⏱️ 8 min read
Throughout human history, the practice of medicine has evolved dramatically from its primitive beginnings to the sophisticated science we know today. Before modern medical breakthroughs, physicians and healers relied on methods that now seem bizarre, dangerous, and sometimes outright horrifying. These historical treatments reveal not only the desperation of people seeking cures but also the limitations of medical knowledge in bygone eras. From drilling holes in skulls to prescribing radioactive tonics, these twelve medical practices demonstrate just how far medicine has advanced—and how fortunate we are to live in the modern age.
The Strange World of Historical Medicine
1. Trepanation: Drilling Holes in the Skull
One of the oldest surgical procedures known to humanity, trepanation involved drilling or scraping holes into the human skull while the patient was still alive. Archaeological evidence suggests this practice dates back to Neolithic times, with some skulls showing signs of healing, indicating patients actually survived. Ancient practitioners believed trepanation could cure headaches, epilepsy, and mental disorders by releasing evil spirits or alleviating pressure on the brain. Remarkably, this procedure was performed across numerous cultures, from ancient Peru to medieval Europe, often with only primitive tools and no anesthesia.
2. Bloodletting and Leeches
For over two thousand years, bloodletting remained one of the most common medical practices in the Western world. Physicians believed that many illnesses resulted from an imbalance of the body’s four humors—blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile. Removing “excess” blood through veins opened with lancets or through the application of leeches was thought to restore balance and health. This practice was so prevalent that it likely contributed to the death of George Washington in 1799, when doctors removed nearly half of his blood volume while treating a throat infection. Despite its dangers, medicinal leeches have found limited legitimate use in modern microsurgery.
3. Mercury Treatments for Syphilis
Before the discovery of antibiotics, physicians prescribed mercury as a treatment for syphilis, a devastating sexually transmitted disease that plagued Europe for centuries. Patients were subjected to mercury in various forms—rubbed onto the skin, taken as pills, or inhaled as vapor in heated chambers. The treatment often proved as deadly as the disease itself, causing tooth loss, kidney failure, and neurological damage. The saying “a night with Venus, a lifetime with Mercury” reflected the grim reality that the cure could be worse than the illness. This toxic practice continued well into the twentieth century until penicillin finally offered a safe alternative.
4. Tobacco Smoke Enemas
In the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, blowing tobacco smoke into a patient’s rectum was considered a legitimate medical intervention. This peculiar treatment was primarily used to resuscitate drowning victims, as physicians believed it could warm and stimulate the body back to life. Medical kits for administering tobacco smoke enemas were stationed along major waterways, particularly the River Thames in London. Doctors also prescribed this method for treating cholera, hernias, and various gastrointestinal ailments. The practice eventually fell out of favor when nicotine was discovered to be toxic to the heart.
5. Radioactive Health Products
Following the discovery of radium in 1898, radioactive substances became fashionable health remedies before their deadly effects were understood. Manufacturers marketed radioactive products as miracle cures, including Radithor, a radium-laced water that claimed to cure impotence, fatigue, and mental illness. Wealthy industrialist Eben Byers famously consumed enormous quantities of Radithor until his jaw literally fell off and he died from radiation poisoning in 1932. Other radioactive products included cosmetics, chocolate bars, and suppositories. This dangerous trend only ended when the severe health consequences became undeniable.
6. Lobotomies for Mental Illness
The prefrontal lobotomy, developed in the 1930s, involved severing connections in the brain’s prefrontal cortex to treat mental illness, chronic pain, and even social deviance. Portuguese neurologist António Egas Moniz won the Nobel Prize in 1949 for developing this procedure, which was performed on tens of thousands of patients worldwide. American physician Walter Freeman popularized the transorbital lobotomy, inserting an ice-pick-like instrument through the eye socket and sweeping it back and forth to destroy brain tissue. While some patients showed improvement, many were left in vegetative states. The procedure was largely abandoned by the 1960s with the development of psychiatric medications.
