10 Worst Treatments in the History of Medicine

Last Updated on January 7, 2021

Around 1913, advertisements that promoted making radioactive drinking water at home were common for radiation therapy. Perhaps the reason why this was seen as a good idea until the 20th century was because radioactivity wasn’t discovered until then. But once we knew about it, we certainly did move fast.

The creators of an entire variety of radioactive treatments assured that the high-energy water could cure anything from acne to arthritis to high blood pressure.

Unluckily, this miracle-like cure also went hand in hand with horrible side effects such as cancer, fatigue, decaying bones, loss of hair and teeth, and all the symptoms of radiation intoxication.

Radium is now clearly understood to be a serious health hazard.

4. Goat Testicles Implant

In the early 1900s, John Brinkley claimed he could heal infertility, impotence, and several sexual problems by surgically installing goat testicles into a man’s scrotum. He became one of the wealthiest doctors in the US, regardless of his huge lack of medical qualifications.

The craziest part probably is how he managed to convince so many patients to undergo such a surgery and also to pay as much as $750 per operation, which is $8,600 in current value.

Brinkley opened a 16-room clinic in 1913 and started to perform endless operations that he assumed would recover male fertility and virility through implanting the goats’ testicular glands.

The ill-conceived operations eventually caused hormonal and impotence problems, which resulted in dozens of deaths and many horrible infections.

5. Arsenic Medicines

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Arsenic is perhaps a well-known poison, but not in the past, where it was used as a medicine for centuries and was a key ingredient in many patent medicines, including a potential cure for syphilis and malaria from the late 18th century until the 1950s, as well as another medicine to treat diabetes and arthritis.

Arsenic was also used by Victorian women as a cosmetic. The problem with all these medicines was obviously, the arsenic poisoning that can quickly kill humans if consumed in large amount.