Sir Charles Locock (an obstetrician who assisted Queen Victoria in the birth of her nine children) used bromide on “hysterical” women, sharing the (mistaken) opinion of other scholars of the time that hysteria and epilepsy were linked to masturbation, nymphomania, and generally excessive sexual arousal. He believed this was confirmed by the fact that these women experienced increased menstrual discomfort. It proved effective as an anticonvulsant and antiaphrodisiac. In the US, bromide salts were withdrawn from the market as generic sedatives (so much so that bromide still frequently appears in jokes about sexual performance failures) in 1975. They were withdrawn due to dangerous side effects known to accompany the diagnosis of bromism.
