15 Of The Most Outrageous Medical Treatments In History

In the 18^th and 19^th centuries, the way to cure a stutter was thought to be hemiglossectomy, or cutting off half of a person’s tongue. It didn’t work, of course, and many patients bled to death. However, hemiglossectomy is still used today to treat oral cancer.

Mice have had many medical uses throughout the years, tracing back to ancient Egyptians who would put a dead mouse — sometimes mashed with other ingredients — in their mouths to treat toothaches. In the same vein, in England people used to cut mice in half and apply them to warts.

Honestly, men and doctors really just didn’t know how to deal with women’s issues. Any minor issue a woman caused could’ve landed her a diagnosis of “hysteria,” which basically meant they didn’t do what men wanted them to. Naturally, the cure was to massage their lady parts. That’s actually how the vibrator was born.

This one’s pretty famous, as modern movies and TV continue to include it. Lobotomies were used to cure pretty much any mental health issue there was. The operation consisted of sticking an ice pick into one’s eye socket in the hopes of getting to the brain, and then using a mallet to alter one’s brain.