. Afridol was a mercury containing soap produced by Bayer which they promoted as a cure for various cutaneous aliments, including yaws (frambosia). In this article, I briefly outline the development of Afridol and its subsequent marketing with the use of early 20th century medical advertising art.