From barbaric procedures such as lobotomy to strange potions containing arsenic and heroin, doctors have used, throughout history, many treatments that today seem at least strange. Here are some of them:

1. Methamphetamine

 

Methamphetamine was first synthesized in 1893 by a Japanese chemist. Initially, before finding out the side effects of the drug, methamphetamine was used to treat a variety of conditions, such as narcolepsy and asthma, and was also used as a weight loss drug.

2. Smoking

 

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when the harmful effects of nicotine were not yet widely known or accepted, smoking was used not only for recreational purposes, but also as a medical treatment. It has been used against many conditions, including, peak, asthma!

3. Heroin

 

Heroin was accidentally produced during an attempt to produce a drug similar to morphine, but with less potential for addiction. However, the exact opposite happened. Heroin has been shown to be about twice as strong as morphine itself. It was then prescribed to treat coughs and other conditions such as back pain and insomnia. From 1898 to 1910, cough syrups contained heroin, which was labeled as a non-addictive morphine substitute. On top of that, it has become the cause of a high dependency rate among users.

4. Lobotomy

 

In the early twentieth century, when methods of treating mental illness were rare, an invasive procedure called lobotomy was invented. Despite the lack of evidence that this procedure, during which the nerve pathways of the brain lobes are sectioned, has positive effects in treating disease, lobotomy has been widely used. Active campaigns that demonstrated the effectiveness of lobotomy and misinformation in the media led many to believe that lobotomy was a miracle cure. Only years later was the procedure recognized as one of the most shameful and tragic practices in medical history.