STRANGE OLD MEDICAL TREATMENTS
Added on: 5th Mar 2015
MOLDY BREAD
Used to disinfect cuts since the days of ancient Egypt there is
some merit to this. As was eventually discovered, certain fungi can
actually block disease causing bacteria.
CRYSTAL METH
Apparently this was Hitler’s medication of choice. His doctor would
inject his buttocks with meth laced vitamins to keep him feeling
“fresh, alert, and active”.
FARTS IN A JAR
During the Middle Ages doctors believed that “like cures like”.
So, during the Black Death, which was thought to be cause by lethal
vapours, some doctors encouraged people to store their farts in
jars and take a whiff every time they walked past.
DEAD MOUSE PASTE
In ancient Egypt if you had a toothache then mashed mice mixed
with other ingredients were typically applied to the spot.
THE HALF MOUSE REMEDY
Equally, if not more disturbing was the fact that in Elizabethan times
mice were cut in half and applied to warts on the skin.
CROCODILE DUNG
It’s been used as a contraceptive. We’ll leave it at that.
POWDER OF SYMPATHY
Of all the crazy medicines in the 17th century this one probably
took the cake. Intended as a treatment for sword wounds it was
made of earthworms, pig brains, rust, and mummified corpses
all ground into powder.
ARSENIC
Although today it’s well known as a poison, in the past it was a
critical ingredient in Chinese medicines, cures for malaria,
and Victorian women even used it as a cosmetic.
SNAKE OIL
While today it refers to quack medicine, for centuries it has
been used in China to relieve joint pain.
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