The 5 most terrible medical procedures in history & bull; hello healthy

It is undeniable that all the advances in modern medicine that we enjoy today cannot be separated from the actions of doctors in the past. Unfortunately, historical records don't always tell happy stories. At a time when doctors and scientists are supposed to serve under the oath of "never doing harm", they often act off the mark; using all kinds of gruesome methods to cure his patients.

Here are 10 of the most terrible medical practices that have been practiced on humans throughout history.

1. Morphine for fussy toddlers

In the 19th century, Charlotte N. Winslow, a midwife and babysitter, concocted a patented drug that aims to calm fussy and wayward toddlers during childhood. teething aka teething. Nothing seems wrong, right?

However, every ounce of Mrs. 'Winslow Soothing Syrup, as its trademark name is, contains 65 mg of morphine and pure alcohol. And not only that, these "calming" syrups sometimes contain other narcotic ingredients as a combination of morphine, ranging from sodium carbonate, chloroform, codeine, heroin, powdered opium, foeniculi spirit, ammonia, to marijuana.

During the 1800s, drug manufacturers and traders were not required to include ingredients on drug packaging labels, so consumers often did not know what was in the drug they were buying. As a result, many of these children died from poisoning and overdoses. Mrs' Winslow Soothing Syrup was criticized by American Medical Association in 1911, but remained on the market until the late 1930s.

Adult versions of these sedatives are also commonly marketed for treating coughs - they contain pure heroin.

2. Trepanation, drill head without anesthesia

Trepanation is the ancient medical term for drilling a hole in the head, without an anesthetic. Trepanation is the oldest cranial surgical procedure in history, dating back to cavemen as far back as 7 thousand years in the early Mesolithic era.

Drilling the head of a highly conscious patient is most often used as a treatment for epilepsy and seizures, migraines, abscesses, blood clots and even insanity. Interestingly, there is record evidence that the majority of patients from this procedure survive and survive. In modern times, doctors still use trepanation, although only for a limited number of very specific operations and in a much safer method.

3. Lobotomy

Lobotomy, also known as leucotomy , is a neurosurgical operation that involves severing connections in the prefrontal lobe of the brain. Lobotomy is controversial, but has been widely used for more than two decades as a treatment for schizophrenia, manic depression and bipolar disorder, and other mental illnesses. The frontal lobe is targeted because of its association with behavior and personality. The originator of the procedure, a Portuguese neurologist António Egas Moniz was awarded the Nobel Prize for his work in 1949.

Inspired by the success of Egas Moniz, a doctor named Walter Freeman in the 1950s devised an even faster but more gruesome procedure: stabbing an ice cleaver into the corner of a patient's eye while he lies unconscious - sometimes while conscious. These brutal operations rarely end well, leaving the patient mentally paralyzed or dying on the spot.

4. Discard blood

Doctors in the Middle Ages believed that the human body was filled with four basic substances, called humor, namely phlegm, yellow bile, black bile and blood. They also believe that most diseases are caused by "dirty blood," so in order to cleanse the dirty blood and simultaneously restore the harmony of the body's four basic substances, doctors will drain large amounts of excess blood from the patient's body - up to 4 liters!

One method is to directly cut a vein, generally in the inner elbow, to drain the dirty blood that will be collected in a bowl. In some cases, doctors will use leeches to suck the patient's blood.

This blood drain is prescribed by doctors to treat all kinds of ailments, from strep throat to The Great Plague. This method of treatment has finally sunk from the public eye due to the times and technology, however, alternative therapies to leeches and cupping are still commonly used in modern medicine as a more controlled form of draining blood.

5. Gay "cure" therapy

Before American Psychiatric Association (APA) eliminated homosexuality as a mental disorder in 1973, this therapy is used routinely in the hope that this practice will prevent or eliminate homosexual behavior.

Between 1971 and 1989, many "patients" were forced to receive chemical castration and electric shock therapy directly to their genitals, intended to cure them of their homosexuality. A total of 900 gay people, aged 16-24 years were subjected to forced “gender return” operations. These men are turned into women through surgical procedures against their will, then returned to the real world. This gender reassignment is often incomplete, and is not intended to involve prescribing hormone drugs to maintain their new sexual identity.