Medieval treatments still circulate so far

Some medieval treatments such as bee venom, skull chisel or stool culture are still in use today, although modern medicine has developed.

Bee venom therapy

According to Live Science, the method of healing by having bees sting or injecting bee venom into the body has been used since ancient Greece. Hippocrates (460-370 BC), the ancestor of modern medicine, believes that bee venom is effective in treating joint-related diseases, according to the Association of Apitherapy USA (Apitherapy is the medical method of use of products. honey bee products, including bee venom, honey or pollen).

Bee venom is used to treat arthritis.(Photo: L. Brian Stauffer).

The reason for this is that the bees contain melittin, a chemical that is thought to have anti-inflammatory properties, according to a study published in the May 11 issue of Molecules.

Although bee venom can relieve joint pain, prevent recurrence and prevent fatigue, and be difficult to exercise in people with multiple sclerosis, there is a lack of scientific evidence for its effectiveness with these two diseases. and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not yet approved this treatment.

A study in Korea in 2015 published in the journal PLOS ONE concluded that people will often experience adverse reactions when using bee venom, from mild levels such as skin reactions and pain in the burned area, to life-threatening anaphylaxis of bee allergic people.

This therapy is still being used in Asia, Eastern Europe and South America, as an alternative medical method.

Use maggots to heal wounds

Maggots can help wounds heal.(Photo: Valeriiaarnaud).

This is the method used hundreds of years ago, according to Ronald Sherman, an internal medicine doctor and director of the Research, Education and Treatment Foundation, a non-profit organization in California, USA. He is an expert on using live animals to diagnose and cure diseases.

Treatment consists of placing the fly larva directly on the wound. The military surgeons were the first to observe that when the flies lay eggs in place, the soldiers' wounds would heal faster. In 1928, Dr. Johns Hopkins found a way to raise medical maggots - no pathogens for use in treatment. The maggots will be placed on the wound, bandaged for two days. They will secrete enzymes that digest dead tissues and infections of the wound, a process known as opening, according to Sherman.

"The maggots are very good at eliminating rotting meat , " Sherman said.

In 2004, the FDA officially authorized maggots to treat long-term healing wounds, such as diabetic foot ulcers and skin ulcers caused by prolonged bed rest. They are also used for chronic foot ulcers, postoperative wounds and acute burns.

Excerpted from the blood for overproduction

Blood extraction is the method used since the 18th century (Photo: Shutterstock).

Excess iron in the body is an inherited disorder caused by iron overload in the body, often cured by extracting blood.

Too much iron accumulates in the body, which can be toxic to the liver, heart, pancreas and joints. Doctors will have to use needles to extract about half a liter of blood from the patient's body, once to twice a week for several months or longer, to bring the level of ferritin (an iron-containing protein) back to normal.

In the 18th century, blood withdrawal was performed to restore balance in the body and is thought to help cure many diseases. The most common side effects of this method are fatigue and anemia if overdose and an infection can be infected.

Surgical knife made from stone bottles (Obsidian)

Stone bottles or volcanic glass.(Photo: Vvoe).

During the Stone Age, surgical knives with blades made of stone casing, or volcanic glass were used to drill a hole in the skull. These are extremely sharp medical devices, still used to this day in some cases. However, its cost is much higher than many stainless steel blades so it is not mass produced.

The Obisidian blade is said to be at least 100 times sharper than a stainless steel blade, and there is some evidence that the blade's cut is healing faster, leaving fewer scars, but it is also very thin and brittle. Surgeons using this knife must use much smaller force than steel blades, otherwise they will break and leave debris in the wound.

Obsidian Blade is not approved by the FDA for use in the US, although a few surgeons in other countries still use it, often giving very delicate procedures when cosmetic surgery in sensitive areas.

Trepan

Painting illustration of skull bones.(Photo: Everett Historical).

Bone drilling is the oldest surgical procedure , dating back to the Stone Age, involving a small hole in the patient's skull.

This is how to do in ancient civilizations, to free a person from evil spirits, thought to be the cause of illness, or to cure diseases such as severe headaches, seizures, convulsions. , head injury and infection.

Today, another version of this procedure is being used by neurosurgeons. They use different techniques and tools to drill a small hole in the skull (but do not touch the brain) when there is an internal hemorrhage due to an injury, such as a car accident. This technique is also used for a subdural hematoma, hemorrhage between the cerebral cortex and the brain, which can often occur after an elderly person has a mild head injury, or a stroke.

Its effect is to help reduce intracranial pressure, preventing excessive pressure increase inside the skull. However, it also has potential risks such as brain injury, bleeding and infection.

Transplant healthy people into patients

Inoculation helps balance intestinal bacteria.(Photo: Phugunfire).

In the 4th century, Chinese doctors were the first to have the idea of ​​bringing healthy human feces to the mouth to treat people with severe diarrhea or food poisoning. According to many documents, this may be the ancient efforts of today's healing method called "fecal microbial transplantation (FMT)".

By the 16th century, another Chinese doctor used "golden soup" - a solution containing dried or fermented manure of a healthy person in the treatment of severe diarrhea, vomiting, fever and constipation.

Today, grafting or FMT is still associated with the transfer of stool from healthy people to patients, but the stool will be inserted by enemas, or through a catheter into the stomach or small intestine. This method will restore the intestinal bacteria balance better for patients.

Stool grafting is indicated in recurrent cases of Clostridium difficile, a disease that can be life-threatening. Patients treated with FMT will get better after a few days, although their intestinal bacteria may experience a significant change in at least three months later, according to a study presented in May. / 2016 at Gastrointestinal Week, a gastrointestinal research seminar held in San Diego, USA.