Here are the 10 remedies our ancestors used to cure the suffering in the old times.



Our ancestors did the best they could with what they knew. However, in today's world treating mental health issues or finding the right contraceptive is far cry from what was recommended back then.



1. The Poo Ointment







In ancient Egyptian times, the use of animal excrement for healing was recorded in the Eber's Papyrus. Dating back to 1500 B.C., a range of feces, from dog and gazelle to donkey, could be used to not only treat wounds but to keep bad spirits away. Some women would place crocodile dung into their vaginas, believing it could serve as a contraceptive.





2. Leech Therapy







Leeches were key to the bloodletting process, and through the ages, have been used as a treatment for infection, skin diseases, dental afflictions, and nervous system abnormalities. But perhaps their most miraculous attribute has kept them relevant in today's medicine—leeches secrete specific peptides and proteins that increase wound blood flow, by preventing clotting. Written in 'Ayurveda', the oldest known book on medicine, leech therapy can treat everything from cancer, arthritis, hemorrhoids, high blood pressure to heart disease.







3. Trepanning







When you have a migraine, do you ever feel like a nice hole in the head would help? Well, many of our historic ancestors felt drilling an opening into the skull was a reasonable way to treat pain and neurological issues. Surgery actually resulted in fewer deaths than you might think, despite the brain being left exposed. The earliest indications of trepanation date back 7,000 years ago, particularly in Greece, Africa, Polynesia, and even America, but the shocking practice trailed on into the early 1900s.





4. Tapeworm Diet







Taking flight in the Victorian era is one of the grossest dieting fads in existence—the tapeworm diet. Ladies in desperation of the perfect body would consume a tapeworm egg pill in hopes the creature would thrive in her intestines. Ultimately, one could eat until satisfied, while the worm would gobble up the majority, leading to weight loss. Horrifyingly, the "diet" still exists today, with subjects seeking worms from shady clinics or websites. Dangerous symptoms accompany the risky practice, including malnutrition, abdominal pain, diarrhea, nausea, infection, anemia, and fever.



Taking flight in the Victorian era is one of the grossest dieting fads in existence—the tapeworm diet. Ladies in desperation of the perfect body would consume a tapeworm egg pill in hopes the creature would thrive in her intestines. Ultimately, one could eat until satisfied, while the worm would gobble up the majority, leading to weight loss. Horrifyingly, the "diet" still exists today, with subjects seeking worms from shady clinics or websites. Dangerous symptoms accompany the risky practice, including malnutrition, abdominal pain, diarrhea, nausea, infection, anemia, and fever.

5. Corpse Medicine







There's nothing like winding down with a cocktail garnished with human skull. Wait, what? From the Romans to England's King Charles II, various cannibalistic preparations were thought to be healing and restorative. Egyptian tombs were often looted, so the inhabitant could be ground into corpse medicine. Richard Sugg, a professor at Durham University, who's written extensively on the subject stated, "The human body has been widely used as a therapeutic agent with the most popular treatments involving flesh, bone, or blood. Cannibalism was found not only in the New World, as often believed, but also in Europe."





6. Fart Sniffing





fart sniffing



Desperate times call for desperate measures. When the Black Death was ravaging London in the 1600s, physicians turned to bodily fumes. Experts claimed potent gas could counteract plague exposure, so residents either huffed farts from jars, or kept a stinky animal inside their home. Considering the widespread devastation of the Bubonic plague, it's safe to say this one didn't work.





7. Mouse Paste







Ancient Egyptians explored seemingly every possible method to discover cures, and that included using a paste of dead mice to treat coughs, toothaches and other ailments. And how did England treat warts back in the late 1500s? Mice were cut in half and placed over the afflicted area. Luckily for mice, these methods have faded.





8. Soothing Syrup ​







In the 19th century, it was acceptable to pacify your little one with a gulp of codeine, opium, and heroin—known as Soothing Syrup back in the day. The stuff was openly advertised as a serum which would calm your infant, while providing rest for weary mothers. Two druggists from Bangor, Maine began manufacturing the syrup in the mid-1800s, after a relative created it while working as a nurse. Despite the truth eventually being revealed to consumers, the product managed to hang on until the 1930s.





​9. Vaginal Incense ​









A slew of strange treatments were used to treat vaginal issues in ancient Egyptian times, including the insertion of incense. Considering onions were also inserted to determine pregnancy (if the smell came through on a woman's breath upon morning, it was assumed she was pregnant), it's possible it was used as an air freshener for the delicate region.



10. Maggots ​



