⏱️ 6 min read
Throughout history, physicians and healers have employed methods that seem shocking, bizarre, and often dangerous by modern standards. Before the advent of scientific medicine, medical practitioners relied on theories and practices that ranged from the misguided to the downright bizarre. These treatments, once considered cutting-edge medical care, reveal how far medicine has evolved and remind us that today’s standard practices may someday seem equally peculiar to future generations.
Ancient and Medieval Medical Oddities
1. Bloodletting for Nearly Every Ailment
For over two thousand years, bloodletting remained one of the most common medical procedures across multiple civilizations. Physicians believed that illness resulted from an imbalance of bodily fluids, or “humors,” and that removing excess blood could restore health. Doctors used lancets, leeches, or specialized cups to drain blood from patients suffering from conditions ranging from fevers to headaches to mental illness. This practice persisted well into the 19th century and may have contributed to George Washington’s death in 1799, when physicians drained nearly half of his blood volume while treating a throat infection.
2. Trepanation: Drilling Holes into Skulls
Among the oldest surgical procedures known to humanity, trepanation involved drilling, cutting, or scraping holes into the human skull. Archaeological evidence shows this practice dates back at least 7,000 years. Ancient practitioners performed trepanation to treat head injuries, seizures, and mental disorders, believing it would release evil spirits or relieve pressure. Surprisingly, many patients survived these procedures, as evidenced by skulls showing bone regrowth around the holes, indicating healing occurred after surgery.
3. Mercury as a Miracle Cure
For centuries, mercury was prescribed for treating syphilis, constipation, depression, and parasitic infections. Physicians administered this toxic heavy metal in various forms: as pills, ointments, or even vapor inhalations. The treatment often proved worse than the disease itself, causing mercury poisoning that resulted in tooth loss, kidney failure, and neurological damage. The phrase “mad as a hatter” originated from hat makers who suffered brain damage from mercury exposure used in felt production. Despite its dangers, mercury remained in medical use until the early 20th century.
4. Tobacco Smoke Enemas for Drowning Victims
In the 18th and early 19th centuries, medical practitioners believed that blowing tobacco smoke into a patient’s rectum could resuscitate drowning victims. Resuscitation kits containing bellows and tubes for this purpose were stationed along major waterways, including the River Thames in London. Physicians theorized that the tobacco smoke would warm the patient and stimulate respiration. This practice continued until researchers discovered that tobacco was actually harmful and ineffective for resuscitation purposes.
Questionable Renaissance and Early Modern Treatments
5. Mummy Powder as Medicine
During the Renaissance period, ground-up Egyptian mummies became a sought-after pharmaceutical ingredient across Europe. Physicians prescribed “mummia” to treat everything from bruises and fractures to stomach ailments and plague. The demand became so high that it led to widespread grave robbing and even the creation of fake mummies. This macabre practice continued until the 18th century when the medical community finally questioned both the ethics and efficacy of consuming human remains.
6. Urine as Diagnostic Tool and Treatment
Medieval physicians practiced uroscopy, an elaborate diagnostic system based on examining the color, smell, consistency, and even taste of patient urine. Doctors claimed they could diagnose virtually any disease through urine analysis alone, sometimes without even examining the patient directly. Beyond diagnosis, urine was also used as a treatment—physicians prescribed drinking one’s own urine or applying it topically to treat wounds, skin conditions, and toothaches. While modern urinalysis does provide valuable diagnostic information, historical uroscopy relied more on superstition than science.
7. Arsenic for a Healthy Complexion
During the Victorian era, arsenic-containing compounds were marketed as cosmetics and health tonics. Women consumed arsenic wafers to achieve a fashionably pale complexion and clear skin, while men took arsenic-laced tonics claiming to boost vitality and stamina. Despite widespread knowledge that arsenic was poisonous, manufacturers claimed their carefully measured doses were safe. These products caused numerous deaths and chronic health problems before eventually being banned in the early 20th century.
8. Lobotomies for Mental Illness
In the 1930s through 1950s, lobotomy became a popular treatment for mental illness, mood disorders, and even chronic pain. This procedure involved severing connections in the brain’s prefrontal cortex, either through drilling holes in the skull or inserting an ice-pick-like instrument through the eye socket. Portuguese physician António Egas Moniz won the Nobel Prize in 1949 for developing this procedure. However, lobotomies often left patients in vegetative states or with severe personality changes, and the practice was largely abandoned by the 1960s as psychiatric medications became available.
Unusual Animal and Organic Remedies
9. Medicinal Leeches for Everything
While leeches do have limited legitimate medical applications today, historical physicians used them excessively for nearly every conceivable ailment. Beyond simple bloodletting, leeches were applied to specific body parts to treat local inflammation, headaches, hemorrhoids, and even mental illness. The demand for medicinal leeches in 19th-century Europe was so enormous that certain species nearly faced extinction. France alone imported over 40 million leeches annually during the peak of their medical use.
10. Theriac: The Ancient Cure-All
Theriac was an ancient medicinal compound that originated in ancient Greece and remained popular through the 18th century. This supposed universal antidote contained up to 70 ingredients, including viper flesh, opium, honey, wine, and various herbs. Originally developed as protection against poison, theriac was eventually prescribed for virtually every disease imaginable. The preparation process was elaborate and required aging the mixture for years. Despite its prestigious reputation and astronomical cost, theriac had little actual medicinal value beyond the opium it contained.
11. Crocodile Dung as Contraception
Ancient Egyptian medical papyri describe using crocodile dung mixed with honey as a contraceptive pessary. Egyptian women believed this mixture, inserted vaginally, would prevent pregnancy. While utterly lacking in actual contraceptive properties, the acidic nature of dung may have provided some limited spermicidal effect, though at considerable risk of infection. Various other ancient cultures employed similarly bizarre contraceptive methods involving animal feces, demonstrating humanity’s long history of seeking birth control through questionable means.
12. Radium Water for Vitality
In the early 20th century, following Marie Curie’s discovery of radium, radioactive products flooded the market as miracle cures. Manufacturers sold radium-laced water, chocolate, and cosmetics, claiming they would boost energy, enhance vitality, and cure diseases. Wealthy industrialist Eben Byers famously consumed nearly 1,400 bottles of “Radithor,” a radium-containing tonic, which ultimately led to his horrific death from radiation poisoning in 1932. His jaw literally disintegrated before his death. This tragedy finally prompted government regulation of radioactive consumer products.
Lessons from Medical History
These twelve strange medical practices demonstrate the dramatic evolution of healthcare from superstition-based treatments to evidence-based medicine. While these historical methods appear absurd today, they reflected the limited scientific understanding of their times. Many practitioners genuinely believed they were helping their patients, working within the theoretical frameworks available to them. This historical perspective serves as both a reminder of medical progress and a cautionary tale about accepting treatments without rigorous scientific validation. As medical science continues advancing, today’s standard treatments will likely seem equally primitive to future generations, emphasizing the importance of continued research, skepticism, and the ongoing refinement of medical knowledge.