5 Daring Ancient Medical Rituals That Crossed Limits
Where Sensibility Meets Absurdity — History’s Impact on Modern Medicine
In ancient times, it wasn’t uncommon to use odd medical practices to treat people, practices that would be illegal today. From drugs to human feces, doctors had all sorts of creative treatments for their patients that would either lead to a cure or endless trauma for the patient.
1- Bloodletting: Ancient Practice, Modern Revival
In ancient times, when people got diagnosed with a fever, the doctors would slit open a vein and drain some of the blood into a vial.
This was done to restore “balance” to the liquids in the human body by removing impure fluids, and that would cure the patient. Sometimes they would let leeches suck the blood from the open wound in the skin.
This practice was also used by King Charles II and George Washington. However, they ended up dead either way in the end. Did it work, though?
Well, there is no simple, conclusive answer to that, accidental death was possible through blood loss.
However, bloodletting would help reduce high blood pressure. Bloodletting was used as a treatment for every little medical issue, from a sore throat to the plague.
It was so normal that barbers were proficient in the medical practice and would offer it along with their regular haircuts and shaves. Surprisingly, some people still use this method, in a safer, more sterile manner, and the practice is called phlebotomy.
2- Trepanation
Dating all the way back to the beginning of time, the most gory and disturbing medical practice ever done was called trepanation. This was a form of brain surgery in which a circular hole was drilled into the skull of a human (dead or alive).
This was done to relieve pressure on the head in patients with severe migraines and cure epilepsy. However, there was a more sinister purpose for it as well.
It was known as a way to get rid of mental illnesses (depression and schizophrenia) or to perform an exorcism on any spirits in the body.
Moreover, as time went on, the practice of trepanation evolved to help remove bone fragments from any skull-related injuries.
The modern-day version of trepanation is known as a craniotomy, and it is comparatively a lot less painful (due to numbing drugs).
A craniotomy is similarly used for severe surgical reasons, such as removing a brain tumor or lesions (no more psychological reasons).
Trepanation was also the term for creating holes in toenails and fingernails, which was a safer and less brutal procedure.
3- Cannibalism: Curing the pain away by eating each other
The fascination of humans and attempting obscure miracles is so strange in medicine. Cannibalism was a normal practice in medicine during ancient times, from potions made of human blood and flesh to skull powder.
Epilepsy(brain disorder), for one, was rumored to be cured by drinking the blood of fallen gladiators. Headaches and muscle cramps were battled by drinking a brew of human flesh, blood, and crumbled bones.
These medications were also known to be spiritual aids. According to historians, people believed that by consuming the remains of a person, they were not only consuming part of their spirit but also inheriting a long, healthy life.
Moreover, at one point they started matching the consumption of parts to their medical issues (e.g. human fat for muscle aches).
4- Electroconvulsive therapy: Nazi Weapon
The one practice we may all be familiar with on some level is electroconvulsive therapy. This particular method of curing (torture) was implemented in concentration camps during World War 2, which is where it gets all the bad stigma.
It was used as a cure for mental illnesses where, instead of antidepressants, electric jolts were induced in the patients' heads. This, however, would cause seizures, traumatizing the mental patients even more.
A hydroelectric belt was strapped onto a patient’s head, connected by electrodes, and through battery voltage, the current would be induced upon the patient.
Moreover, memory loss and brittle bones were also side effects of electroconvulsive therapy. Today, this treatment is only ever used as a last resort and in a very controlled environment to provide the best results.
5- Using narcotics for a simple cough
Drugs such as cocaine and heroin were once legally used in medical practices, rather than just self-satisfaction. Cocaine has a wide history of being used as an anesthetic due to its numbing properties.
However, cocaine was also used in some places as an anti-allergy substitute for hay fever. Due to the addictive nature of cocaine, they reduced the amount of usage for a single patient up to a standard approved amount, swapping it for less addictive anesthesia.
Heroin on the other hand was used as an alternative to cough syrup and as a way to cure morphine addiction (like a nicotine patch). It was also used as an ingredient to cure a variety of ailments.
Unlike cocaine, heroin is no longer required in medicine, therefore classifying it as an illegal opioid.
What do we gain from this?
I’m no medical expert but these practices don’t only seem unsafe but also highly catastrophic, varying from addiction to intense unbearable pain.
The statistics of survival with the practices don’t make it any more reassuring that these brutal methods of torturous surgeries were better off than simply living with the illness.
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