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© Getty Images
0 / 29 Fotos
Eating with your hands - Of course our ancestors used their hands to eat. This practice only fell into disuse in western society around the 16th and 17th centuries.
© iStock
1 / 29 Fotos
Yearly bath - Communal baths were common in the Middle Ages, and people often didn't bother bathing, seeing as water was often reused. So, lots of people just bathed once a year.
© iStock
2 / 29 Fotos
Toilet paper - Before the invention of toilet paper, people used a range of different things. Native Americans used small stones, oyster shells, bark, and even dry grass.
© iStock
3 / 29 Fotos
Worms in teeth? - Before oral hygiene was studied and understood, doctors believed that dental pain was caused by small worms living inside teeth. To get rid of these worms they used candle smoke.
© iStock
4 / 29 Fotos
Leeches - Leeches were commonly used to drain blood. It was widely believed that many illnesses were caused by excess blood in the body.
© iStock
5 / 29 Fotos
Wigs - The wigs worn by the aristocracy from the 15th century until the 18th, often attracted lice and nits.
© iStock
6 / 29 Fotos
Wigs - These wigs smelled horribly, as animal fat was used to mold them. Not only that, the fat made the wigs extremely flammable, making candles very dangerous to be around.
© iStock
7 / 29 Fotos
Chicken faeces? - As The Telegraph reported in 2007, a 17th century medical handbook was found which encouraged men to use chicken faeces on their scalps to cure baldness, bad breath, lice, and infertility.
© iStock
8 / 29 Fotos
Moss - Moss was sometimes used during menstruation, possibly as a kind of tampon, in medieval times.
© iStock
9 / 29 Fotos
Stop the bleeding - A popular ancient technique to stop the bleeding from a serious wound was applying burning hot metal. This method prevented infections to blood flow but it caused serious pain and damage to the skin.
© iStock
10 / 29 Fotos
Crocodile droppings as contraceptives - According to Ancient-Origins, women in Ancient Egypt used crocodile droppings as birth control. Crocodile droppings are alkaline, so this technique may have worked.
© iStock
11 / 29 Fotos
Peeing during the night - People used to keep a chamber pot under the bed for when they had to pee in the middle of the night. The pot would stay there all night until the next morning.
© iStock
12 / 29 Fotos
Doctor Barber - In the Middle Ages, it wasn't unusual that your barber would also be your doctor/healer and even dentist.
© iStock
13 / 29 Fotos
No disinfectant - Tools used for surgical procedures, which often involved a lot of blood, weren't cleaned and disinfected before being used again.
© iStock
14 / 29 Fotos
Washing hands - According to the North American National Library of Medicine, washing your hands wasn't a regular occurrence until 1846, when a Hungarian surgeon, Ignaz Semmelweis, discovered the connection between frequent hand washing, and a drop in infections in his patients.
© iStock
15 / 29 Fotos
Washing clothes - According to a World Health Organization document, it was common in Europe to wash clothes with urine. Despite the smell, there was some basis for it. Urine contains ammonia, a component used in most cleaning products.
© iStock
16 / 29 Fotos
The King's pot - In Medieval England, one of the most prestigious jobs somebody could have in the court was to bring the King's pot and clean it afterwards. This person was seen as somebody of high standing and no stigma was attached to this job.
© iStock
17 / 29 Fotos
Mercury - Mercury was used in lots of Medieval medical treatments. Now its use is prohibited in most countries, and even thermometers containing mercury are being taken off the market due to the danger of mercury.
© iStock
18 / 29 Fotos
Sulfur to cure freckles - Freckles used to be seen as something that needed to be treated. So sulfur was rubbed on the face of freckled people, but it just irritated their eyes.
© iStock
19 / 29 Fotos
Urine to the face - It used be common practice for noblewomen to wash their face with urine. It was believed to work as an anti-septic and help to clear up skin. As gross as it may be, it didn't cause any health problems.
© iStock
20 / 29 Fotos
Changing clothes - In general throughout history, people often wore the same outfit for days or even months. Even the Kings of the 16th century spent long periods of time in the same threads.
© iStock
21 / 29 Fotos
Just the pits - Human faeces were thrown into open holes in the ground and left to rot. This led to the spread of countless infectious diseases.
© iStock
22 / 29 Fotos
Covering smells - In Medieval times, flowers were put around the house to mask the smells caused by general lack of hygiene.
© iStock
23 / 29 Fotos
Flowers - As well as putting flowers around the house, people often carried bouquets of flowers around with them, which hid peoples' natural unwashed smell.
© iStock
24 / 29 Fotos
Floors - It wasn't common to clean the floor in Medieval times. Whatever fell there, stayed there. This was the same for all social classes. Usually some straw would be put over the dirty area. You can imagine the smell this caused in houses as well as the amount of germs and vermin.
© iStock
25 / 29 Fotos
Oral hygiene - Back then, there was no efficient way of taking care of teeth, so a lot of bizarre methods were used over the years. Among them were using wine, or the ashes of burnt weeds. As you can imagine, rotten teeth were extremely common.
© iStock
26 / 29 Fotos
Queen Elizabeth's makeup secrets - While Queen of England, Elizabeth I used makeup called 'Venetian Ceruse.' It was a lead-based product which whitened the skin. Elizabeth I used this 'makeup' every day.
© iStock
27 / 29 Fotos
Mice for pain - Ancient Egyptians believed a dead mouse in the mouth helped relieve tooth pain. The mouse was often ground up and mixed with other ingredients, then put on the source of pain, according to CBS News.
© iStock
28 / 29 Fotos
© Getty Images
0 / 29 Fotos
Eating with your hands - Of course our ancestors used their hands to eat. This practice only fell into disuse in western society around the 16th and 17th centuries.
