The aesculapian tract has precocious importantly compared to wherever it was 50 years ago, fto unsocial implicit 1,000 years ago. Although modern exertion has allowed america to recognize much astir the quality assemblage than ever before, physicians successful past times had to marque bash with the instrumentality and accusation they had. As a result, humans practiced immoderate unusual aesculapian treatments implicit time. Below are six of the strangest (and sometimes deadliest) aesculapian treatments prescribed by doctors successful past times.
1.Bloodletting for Internal Balance
One past aesculapian attraction you whitethorn person already heard of is bloodletting. Ancient physicians specified arsenic Hippocrates believed that humans consisted of 4 “ humors,” oregon bodily substances. These substances were achromatic bile, yellowish bile, phlegm, and blood. They believed that if immoderate of these humors became unbalanced, unwellness would arise. To cure the illness, the humors had to go rebalanced.
Illnesses specified arsenic fevers were often attributed to having “too overmuch blood,” truthful bloodletting was required to reconstruct the humors backmost to their mean balance. Physicians would typically take an easily-accessible vein and let immoderate humor to drain retired of the sick idiosyncratic into a instrumentality for disposal. Some physicians aboriginal turned to leeches to bash the soiled enactment for them, leaving the leeches connected the tegument of the diligent to person their humor sucked retired dilatory done their skin.
Though bloodletting has been astir for implicit 3,000 years, physicians person lone stopped practicing it successful the past fewer centuries. Even George Washington was treated with bloodletting, which historians accidental apt contributed to his death.
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A nun bleeding a diligent nether the oculus of a doctor. Bloodletting arsenic a aesculapian attraction continued for centuries, but has been wide discredited. ( Public Domain )
2.Raw Veal and Badger Dung for Rabies
Ancient Rome was known for its innovation, and medicine was nary objection to that. Roman physicians believed that they had recovered a cure for rabies utilizing earthy veal and badger dung. If a idiosyncratic was bitten by a rabid animal, the doc would dainty the coiled by wrapping it successful earthy veal and feeding the diligent a substance of hog abdominous and lime. As if that wasn’t enough, they would besides marque the diligent lavation it down with a peculiar medicine made of boiled badger dung and vino to cleanse their system. Yuck!
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Placing earthy nutrient and excrement connected a coiled sounds similar an insane aesculapian attraction today, but successful past Rome is was deemed a rabies cure! (Javier Lastras / CC BY 2.0 )
3.Liquid Mercury for STDs (and Eternal Life!)
Nowadays, we cognize however unsafe liquid mercury is for our health. Unfortunately, our ancestors weren’t truthful informed. Ancient physicians crossed Greece, Persia, and China believed that liquid mercury was the cure for a assortment of illnesses. In fact, the past Chinese were truthful assured successful their liquid mercury, that they believed capable of it could marque you locomotion connected h2o and live eternally . Many radical who believed successful its powers yet died aft consuming a ample fig of mercury pills.
Liquid mercury’s astir fashionable use, however, was successful the attraction of STDs specified arsenic syphilis. Because mercury was palmy successful treating these infections owed to its dense metallic properties, fewer noticed the deadly broadside effects of the attraction until the 20th century. Many individuals who utilized this attraction died of kidney and liver harm owed to mercury poisoning, portion others developed crab aboriginal successful life.
Modern medicine treats mercury arsenic a hazardous substance, but it was utilized arsenic a communal aesculapian attraction for millennia (Tavo Romann / CC BY 4.0 )
4.Poop Poultices for Skin Diseases
Most of america would hesitate to interaction poop astatine all, fto unsocial hitch it connected our unfastened wounds. But that’s precisely what the past Egyptians did! Ancient Egyptian physicians used quality and carnal feces to marque balms and ointments to cure topical ailments and injuries. Some specialists would besides usage the feces of dogs, gazelles, and adjacent flies to nutrient ointment for circumstantial ailments, including warding disconnected atrocious spirits.
Many cultures usage feces successful accepted medicine, though it’s obscurity adjacent arsenic fashionable arsenic it utilized to beryllium (DowntownGal / CC BY SA 3.0 )
5.Corpse Smoothie for Pain Relief
You’ll beryllium much grateful for Tylenol aft this one. Some past physicians believed that the remains of different humans had healing properties. Those coming successful with a headache oregon stomachache successful past times whitethorn person been prescribed a liquid substance of quality blood, bone, and adjacent soma to drink. Eventually, circumstantial parts of the assemblage were attributed to healing circumstantial ailments, specified arsenic the blood of fallen gladiators to dainty epilepsy.
In the 12th century, “ mummy pulverization ” was made of crushed mummified remains stolen from Egypt and utilized to make a assortment of medicines. Corpse medicine became truthful communal that immoderate forms were adjacent utilized for recreational purposes oregon preventative medicine. The astir communal illustration of this was “ King’s Drops ,” which was an alcoholic beverage containing crushed pieces of a quality skull.
Macabre arsenic it seems, galore aesculapian treatments progressive a signifier of cannibalism. Mummy powders and crushed skulls were sold to dainty antithetic diseases. Many apothecaries had cannisters of mummy pulverization similar the 1 above. (Zinnmann / CC BY 4.0 )
6.Sulfur Fumigation to Cure Infertility
You’ve astir apt ne'er disquieted astir your uterus moving distant from you, but past Greeks decidedly believed successful ‘ wandering wombs ’. In past Greece, physicians believed that the uterus was its ain sentient being that could determination astir the body. If women did not appease the uterus by giving it children aboriginal on, it whitethorn turn resentful and permission its rightful spot successful the little abdomen. This would past effect successful infertility and perchance much superior conditions, specified arsenic seizures oregon suffocation.
To dainty this infertility, doctors believed they had to nudge the uterus into its close spot successful the little abdomen. At first, they would usage gentle treatments to determination the uterus backmost to the close place, specified arsenic lukewarm baths and abdominal massages.
If that was ineffective, they would crook to much drastic treatments, specified arsenic fumigating the patient’s caput with sulfur portion rubbing their thighs with sweet-smelling fragrances. They believed that the uterus would determination backmost down to the close spot by fleeing the foul sulfur odor astatine the apical of the assemblage successful penchant for the saccharine odor astatine the patient’s thighs.
Men’s misguided beliefs successful women’s ‘wandering wombs’ led to unusual aesculapian treatments similar sulfur fumigation. (Wellcome Collection / CC BY 4.0 )
No More Mummy Powder
Clearly, medicine has travel a agelong mode since past times. From bloodletting to sulfur fumigation, humans person ever taken unusual avenues to find solutions to our astir analyzable problems. The adjacent clip you spell to your doc for a cold, retrieve it could beryllium worse: astatine slightest they won’t prescribe you poop ointment oregon a corpse smoothie!
Top image: Some of these past aesculapian treatments volition marque you recognize however the ‘mad doctor’ trope got started. Source: vchalup / Adobe Stock
By Lex Leigh
English (US)