Are you afraid of shots or going to the dentist? Are you shaking when you have to donate blood from a vein or are you afraid of going to a gynecologist?
Modern medical procedures seem painful to you, but modern medicines are not effective?
When you find out what many patients have had to go through in the recent past - your fears will immediately seem ridiculous and unfounded.
Red-hot iron from hemorrhoids
Now there are many different methods to combat hemorrhoids. Almost all of them are painless, because before each procedure the patient is given pain medication.
But our ancestors believed that hemorrhoids can be defeated with iron, heated to the maximum temperature. Doctors inserted into the patient's anus a special armature made of hot iron. Just imagine what the patients felt at that moment. Oh yeah, it is worth mentioning that in the Middle Ages there were no painkillers. People simply did not know what anesthesia is and what it is made of. Those who had hemorrhoids had to endure the pain of hell. The procedure had to be repeated several times. Many of the patients just went crazy, because not everyone can stay in their right mind, even if they withstand such torture.
Snail syrup for sore throat and ear inflammation
The best way to deal with sore throat and otitis was once considered the cochlear syrup (by the way, it sounds beautiful). In order to boil one portion of such a magic swill, it was necessary to kill about 30 snails and throw them into the boiling water. However, some doctors believed that fresh (not boiled) snails are much more efficient! If you take a snail, take it out of the house and shove it in a sore ear for 10 hours, then the patient will be much better. Interestingly, this method even helped.
Fortunately, to date, pharmacies are full of all the necessary pills and medicines, so snails can sleep well. Everywhere except France, of course 🙂
Scorpions for the treatment of sexually transmitted diseases
Hundreds of years ago, people tried to rid themselves of sexually transmitted diseases by using a special wine, which was prepared from scorpions. Even today there are unique people who are sacredly confident that such an extraordinary method of treatment really helps. There are several villages near Bangkok, in which they respect old traditions. To this day, their inhabitants believe that modern medicine cannot cope with diseases as quickly as the medicines that their ancestors invented. Scorpion wine is incredibly popular there. It is very expensive, because to prepare this drink, people risk their lives.
Rumor has it that wine not only helps people with sexually transmitted diseases, but is also an excellent cure for impotence.
Dog excrement from sore throat
A great historian by the name of Roy Porter once lived in Great Britain. He was a good specialist in the field of medicine. In one of his books, Porter told the world that he had found an excellent method of dealing with quinsy. He gave the drug a beautiful Latin name in Latin - “Album graecum”.
The greatest minds immediately rushed to look for the ingredients that are needed in order to make the same medicine. It turned out that it contains only one single ingredient - dried dog feces. It even sounds nasty, right? And there were those who dared to treat a sore throat in this way. Of course, such a strange medicine did not help anyone.
Bloodletting as a remedy for all diseases
Ever since antiquity, people believed that bleeding from a vein would help cleanse the body. Doctors believed that this process will be able to cure a person from any ailments. Whether it is diarrhea or pain in the joints.
In fact, the bloodletting helped some people. But there is an explanation: they suffered from high blood pressure, and the bleeding significantly improved their condition.
Such a strange and dangerous method of treatment was used until the end of the 19th century. He was banned only when they could prove that he was not effective and would not help patients get rid of diseases.
Dead toothpaste toothpaste
If you are tortured wild toothache, then no longer need to endure. To forget about it once and for all, you need to take a few dead mice, chop them in a blender, for example, and attach the ready-made mixture to the aching tooth. Are you surprised? Did not like this recipe? But the ancient Egyptians considered it a good way to fight toothache.
The patients hoped that such a magical paste would be a real salvation for them, but they were wrong. 2 of 7 people using mouse paste died of infection.
Cannibalism is the best remedy for seizures.
The doctors of ancient Egypt and Rome were prescribed to people suffering from persistent headaches and muscle cramps, a medicine that included parts of human flesh, blood, and crushed bones. In Rome, this method of treatment has become quite popular, because there the dead medicine was considered effective.
It was rumored that there is a unique substance in the blood of gladiators that can be used to cure everyone who suffers from epilepsy. In the markets one could meet merchants that sold the blood of gladiators. People carried the most precious things out of their homes and donated blood to merchants to sell them a little bit of a magic drink.
Headache craniotomy
In antiquity, severe headaches and epileptic seizures were treated with craniotomy. Imagine how much a person suffered, since he agreed to such an operation. Small holes were drilled in the patient's head. Do not forget that in those days nobody even heard about anesthesia. The man who had the skull drilled, just forgot about all his complaints, because he experienced such pain that could not be compared with his migraines.
About 45% of patients did not survive even to the end of the operation. They died of painful shock.
Asthma smoking
Not so long ago (only 100-300 years ago), it was believed that smoking would be a salvation for those suffering from such a disease as asthma. It is hard to believe, because now there is anti-smoking advertising on every building and more and more people are promoting a healthy lifestyle.
When scientists discovered how harmful nicotine affects human health, they immediately told the news to the whole world. After their statements, doctors stopped advising smoking to asthmatics.
Heroin insomnia syrup
In 1898, Friedrich Bayer earned about 45 billion euros a year (in terms of today's money) because he invented a completely new universal medicine - heroin syrup. They tried to treat a variety of diseases, but it was believed that he was particularly well helped from insomnia.
The Bayer company earned so much money because the syrup was addictive, so patients purchased it with whole boxes.
