Ten Bizarre and Deadly Medical Remedy
The human body is full of amazing things. It is composed of complex organs and organ systems. These are many at times susceptible to infections and accidents that lead to the development of various medical complications. Some of these complications have been studied and universal remedies established. However, in as much as humans have been able to study the complex body systems and have been able to figure out how they function, there are occasions when bizarre occurrences are exhibited by the body. These cannot be treated by any of the procedures, or if they can, the procedures may not be efficient. As a result, the doctors have had to come up with other means to combat these medical conditions. This has led to doctors around the world coming up with the craziest, deadly and most unbelievable remedies to combat those awkward and unique medical conditions. They might be crazy but surprisingly some actually work. Here are ten examples of bizarre and deadly medical remedies in medical history.

1. Maggot Debridement Therapy
Maggot debridement therapy, also known as, larva therapy, larval therapy, Maggot Therapy, larvae therapy, biodebridement or biosurgery is a form of biotherapy. The therapy involves live, disinfected fly larvae being introduced onto the non-healing skin and soft tissue wounds on a human being or on an animal. The purpose of this procedure is to clean out the necrotic tissues that are within the wound and also for the purpose of disinfecting the wound. This procedure improves healing of chronic ulcers. In the year 2004, maggots were cleared for medical use in the United States of America for the treatment of non-healing necrotic skin, Neuropathic foot ulcers, traumatic and post-surgical wounds and venous stasis ulcers. The limitations of maggot debridement therapy is that the wound type must be that which can benefit from application of the maggot therapy. It must be moist and exudating with sufficient oxygen supply. The mechanism of actions occurs in four stages. During debridement, the maggots consume necrotic tissue in a far more precise manner than possible in a surgical operation. The maggots are then removed. The wound is afterwards disinfected. Maggot secretions are effective against some bacteria that are resistant to antibiotic. There is then simulation of healing and lastly biofilm inhibition and eradication.
Seemingly this procedure was incorporated way before modern medicine. The Maya native Americans and Aboriginal tribes of Australia used maggots for healing wounds.
Of course the patients and doctors may find maggots to be distasteful, but it sure does work in accelerating healing.

2. Trepanation- Drilling Holes into the Skull
Also known as Trephining, Trepanning or making a burr hole, this is a surgical procedure that involved a hole being scrapped or drilled into the skull of a human being thus exposing the Dura mater. The procedure is used to treat health complications related to intracranial diseases. The procedure is aimed at relieving pressure beneath the surface. A trephine is the instrument used. It cuts a round piece from the skull bone. In the ancient times, persons who behaved in a somewhat abnormal manner had holes drilled onto their skull. This was considered a way of letting out evil spirits. The procedure was also practiced during the pre-Columbian Mesoamerica and the pre-modern Europe in the classical and renaissance periods. In the modern medical practices, a precursor to lobotomy procedure was performed. This involved cutting a trephine hole, inserting an instrument and destroying some brain parts. This later on became unnecessary when the ‘orbital transit’ was developed. This involved inserting a spike through the eye-sockets. Though a weird and dangerous procedure, trepanation is being used for epidural and subdural hematomas. It is also used for certain neurosurgical procedures like the intracranial pressure monitoring, a procedure referred to as craniotomy.

3. Icepick to the Brain
During the mid-20th century, this radically form of brain surgery, transorbital lobotomy was used to in the treatment of psychiatric patients. The procedure was rapid taking a total of a few tens of a minute. The procedure required only a local anesthetic for the purposes of psychosurgery. The procedure was dangerous and in unfortunate situations, the frontal lobes of the patient would be cut away from the bran. This was accomplished by a simple and quick side-to-side motion. This left the patient with an irreversible and enduring consequences. The intentions behind this procedure was to cure the incurable, madness. However, most of the victims ended up being docile, mute and compliant.

4. Heroin Cough Syrup for Children
Bayer was a German Drug company. It made its fortunes late in the 1890s when it went about commercializing aspirin and heroin as the remedy for cough, cold and pain. The company, as late as 1912, promoted heroin for use in children who suffered from coughs, colds and “Irritations”. Reports had begun late in the 19th century that patients were developing Heroin tolerance, and addicts began clamoring for more. 1914 saw the United States restrict Heroin to prescription-use only and later on, FDA banned it altogether in 1924, except under very strict medical conditions. Bayer’s history is a chilling reminder of how in the early times one could sell to anyone anything disregarding its dangers and the consequences that are attached to it.

5. Bloodletting to cure illness
Bloodletting refers to the withdrawal of blood from a patient with the aim of curing or preventing illnesses and diseases. Bloodletting had its basis on an ancient medicine system that regarded bodily fluids as “humors”. These had to remain in a proper balance to maintain good health. This was an ancient surgical practice having been performed for almost 2000 years until the late 19th century. Currently the practice has been abandoned by modern style medicine except for a few peculiar medical conditions. Bloodletting provided a temporary solution to hypertension treatment. The procedure temporarily reduced the blood pressure by reducing the blood volume. This was however harmful to patients. The concept of “Bleeding a patient to health” came from the menstrual occurrence in the females.
Today bloodletting is not effective for most diseases, but instead regarded as a harmful medical practice. It is however used in the treatment of a few diseases such as hemochromatosis and polycythemia. The practice is still common in the Unani, Ayurvedic and traditional Chinese.

