The emerging science on cognitive dysfunction
In the late 19th century, milk transfusions were believed to replace blood, with the fats forming white blood cells. While a few succeeded, many, like one requiring morphine and whiskey, resulted in death.
The book also suggests inhaling chloroform for asthma. Like cocaine, it was commonly used in the US as an anesthetic, though we now know chloroform is toxic.
Cough medicines included heroin in the late 19th century, marketed as a "non-addictive morphine substitute." Despite its addictive nature, it remained available in the United States until the FDA banned it in 1924.
In Wesley's time, nosebleed patients often underwent bloodletting (removal of blood), dating back to 200 CE. It was believed to restore balance among the body's four humors, and was also used for illnesses like the plague and smallpox.
Dr. Thomas Jefferson Ritter's 1910 book 'Mother’s Remedies' recommended remedies like spraying a "four-percent solution of cocaine" for hay fever.
'Bald's Leechbook,' a 10th-century medical text housed at the British Library, recommends using burnt periwinkle flowers and honey to treat cataracts.
Similarly, to heal swelling, 'Bald's Leechbook' advises removing a tooth from a live fox, securing it in fawn skin, and placing the skin on the swollen area.
Sources: (Medical News Today) (Mental Floss) (Library of Congress)
In ancient Assyria, ground bird beaks mixed with myrrh were eaten to prevent tipsiness. While it was believed to work, it likely felt more painful than enduring a hangover...
In the 10th century, typhus treatment had religious elements: the patient would go outside, write a prayer on paper, and hold it to their left breast for healing.
Pliny also recommended drinking owl eggs mixed with wine for three days as a remedy for hangovers in ancient times.
According to the same text, swollen eyes were treated by removing a live crab's eyes, throwing the crab back in the water, and applying the eyes to the neck of the affected person.
During Genghis Khan's reign, Mongols ate pickled sheep's eyes for breakfast to cure hangovers. The tradition continues today, though it's now typically followed by a glass of tomato juice.
Between the mid-1800s and early 1900s, Mrs. Winslow's Soothing Syrup, sold for 25 cents, was advertised for colic, teething, and pain relief. It worked due to its high morphine content.
Radium was once used to treat ailments like arthritis and aging. However, we now know that it causes radiation sickness and contamination from arsenic and lead.
From the 16th to 20th centuries, mercury was used to treat syphilis and other ailments. Despite knowing of its toxicity, doctors continued using it, even in low doses, until the 18th century.
'Mother's Remedies' suggests treating ringworm with a paste of gunpowder and vinegar, and then applying it until the infection disappears, even if multiple applications are needed.
Asthma cigarettes, popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, contained toxic ingredients like stramonium, belladonna, and tobacco, despite their dangerous effects on health.
Dr. Ritter recommended mixing a drop of tincture of nux vomica with water for certain headaches. Today, nux vomica is known as the primary source of strychnine, a toxic rat poison!
The 1382 'Red Book of Hergest,' a Welsh manuscript, suggests curing drunkenness with saffron and spring water. However, excessive use could lead to "death from joy."
In the past, infant mortality was often linked to teething. Doctors used harsh methods like bleeding, blistering, and gum lancing (otherwise known as gum cutting), which caused infections and unknown deaths. Even as late as 1938, gum lancing remained a common practice.
In the 16th and 17th centuries, human bodies were used in European remedies for ailments like headaches and bruises. Powdered remains were applied to the skin or ingested, used by figures like French King Francis I and Francis Bacon.
In ancient Rome, Pliny the Elder, a naturalist and author, suggested treating rabies by cutting open the wound, applying raw veal, consuming lime and hog's fat, and drinking wine with boiled badger dung...
Wesley suggested electrifying toothache patients. Electrotherapy, new in the 1700s, was used until the early 1900s for epilepsy, paralysis, impotence, tapeworms, and more.
In his 1740s book 'Primitive Physick,' British evangelist John Wesley recommended treating asthma with "a fortnight on boiled carrots only."
For heart palpitations, Wesley recommended treatments like "drinking a pint of cold water," "applying a rag dipped in vinegar," and "undergoing electrification."
In the 1700s, 'The Book of Phisick' recommended treating rabies by taking 40 grains of ground liverwort and 20 grains of pepper in milk for four mornings, followed by cold baths every other day for a month.
'The Book of Phisick' also recommends treating epilepsy by consuming a powder made from a strong man's hair and deer leg bone leading up to the new moon.
In the 3rd century CE, a Roman physician recommended writing "Abracadabra" in a triangular pattern on paper, wearing it for nine days, then tossing it in a stream. If ineffective, rub with lion fat.
In 1743, Lorenz Heister suggested treating Bible cysts (ganglion cysts) by strapping a bullet to them or using a dead man’s hand. He also recommended hitting them with a heavy book.
Dr. Ritter also recommended treating chapped hands by placing sour cream in a cloth, burying it overnight, and then applying the cream the next day after unearthing it.
Throughout history, medical practices have evolved dramatically, but not all treatments were based on science or logic. Many bizarre and downright strange remedies were once considered cutting-edge solutions to ailments. From ingesting questionable substances to performing painful or risky procedures, these historical treatments reflect the lengths to which people went in their quest for healing.
Click on to discover bizarre medical treatments from the past.
Strange and dangerous medical treatments from history
When cures were stranger than the actual disease!
HEALTH Medicine
Throughout history, medical practices have evolved dramatically, but not all treatments were based on science or logic. Many bizarre and downright strange remedies were once considered cutting-edge solutions to ailments. From ingesting questionable substances to performing painful or risky procedures, these historical treatments reflect the lengths to which people went in their quest for healing.
Click on to discover bizarre medical treatments from the past.