© iStock
1 / 29 Fotos
Yearly bath - Communal baths were common in the Middle Ages, and people often didn't bother bathing, seeing as water was often reused. So, lots of people just bathed once a year.
© iStock
2 / 29 Fotos
Toilet paper - Before the invention of toilet paper, people used a range of different things. Native Americans used small stones, oyster shells, bark, and even dry grass.
© iStock
3 / 29 Fotos
Worms in teeth? - Before oral hygiene was studied and understood, doctors believed that dental pain was caused by small worms living inside teeth. To get rid of these worms they used candle smoke.
© iStock
4 / 29 Fotos
Leeches - Leeches were commonly used to drain blood. It was widely believed that many illnesses were caused by excess blood in the body.
© iStock
5 / 29 Fotos
Wigs - The wigs worn by the aristocracy from the 15th century until the 18th, often attracted lice and nits.
© iStock
6 / 29 Fotos
Wigs - These wigs smelled horribly, as animal fat was used to mold them. Not only that, the fat made the wigs extremely flammable, making candles very dangerous to be around.
© iStock
7 / 29 Fotos
Chicken faeces? - As The Telegraph reported in 2007, a 17th century medical handbook was found which encouraged men to use chicken faeces on their scalps to cure baldness, bad breath, lice, and infertility.
© iStock
8 / 29 Fotos
Moss - Moss was sometimes used during menstruation, possibly as a kind of tampon, in medieval times.
© iStock
9 / 29 Fotos
Stop the bleeding - A popular ancient technique to stop the bleeding from a serious wound was applying burning hot metal. This method prevented infections to blood flow but it caused serious pain and damage to the skin.
© iStock
10 / 29 Fotos
Crocodile droppings as contraceptives - According to Ancient-Origins, women in Ancient Egypt used crocodile droppings as birth control. Crocodile droppings are alkaline, so this technique may have worked.
© iStock
11 / 29 Fotos
Peeing during the night - People used to keep a chamber pot under the bed for when they had to pee in the middle of the night. The pot would stay there all night until the next morning.
© iStock
12 / 29 Fotos
Doctor Barber - In the Middle Ages, it wasn't unusual that your barber would also be your doctor/healer and even dentist.
© iStock
13 / 29 Fotos
No disinfectant - Tools used for surgical procedures, which often involved a lot of blood, weren't cleaned and disinfected before being used again.
© iStock
14 / 29 Fotos
Washing hands - According to the North American National Library of Medicine, washing your hands wasn't a regular occurrence until 1846, when a Hungarian surgeon, Ignaz Semmelweis, discovered the connection between frequent hand washing, and a drop in infections in his patients.
© iStock
15 / 29 Fotos
Washing clothes - According to a World Health Organization document, it was common in Europe to wash clothes with urine. Despite the smell, there was some basis for it. Urine contains ammonia, a component used in most cleaning products.
© iStock
16 / 29 Fotos
The King's pot - In Medieval England, one of the most prestigious jobs somebody could have in the court was to bring the King's pot and clean it afterwards. This person was seen as somebody of high standing and no stigma was attached to this job.
© iStock
17 / 29 Fotos
Mercury - Mercury was used in lots of Medieval medical treatments. Now its use is prohibited in most countries, and even thermometers containing mercury are being taken off the market due to the danger of mercury.
© iStock
18 / 29 Fotos
Sulfur to cure freckles - Freckles used to be seen as something that needed to be treated. So sulfur was rubbed on the face of freckled people, but it just irritated their eyes.
© iStock
19 / 29 Fotos
Urine to the face - It used be common practice for noblewomen to wash their face with urine. It was believed to work as an anti-septic and help to clear up skin. As gross as it may be, it didn't cause any health problems.
© iStock
20 / 29 Fotos
Changing clothes - In general throughout history, people often wore the same outfit for days or even months. Even the Kings of the 16th century spent long periods of time in the same threads.
© iStock
21 / 29 Fotos
Just the pits - Human faeces were thrown into open holes in the ground and left to rot. This led to the spread of countless infectious diseases.
© iStock
22 / 29 Fotos
Covering smells - In Medieval times, flowers were put around the house to mask the smells caused by general lack of hygiene.
© iStock
23 / 29 Fotos
Flowers - As well as putting flowers around the house, people often carried bouquets of flowers around with them, which hid peoples' natural unwashed smell.
© iStock
24 / 29 Fotos
Floors - It wasn't common to clean the floor in Medieval times. Whatever fell there, stayed there. This was the same for all social classes. Usually some straw would be put over the dirty area. You can imagine the smell this caused in houses as well as the amount of germs and vermin.
© iStock
25 / 29 Fotos
Oral hygiene - Back then, there was no efficient way of taking care of teeth, so a lot of bizarre methods were used over the years. Among them were using wine, or the ashes of burnt weeds. As you can imagine, rotten teeth were extremely common.
© iStock
26 / 29 Fotos
Queen Elizabeth's makeup secrets - While Queen of England, Elizabeth I used makeup called 'Venetian Ceruse.' It was a lead-based product which whitened the skin. Elizabeth I used this 'makeup' every day.
© iStock
27 / 29 Fotos
Mice for pain - Ancient Egyptians believed a dead mouse in the mouth helped relieve tooth pain. The mouse was often ground up and mixed with other ingredients, then put on the source of pain, according to CBS News.
© iStock
28 / 29 Fotos
The most bizarre personal hygiene practices from the Middle Ages
Did you ever wonder about how our ancestors kept clean without modern technology?
© Getty Images
The world is constantly evolving, which means new products and technologies are invented that help us keep our personal hygiene at its peak. In the Middle Ages and Ancient Egypt people took care of their personal hygiene in ways which nowadays just seem bizarre.
Want to know more? Take a look!
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