6. Curing Hemorrhoids using a Red-Hot poker to the Anus
The current treatment to hemorrhoids is considered a walk in the park. The historical treatment for this particular medical condition involved filling one’s asshole with a red-hot iron poker. This iron was maintained until the hemorrhoids burned and exploded. More serious cases would be treated in a more intense manner. A tube would be inserted in the butt and a blazing iron, like an ass piston, would be fed in and out of it until eventually the hemorrhoids separated. Another treatment for this condition involved the afflicted butthole being doused with boiling water and urine. As late as 1882, William Allingham, a renowned physician, still described this mode of treatment as the most ideal for this ailment. The effects of the procedure are unimaginable. The effects ranged from great pain to retarded recovery and even death it the procedure was overdone. The modern treatment for Hemorrhoids involves using lasers instead of the hot metal.

7. Bladder Stones Treatment
Cases of Bladder stones, a painful affliction reached an epidemic proportion in the middle ages. ‘Lothotomists’ travelled throughout Europe having specialized treatment tables that were uniquely designed to immobilize persons suffering from this painful medical conditions. The tables could be packed up for hightailing out of town in case someone died, a seemingly frequent occurrence during that time. The surgery was done without any anesthetics or antibiotics, since such never existed at that moment. The patient was put in a certain pose and the surgeon probed the patient with his finger until sure of the size and the location of the stone. On determining these, he made an incision just above the anus the popped the stone out. In the case where the stone is resistant to removal, a metal hook would be employed to aid prying it out. During this period, hooks were considered as acceptable medical instruments.

8. The ‘Cure” for Stuttering that involved Chopping your Tongue in Half
In the 18th to 19th century, the cure for stuttering involved performing a Hemiglossectomy on the patient. This procedure involved removal of a considerable portion of the stutterer’s tongue, quite a horrifying procedure. The techniques was pioneered by a German Surgeon, Johann Friedrich Dieffenbach in the mid-1800s. He performed the procedure on a hundreds of German and France patients despite his results being completely unsubstantiated. A significant number of his patients ended up dying due to bleeding from their tongues. Hemiglossectomy is still being used currently by doctors in the removal of cancerous growths, but it is not considered a viable option when it comes to people with the stuttering condition.

9. Tapeworm Diet
People will go a long way just to maintain their good figure especially the ladies who love to lose some weight and maintain a ‘perfect figure’. Well, apparently some doctors resorted to tapeworm diet to assist shed off some extra pound. This treatment is currently still being offered in some parts of Mexico. One is give beef tapeworm cysts that have been microscopically identified. The process of identifying the tapeworm cysts is important since some cows may be hosting pig tapeworms, which are dangerous when ingested. Tapeworms act by interfering with digestion and the absorption of food nutrients. This means that one can consume more calories but still lose weight. The dangers of the procedure is that the parasite competes with the body for nutrients which eventually leads to nutritional deficiency.
Tapeworm infestation, according to scientists, can result in the loss of about one to two pounds per week. Once one has attained the target weight he or she intended, a deworming agent is administered to the client, which kills the tapeworm so that it can be expelled from the digestive system.
The treatment had several side effect that included one having a rebound weight gain once that tapeworm’s expulsion has taken place. The treatment, being traced to Mexico only, was expensive costing up to $1500. This was another one of its cons. Despite this procedure being weird and having several considerable cons, apparently people are still desperate to get their hands on these parasites.

10. Shocking Penises to Treat Impotence
With the current medical advancement, all a man need, in the case that he has some performance issues, all it takes is a pill and the problem is fixed. But before these advancements, men had to take more extreme measures to solve erectile dysfunction.
Men have tried all manner of things just to keep their penises functioning properly. One of the craziest practices that were carried out to solve the issue was Electrotherapy. This procedure was even more intense than radioactive suppositories. This practice was carried out during the 18th century when the penis would be shocked until it worked well again. Impotence was taken as a big issue in the society a couple of years ago. France, in the 16th and 17th century, considered impotence a crime and a ground to seek divorce. It was considered by medical professionals a consequence of weak morals, signified by depravity and sin. So then a remedy had to be established, and thus the birth of electrotherapeutics. It was not until the early 1900s, that a discovery was made that impotence had a psychosexual neurotic origin rather than sinning.
However, today there are still some people who believe that impotence can be cured by subjecting the penis to low intensity sound waves. The cure has however been criticized, with critics claiming that the sound waves, which are normally used to break up kidney stones, are destructive.

A trip down medical history gives one an insight on the various strange, weird medical remedies that have been carried out. The trip is nothing short of interesting and thrilling. Indeed medicine is one interesting endeavor one can take.