The medical field has come a long way.
Long before ‘doctor’ was a job you could have, people were trying to fix health problems with outrageous, usually gruesome methods. And even once doctors came around, it took a while for things to get better.
It turns out that back in the day, you could kind of just do whatever. Blowing tobacco smoke up your patient’s butt with a long tube? Totally fine, and in fact, patients probably begged you to do it. Sick of that hypochondriac coming into your office every day with a headache? Just drill a hole in his head.
It wasn’t until modern times that doctors realized that life is precious and that maybe monkey testicles shouldn’t be involved in a checkup.
1
Bloodletting
Many maladies were thought to be caused by an imbalance of liquids in the human body, which was cured by draining the patient’s blood.
2
Cauterizing Hemorrhoids
12th-century surgeons would treat hemorrhoids by burning them away with a hot iron.
3
Cannibalism
Ground-up corpses and Egyptian mummies were eaten in the 16th and 17th centuries to stop internal bleeding.
4
Dislocated Jaw
If your jaw was dislocated, the doctor would just get in there and mess around!
5
Hydropathy
Cold water was poured over the heads of women to attempt to cure them of hysteria.
6
Lithotomy
The removal of bladder stones by cutting through the perineum - AKA the taint.
7
Hydrotherapy
In the 1800s, patients with arthritis were force-fed water through a hose. It was believed this water would pump the poisons out of their body.
8
Putrefied Whale
One treatment for rheumatoid arthritis in the late 1800s was to cut up the body of a dead whale and have the patient lie inside a narrow hole in the carcass for around two hours.
9
Rhinoplasty
An early form of plastic surgery where a new nose was created for a patient out of arm tissue. The skin grafted-on was still connected to the arm and would stay connected for about three weeks.
10
Tobacco Smoke Enema
In the 18th century, tobacco smoke enemas were used to treat everything from colds to cholera.
11
Urine Therapy
In the Middle Ages, urine was used to whiten teeth.
12
Xenotransplantation
A drawing from the 1700s of a man being infused with lamb’s blood to ‘improve his character.’ Men’s testicles were also sometimes replaced with monkey testicles.
13
Trepanation
In the 15th century, it was believed that madness, idiocy and dementia were caused by a “stone of madness” inside the brain. This ‘stone’ was removed by drilling into the patient’s skull.
