Ancient Medical Treatments: Lost Practices That Shaped History

Treat toothache with liposuction

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Since ancient times, people have known how to make materials for filling teeth and restoring teeth. A human tooth found in Italy with signs of dental intervention was determined to be about 14,000 years old.

There are also some rather unusual ancient methods: Avicenna recommended that patients smoke a burning mixture of goat fat, henna and onions as a dental treatment, and Pliny the Elder believed that the only way to The best way to get rid of a toothache is to catch a toad at midnight, spit into its mouth and say the special “cure” words.

Mothers give birth standing or sitting on their backs

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In ancient India, they knew how to change the position of the fetus in the uterus. And in some African tribes, medical practitioners were able to perform cesarean sections with their primitive instruments.

During the medieval period, due to the influence of the church, much of ancient knowledge was lost, and midwifery was not yet developed, so many women and newborns died during childbirth.

Use juniper and mandrake extracts as anesthetics

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Our ancestors achieved excellent results in surgery. In ancient Mesopotamia, doctors used wine and opium to relieve patients from pain.

In ancient Egypt, they prepared extracts from mandrake berries. In India and China, juniper, cannabis and aconite are used as anesthetics. It’s hard to say how effective they were.

Chronic diseases were treated with exercise and holy water

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In the time of Hippocrates (460-370 BC), they believed that epilepsy was caused by the will of God. He believed that the reasons for this disease were wind, cold and sun. In the Middle Ages, people with epilepsy were believed to be possessed by demons and were treated with prayers and holy water.

Ancient doctors treated diabetes with exercises and medicinal herbs, but this did not bring any positive results and patients often died.

Skin diseases, such as psoriasis, are considered incurable. Patients must wear a bell to warn others to stay away.

Almost all diseases are treated with blood transfusions

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“Bloodsucking” is very popular in India and Arab countries and is even mentioned in documents from ancient Greece and Egypt. It is believed that blood contains “bad poisons”, which must be eliminated to cure the patient. This method was popular until the 19th century.

Use snake venom and poisonous herbs

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Before antibiotics, people tried to fight infections with remedies based on plant toxins and viper venom. Modern scientists have come to the conclusion that the reason for their antibacterial activities are small proteins called disintegrins.

In ancient Egypt, they used cannabis, opium and henbane. In the Middle Ages, doctors added dried snakes and scorpions to their remedies.

Use the skull drilling method

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Headaches, epilepsy and other psychological disorders used to be cured by “grisly” methods: doctors drilled holes in the patient’s skull. Trephination is the oldest surgical operation. Evidence has also been found in human remains from the Neolithic era. This method was very popular in ancient American civilizations, as well as during the Renaissance.

An enema is a very popular treatment

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Digestive problems, drowsiness, stomach cramps, and parasites were all treated with tobacco smoke purgatives, a method used by North American Indians. However, in the 19th century, they discovered that cigarettes contained the poison nicotine, and these enemas became obsolete.

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