15 Most Horrific Ancient Medical Practices

15 Most Horrific Ancient Medical Practices. Did you know that ancient medical practices weren't always as advanced and humane as they are today? In fact, some of them were downright horrific! From using leeches to bloodletting and even drilling holes in the skull, ancient doctors sure had some pretty shocking ways of treating their patients. Today, we'll take a closer look at the 15 most gruesome ancient medical practices that’ll make you grateful for modern medicine. 1. Trepanation Ancient doctors were convinced that drilling or scraping a hole in your skull with a sharp object could release evil spirits from your brain, curing mental illnesses, epilepsy, and even headaches. 2. Bloodletting This horrific medical practice involved draining blood from a patient by making small incisions with a special tool or using leeches to suck the blood, and no, this wasn't just reserved for vampires or goths looking for a quick fix. 3. Leech therapy During ancient times, leeches were believed to have some magical healing properties and were used to suck out "bad blood" from the patient's body, and this practice was as gross and creepy as it was ineffective. 4. Mummy medicine As if mummies weren't creepy enough, ancient Egyptians took things a step further by using them as a cure for various ailments like epilepsy and headaches. 5. Treating diseases with urine Ancient doctors believed that by applying, drinking, or even bathing in urine, the body could rid itself of toxins and magically cure everything from epilepsy to the plague. 6. Forced vomiting Forced vomiting, also known as emesis, was one of the most popular ancient medical practices that involved inducing vomiting to rid the body of harmful substances, and it was believed to cure everything from headaches to snake bites, and all you needed was an emetic herb or a feather tickling the back of your throat. 7. Skull Binding This horrifying practice involved shaping the skull during infancy or childhood, using binding devices made of wood, cloth, or leather. 8. Flesh-eating ants In some ancient cultures, these little creatures were believed to have therapeutic benefits for certain conditions. 9. Surgical tools made of obsidian Talk about cutting-edge technology! It was especially popular among the Aztecs for skull surgeries and tooth extractions, and sure, it was sharp and effective, but it tended to shatter during surgery, leaving patients in a glass case of emotion. 10. The use of live animals in surgery that was the harsh reality for many animals in the history of medicine. 11. Amputation without anesthesia Back in ancient Greece and Rome, patients would be held down tighter than a treasure chest while their limbs were hacked off with a knife or saw, and you'd think they would at least have a bottle of rum for anesthesia, but nope, they didn't even have that luxury. 12. Cauterization It's called cauterization, or as I like to call it, the ancient version of grilling, which involved burning the skin or tissue with a hot iron, just like how we sear our meat on the BBQ. 13. Tooth extraction without anesthesia Imagine going to the "sew" in ancient Egypt to get a tooth pulled, and instead of a gentle tug, they'd use chisels and hammers like they were carving a statue out of marble, and in other parts of the world, untrained individuals would use pliers or forceps to yank the tooth out, often causing significant damage to the surrounding teeth and gums. 14. The use of mercury You see, back in the day, folks believed that mercury had some magical healing properties that could cure all kinds of ailments, from STIs to mental disorders, but little did they know that mercury is actually a highly toxic substance that could cause serious harm to the human body. 15. The use of shock therapy They believed that shock therapy could cure depression and hysteria. Therefore