7. Arsenic Complexion Wafers
Victorian-era beauty standards drove women to consume arsenic in pursuit of pale, translucent skin. Marketed as “complexion wafers” or “arsenic beauty tablets,” these products promised to clear the skin and create a fashionable pallor. Small doses of arsenic could indeed produce a temporary cosmetic effect by destroying red blood cells and reducing blood flow to the skin. However, continued use led to severe poisoning, causing organ damage, nerve problems, and death. Despite known dangers, these products remained popular well into the early twentieth century, demonstrating the extreme lengths people would go to meet beauty ideals.
8. Malaria Therapy for Syphilis
In 1917, Austrian physician Julius Wagner-Jauregg pioneered malaria therapy for treating neurosyphilis, the late-stage manifestation of syphilis affecting the brain and nervous system. The treatment involved deliberately infecting syphilis patients with malaria, inducing high fevers that supposedly killed the syphilis bacteria. After allowing the malaria to run its course, physicians would then treat it with quinine. Wagner-Jauregg received the Nobel Prize in 1927 for this work, despite the therapy’s significant mortality rate. This dangerous practice continued until penicillin became widely available in the 1940s.
9. Heroin Cough Syrup for Children
In 1898, the Bayer pharmaceutical company began marketing heroin as a non-addictive morphine substitute and cough suppressant. The drug was specifically advertised for treating children’s coughs and colds, with promotional materials depicting smiling children and reassuring mothers. Bayer claimed heroin was safer than codeine and would not lead to addiction—a tragically false assertion. The medication was sold over-the-counter until the addictive and dangerous properties of heroin became apparent. By 1924, the United States banned heroin entirely, though the damage from years of medical use had already affected countless families.
10. Skull Moss and Corpse Medicine
During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, European pharmacopeia included numerous remedies derived from human remains. Physicians prescribed powdered Egyptian mummy, pulverized skulls, and “usnea,” a moss scraped from the skulls of executed criminals. These substances were believed to transfer the life force from the dead to the living. Particularly prized was moss from the skulls of violent death victims, thought to be especially potent. Apothecaries kept stocks of human skull powder, and some physicians even specified that the skulls should come from young, healthy individuals who died violently. This macabre practice reflected both medieval superstition and a desperate search for effective treatments.
11. Fasting and Starvation Diets
From ancient times through the early twentieth century, prolonged fasting and near-starvation diets were prescribed for treating various conditions, from epilepsy to obesity to diabetes. Some physicians advocated for water-only fasts lasting weeks or even months, believing this would purify the body and cure disease. Sanitariums dedicated to fasting therapy attracted wealthy patients willing to endure extreme hunger for promised health benefits. While modern research has explored therapeutic fasting in limited contexts, the extreme and prolonged starvation prescribed historically often caused severe malnutrition, organ damage, and death. The practice declined as nutritional science advanced and the importance of adequate nutrition became understood.
12. Urine Therapy and Diagnosis
Historical physicians placed enormous faith in urine as both a diagnostic tool and therapeutic substance. Uroscopy, the practice of examining urine’s color, smell, and even taste, was central to medieval medicine. Physicians claimed to diagnose virtually any condition by studying a patient’s urine in special glass flasks. Beyond diagnosis, many cultures advocated drinking one’s own urine or using it topically to treat wounds, infections, and skin conditions. While urine is sterile when it leaves healthy kidneys, the therapeutic claims were unfounded. Some alternative medicine practitioners still promote urine therapy today, though it lacks scientific support and can be dangerous if used to replace legitimate medical treatment.
Lessons from Medical History
These twelve bizarre medical practices remind us that medical knowledge is continually evolving. What seems like common sense today—the germ theory of disease, the importance of sterile surgical techniques, or the dangers of radiation—was once unknown or controversial. Many historical treatments, though strange and dangerous by modern standards, represented genuine attempts by physicians to help their patients with the limited knowledge available. They also reflect the profound human drive to heal and be healed, even when effective treatments remained elusive. As we look back with a mixture of horror and fascination, we should remain humble about our current medical knowledge, recognizing that future generations may view some of today’s treatments with similar disbelief. The history of medicine teaches us the importance of scientific method, rigorous testing, and remaining open to new evidence while being cautious about untested interventions—lessons that remain as relevant today as ever.
