20 Dangerous "Remedies" People Used to Believe In

Before heroin became synonymous with addiction and overdose, it was marketed as a cough remedy in the early 20th century. Bayer sold it as a substitute for morphine, and it was promoted as a powerful drug that was supposed to be less addictive. It’s easy to see why a desperate parent or patient might have trusted a bottle sold at a pharmacy, but the drug’s addictive potential made that trust extremely dangerous.

Laudanum, an opium tincture mixed with alcohol, was once a common home remedy used to relieve pain, coughs, diarrhea, and insomnia. It was easy to obtain, easy to dose incorrectly, and easy to become addicted to before people even fully understood what they were taking. The danger was particularly great because its soothing effects could give the impression that the medication was effective until tolerance, dependence, or overdose set in.

Arsenic was once used in tonics and medicines intended to treat all kinds of ailments, from skin problems to general weakness. “Fowler’s solution,” a preparation based on potassium arsenite that first appeared in the 18th century, became one of the best-known examples and was used well into the 19th century and the early 20th century. The problem was that arsenic is a poison, and repeated exposure could damage the skin, the nervous system, the liver, the heart, and the digestive system. What once seemed to be a legitimate medical remedy is now considered a dangerous example of how easily a toxic substance could be presented as a treatment.

In the 1930s, 2,4-dinitrophenol, often referred to as DNP, gained attention as a weight-loss drug because it forced the body to burn more energy. The problem was that it could also cause the body to overheat, a condition that doctors were unable to control easily. People seeking a slimmer figure put themselves at risk of cataracts, organ damage, and death due to a chemical that turned weight loss into a medical emergency.

Thalidomide was marketed in several countries in the late 1950s and early 1960s as a sedative and a treatment for morning sickness. Many pregnant women took it believing it was safe, but the drug was found to cause severe birth defects and miscarriages. This tragedy shook the pharmaceutical regulatory system to its core, as it demonstrated just how devastating the consequences of a “safe” but inadequately tested drug could be.

In the early 20th century, Lysol advertisements implied that the product could be used for intimate hygiene and, in some cases, as a form of contraception. Since contraception was a difficult topic to discuss openly due to restrictive laws, dangerous products were often hidden behind euphemistic language. As a result, some women used a harsh disinfectant on delicate skin, exposing themselves to the risk of burns, poisoning, and infections, all while believing they were acting responsibly.

For decades, children with scalp ringworm were sometimes treated with radiation therapy to remove the infected hair. At the time, X-rays were considered a modern and effective treatment, especially before safer oral antifungal medications became widely available. Years later, children who were exposed saw an increased risk of developing tumors, thyroid cancer, and other radiation-related health problems.

From the 1930s to the 1950s, some psychiatric hospitals treated schizophrenia by administering high doses of insulin to patients in order to induce repeated comas. Proponents of this method claimed that the treatment “reset” the mind, but the process required close monitoring and carried obvious risks. Patients could suffer seizures, brain damage, or even death while undergoing a treatment whose benefits were later heavily disputed.

Metrazol therapy involved injecting a drug designed to induce violent seizures in psychiatric patients. It was used in the hope that these seizures might halt mental illness, but the episodes could be terrifying and physically brutal. Reported cases of spinal fractures and other injuries clearly demonstrated that this treatment could cause physical harm, even when it failed to provide mental relief.

In the early days of aesthetic and reconstructive medicine, paraffin was injected under the skin to reshape the nose, cheeks, and other facial features. This substance seemed to be an excellent filler because it added volume, but it did not always stay where doctors had injected it. Patients then suffered from migration, embolism, granulomas, and disfigurement, which sometimes appeared long after the initial treatment.

Strychnine is best known today as a poison, but in the past, small doses of it were found in tonics intended to stimulate the heart, the intestines, or overall vitality. The appeal was simple: if you felt weak, a “nerve tonic” promised to restore your body’s energy. The line between stimulation and poisoning was alarmingly thin, and toxic doses could cause convulsions, asphyxiation, and death.

Emetic tartar, a compound containing antimony, was used in medicine because it induced vomiting in patients and was believed to purge the body of all disease. In the 19th century, doctors prescribed it to treat a wide range of conditions, including severe infections and fever. The problem was that antimony has a very potent effect on the human body, so this “treatment” could worsen the health of patients who were already weakened.

Turpentine, distilled from pine resin, was once taken orally as a traditional remedy for intestinal worms. Because it could irritate the digestive tract, people mistook its violent purgative effects for proof that it purified the body. In reality, its toxicity outweighed any supposed benefits, and ingesting it posed a risk of poisoning rather than providing an effective treatment.

Kerosene has been used in traditional medicine as a remedy for coughs, colds, cuts, and lice. Inexpensive, familiar, and easy to obtain, it seemed like a practical solution for households that did not have easy access to safer forms of care. The danger lies in the fact that kerosene can burn the skin, poison the body, and cause life-threatening lung damage if inhaled or swallowed.

The “Spanish fly,” made from beetles of the genus Cantharis, was once used as an aphrodisiac because it caused irritation that people mistook for sexual arousal. This irritation was not simply a pleasant sensation; it was an inflammation caused by cantharidin, a toxic compound. If ingested, it could damage the gastrointestinal and urinary tracts, harm the kidneys, and kill anyone who relied on it.

Wood creosote was used in certain remedies for coughs and tuberculosis, as its acrid, smoky compounds appeared to have medicinal properties. Patients with chronic respiratory diseases were often willing to try anything to relieve their coughs and cachexia. Creosote-based products contained chemically active substances that could irritate tissues and lead to exposure to toxic substances, making this treatment of yesteryear far less reassuring than its advertisements suggested.

Deep-sleep therapy involved administering powerful sedatives to keep psychiatric patients asleep or in a coma-like state for long periods of time. At the Chelmsford Private Hospital in Sydney during the 1960s and 1970s, patients were subjected to this practice for days or even weeks. This treatment gained notoriety after deaths and serious harm were revealed, demonstrating just how dangerous it was to confuse sedation with healing.

The Hoxsey treatment was marketed as a cure for cancer, based on herbal mixtures, caustic pastes, specific diets, and related protocols. People facing cancer were, understandably, receptive to any promise of a cure, especially since conventional options were painful or limited. Leading medical authorities found no evidence of its effectiveness against cancer, and the FDA banned its sale and marketing in the United States in 1960, labeling it a worthless and discredited remedy.

Belladonna, or black nightshade, has long been used in both medicine and cosmetics, particularly in eye drops designed to dilate the pupils. While certain compounds derived from this plant have legitimate medical applications, the plant itself is toxic and can easily be misused. By treating it as a beauty product or a makeshift remedy, people who used it exposed themselves to risks such as blurred vision, a rapid heartbeat, mental confusion, poisoning, or even worse.