Before there was the modern medicine that we’re used to today, there were deadly remedies that were supposed to cure all our ailments. It’s a surprise that anyone managed to survive.
Don’t believe us? Well have a look at these deadly remedies – would you use any of them?
Cure asthma by inhaling chloroform
Around 100 years ago there were no Ventolin inhalers to help asthma sufferers. No, at that time it was suggested that inhaling chloroform would cure your aliments. It might have worked, the person would certainly have passed out and forgot about the wheezing.
Nosebleeds bothering you?
This might not be one of the entirely deadly remedies, but it’s certainly disgusting. If you suffered from nosebleeds in the olden days it was suggested that you find an old brown puffball lying on the ground, remove it’s insides and stuff it up your nose. If you didn’t know, a puffball is a type of fungus.
Sore throat got you down?
There’s nothing worse than a sore throat, well wait until you hear one of the most horrific remedies known. Back in the day doctors suggested that a mix of olive oil, ammonia and egg could cure your sore throat. All of these were mixed together and added to the throat until a blister formed. Ouch!
Either your hair grows back or you die…
Nobody wants to go bald, but in the past people would use some extremely deadly remedies in order to make their hair grow back. One remedy called for the use of rosemary extract, wine, almond oil, distilled water and err…Â mercury bichloride. It would be rubbed onto the scalp until hair grew back or the person fell dead.
An icky way to end dry skin.
If you had dry chapped skin in the past there wasn’t nice moisturiser to use. Instead it was common place to put some sour cream in a flannel cloth and seal. It should then be buried in dark soil overnight. Around mid-morning the sour cream can be dug up and applied to any dry areas. Yuck.
Get rid of those lice with some deadly remedies.
A few head lice never harmed anyone – it’s a sign of having nice clean hair. However, back in the day they would use pure kerosene(!) in order to rid their head of lice. Basically apply it and wait for the blisters.
Body lice was a problem too.
It wasn’t just head lice that our ancestors were bothered with – there were also body lice. But not to worry, they simply used something called a blue ointment. It was only 20% mercury… It’s surprising anyone actually survived old medicines.
