In ancient times, some strange medical procedures for modern people were considered the norm. However, even today, at least some of them can still be heard.
Ointment "Poo"
This is how the composition was called during the time of Ancient Egypt, for the manufacture of which excrement was used, as evidenced by the entry in the Ebers papyrus. Since 1500 BC e. The feces of dogs, gazelles, donkeys and other animals were used not only to treat diseases, but also to prevent bad moods. Some women put crocodile manure in their vaginas, believing it could be a contraceptive.
Bloodletting
This therapeutic method gained popularity in the period from 460 to 370 BC. Egyptians, Greeks, Arabs, Asians, and in later times Europeans, used this method to balance what they considered the four main fluids of the human body: blood, mucus, black and yellow bile.
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Ancient medicine used bloodletting to treat migraines, fevers, and other ailments. It is believed that this method in 1799 caused the death of the President of the United States, George Washington. It took many centuries before this practice of treatment was discontinued, although not completely.
Hirudotherapy
For centuries, leeches have been used to treat infections, nervous system disorders, skin and dental diseases. They secrete specific peptides and proteins that prevent blood clotting. Perhaps due to this, leeches continue to be used in modern medicine. For example, the Internet portal Healthline.com notes that hirudotherapy can be used to treat everything from cancer, arthritis, hemorrhoids, high blood pressure to heart disease.
Urine therapy
In ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome, urine drinking was a popular form of treatment for a range of ailments. Praise for her can also be found in ancient documents of the Chinese and yogis of India. They extol the incredible healing effect of urine. In addition, in ancient times, urine was also used for domestic purposes: for washing clothes and as a means for whitening teeth.
Craniotomy
Surprisingly, our ancestors believed that a hole drilled in the skull was a reasonable way to treat migraines and other neurological problems. Moreover, the operation led to fewer deaths than could be imagined, and this despite the fact that the brain remained open. It is believed that the very first trepanations were carried out 7,000 years ago. This method of treatment was especially widespread in Greece, Africa, Polynesia and America. This shocking practice continued until the early 1900s.
Tapeworms
Of all the dietary regimens, probably the most bizarre is the tapeworm diet, popular in the Victorian era. The ladies, desperate to have perfect bodies, took the tapeworm egg pill in the hope that the tapeworm would grow and develop in their intestines. Thus, one could eat for pleasure and be sure that the worm will eat most of the food it absorbed. All this was supposed to lead to weight loss. Awful, but this "diet" still exists today.
Cadaveric therapy
Both in Rome and in England during the time of Charles II, various cannibalistic drugs were considered healing. Egyptian tombs were often plundered, and human remains recovered from them could be used to create cadaveric medicines. Richard Sugg, a professor at Durham University, states: “The human body (flesh, bone, blood) has been widely used as a therapeutic agent. Cannibalism was applied not only in the New World, as it was previously believed, but also in Europe."
Flatulence as a cure
When plague ravaged London in the 1600s, physicians turned to body fumes as a therapeutic agent. Some healers recommended collecting the gases released during flatulence in closed containers. With each new outbreak of the disease, people had to open them and breathe. Given the scale of deaths from bubonic plague, it is safe to say that this recommendation did not work.
Mouse treatment
The ancient Egyptians explored seemingly all possible medicinal methods, including paste from dead mice. She was treated for cough, toothache and other diseases. In England, to fight warts in the late 1500s, mice were cut in half and placed on the affected area. Fortunately for the mice, this procedure is a thing of the past.
Mercury Elixir
Mercury is known to be highly toxic. It causes vision loss, neuropathy, impaired coordination and hearing, and muscle weakness. But the ancient Persians, Greeks, and Chinese believed that ingesting or applying mercury to the skin could increase life expectancy, if not cure diseases such as syphilis.
Tooth in the eye
Osteo-odonto-keratoprosthesis is a method of treating corneal blindness that still exists today. The patient's tooth is removed, and a lens is placed in the hole drilled in it. In order for him to develop his own blood supply, the tooth is sewn into the cheek and then placed in the eye. Surprisingly, the method has proven to be effective.
Vaginal incense
Many strange methods were used to treat vaginal problems in ancient Egypt, including the injections of incense and onions. The latter was also used to determine pregnancy: if its smell was felt in a woman's breath in the morning, it was believed that she was pregnant. It may also have been used as a deodorant for the delicate area of the body.
Hemiglossectomy
A method pioneered by the Prussian surgeon J. F. Dieffenbach in the 1840s. The barbaric procedure entailed partial removal of the patient's tongue, and this was done without anesthesia. Nevertheless, the surgeon believed that he did indeed treat people for stuttering by relieving spasm of the vocal cords. Today, hemiglossectomy is used in the fight against tongue cancer.
Soothing syrup
In the XIX century. it was considered perfectly acceptable to soothe a toddler with a sip of codeine, opium, or heroin. The latter was then known as a soothing syrup. It has been openly advertised as a serum that will not only calm the baby, but also provide relaxation for a tired mother. Two pharmacists from Bangor, Maine, began producing syrup in the middle of the same century. Although the truth was eventually revealed to customers, the product managed to stay on the market until the 1930s.
Larvae
Even before the American Civil War, larvae were used to heal infected wounds. It was believed that they would only eat dead tissue, while healthy ones would remain. The treatment proved to be so effective that it is still used in medicine today. When antibiotics don't work, fly larvae can be life-saving.
Svetlana Chambi