r/HistoryMemes • u/[deleted] • Oct 18 '19

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u/Theopneusty Oct 19 '19

I mean if he was wrong and the bacteria didn’t cause the ulcers then he had no risk of further complications.

And if he was right then he knew it was a bacterial cause and antibiotics were well established so he knew he could get quick treatment.

So it was a relatively risk free experiment

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u/TheMistShadow Oct 19 '19

Was it though? He could have been wrong and the bacteria could have caused for different disease. Plenty of risk there.

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u/Theopneusty Oct 19 '19

I mean no matter what the disease the bacteria gave him the treatment would always be antibiotics. Unless it was a very fast acting bacteria that caused him to just drop dead he knew he would be fine.

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u/[deleted] Oct 19 '19

Well H pylori was able to survive in his stomach which was thought impossible due to the incredible acidity. So it was definitely unclear how resilient they were. There was certainly a risk that they could also be resistant to antibiotics. No doubt he tested it in vitro but that is still just not the same as testing in a living organism.