Cures Worse Than the Disease

Step back into the bizarre world of historical medicine where the cures were often worse than the disease. In this episode, we explore some of the strangest and most dangerous medical practices in history: milk transfusions, Mrs. Winslow’s Soothing Syrup (yes, the one loaded with morphine), cocaine for hay fever, a whale hotel for rheumatism, and even John Wesley’s book of natural cures that claimed to treat almost everything. And of course, no tour of old-time medicine would be complete without a little bloodletting.

These so-called “treatments” raise questions about how far medicine has come—and just how questionable it used to be. From patent medicines that preyed on desperate families to bizarre experimental therapies, we’ll uncover the weird, the dangerous, and the downright deadly side of medical history.

Resources:

https://www.science.org/content/article/ultimate-blood-substitute-us-military-betting-46-million

https://www.pharmacytimes.com/view/pharmacys-past-the-soothing-syrup-known-for-causing-death-in-thousands-of-babies-

https://digirepo.nlm.nih.gov/ext/dw/101640177/PDF/101640177.pdf

https://blogs.loc.gov/headlinesandheroes/2022/04/10-strange-medical-practices-from-history/

https://ancientwarhistory.com/medieval-medicine-the-dark-ages-of-healthcare/

https://wesleyscholar.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Primitive-Physick-14th-ed-1770.pdf