Wait, They Actually Tried These 18 Weird Medical Treatments?!

Turns out, ancient Egyptian doctors were way ahead of their time. Carvings at the Kom Ombo temple show surgical tools that look a lot like what surgeons use today - scalpels, bone saws, dental forceps, you name it.

Feeling sad or stressed? Doctors once thought slicing into the brain was the answer! This 20th-century favorite targeted brain lobes to "fix" mental illness. Spoiler: it didn’t actually work and caused tons of problems.

Back in the 1800s, docs actually gave out cigarettes to people with asthma and even hay fever. The box said it only helped a bit and warned kids under six to stay away. Still, smoking as medicine? That’s a wild idea!

People with mental illness sometimes got dunked, wrapped in wet sheets, or blasted with hot and cold water jets. The idea? Shock the nervous system into behaving. So much for a relaxing bath!

In the '50s, they cooked tumors with radiation from a giant machine called the cobalt bomb. It was high-tech for its time and helped kill cancer cells deep inside the body, paving the way for modern treatments.

People once drank radium-infused water, thinking it gave them energy and made them live longer. Spoiler: it didn’t. It actually caused radiation poisoning and some really tragic outcomes.

In the 16th century, doctors used mercury ointment to treat sexually transmitted diseases. Patients got rubbed down repeatedly near hot fires, sweating it out for days. Definitely not spa vibes - and it probably didn’t help much.

Oxford says people let snails crawl over their warts, then killed the snail on the spot. As the snail died, supposedly the wart vanished too. Weird but kind of hilarious.

Doctors in Europe tried blowing tobacco smoke up people’s bottoms through an enema tube. It was supposed to help with all sorts of problems. We have no words.

This concoction from the 1700s had arsenic in it and was sold for all kinds of diseases, from syphilis to eczema to cholera. It was a popular pick until people finally realized arsenic isn’t exactly a healer.

Imagine sitting in warm water that’s also full of electricity. That’s what doctors tried for all sorts of illnesses back in the late 1800s. It wasn’t exactly safe or fun, but hey - it was medicine, back then!

Waterboarding is infamous now, but back in the 1800s, docs actually tried drowning treatments to fix mental illness. Spoiler alert: it was terrifying and didn’t work.

Doctors figured fatty particles in milk might turn into white blood cells. They pumped milk into patients’ bloodstreams. The first person lived, but the next five died. Not exactly a winning strategy.

Back in Georgian England, if you needed a tooth, you bought one fresh from someone who needed cash. The donor waited outside, got paid, and the tooth was transplanted - yikes, right?

For over 3,000 years, doctors thought that draining blood would stop illness. Spoiler: it usually made things worse. Thankfully, this idea finally faded by the 19th century.

Before vaccines, if a dog bit you, a Roman philosopher suggested burning the dog’s hair and putting it on the bite. Gross but somewhat understandable, considering the times. This is where the "hair of the dog" phrase comes from!

Nightshade is super poisonous but was once used to calm pain. Talk about risky medicine!

Ancient Greek docs believed the uterus wandered around the body causing hysterics. Their cure? Stuffing the air around with sweet or stinky fumes to lure it back into place. Ah, good times.

Traditional Chinese medicine used elephant bile, diluted in water, to fight bad breath. It sounds strange, but hey, they swore by it.

Used in traditional Chinese medicine, python bile was applied externally to treat genital ulcers. Modern medicine definitely does not recommend this, but it shows how bold treatments once were.