Crocodile heart, wasp stings, and radiation: how impotence was treated in different eras (9 photos)

Although it is said that the modern lifestyle and stress are devastating to male potency, problems of this kind have been known to people throughout history. Loss of male potency was considered a catastrophe even in Ancient Egypt, and even then, people tried to treat it with improvised remedies. The history of the fight against impotence, spanning many centuries, is filled with surprising facts and strange recipes.





Potions from Exotic Animals

In ancient times, on the banks of the Nile, although potency problems were considered a curse of the gods, sacrifices and prayers were not relied upon, and complex potions were prepared. The exact composition of male impotence remedies from Ancient Egypt has not survived, but it is known that ointments containing aromatic oils and the hearts of young crocodiles were most often used.



In Ancient India, the birthplace of the Kama Sutra, male impotence was addressed in an even more unusual way. An ointment to restore lost potency required wasp stings. To prepare the potion, a brave pharmacist had to destroy more than one wasp nest, risking his health and even his life.

Other gifts of nature of animal origin were also used. In Southeast Asia, rhinoceros horn powder was used to restore potency, while in China, a decoction of tiger penises was popular. Incidentally, these remedies are still in demand on the black market today, despite the fact that killing a tiger in China carries the death penalty, and rhinoceroses in the region were completely exterminated centuries ago.

Chicken Heart and Stewed Sparrows

In Rus', impotence, commonly known as "nevstanikha," was also treated with animal-based remedies. Handwritten recipes from the early 18th century have survived with recommendations like these:

"If a man's mikhir is not erect, take some deer marrow from the bone, grind it in water, and give it to the man to drink. This will make the mikhir erect."





There were other methods, for example, in one province, healers fed men a dish made from sparrows. To prepare it, they had to catch 30 birds and stew them in a pot in the oven, then eat them all in one sitting. It must be said that these methods can be considered gentler than some others.

Electroshock Therapy

In the second half of the 19th century, as electricity grew in popularity, its use in medicine became more and more common. Electroshock therapy was considered a near-panacea for ailments related to the nervous system. Naturally, impotence was also treated with electricity. At the turn of the 20th century, hundreds of "men's health" clinics operated in the United States and Europe, their primary equipment being a generator.



The procedure was simple: electrodes were applied to the penis or even inserted inside, and a current was applied, in the hopes of "revitalizing" the failing organ. It's easy to imagine the range of sensations the patient experienced during the shock, but what wouldn't you do to restore male potency?

Strychnine

Around the same time as electroshock therapy, a risky drug-based method was also used. In the 19th century, strychnine, a deadly poison found in the chilibukha plant, was discovered. In tiny doses, it didn't kill, but caused severe nervous system stimulation.



It's hard to say who came up with the idea of ​​"toning" the genitals with strychnine, but pharmacies began selling a variety of products based on the plant poison. Hoping to be cured, men used the drugs to the point of convulsions, and it's unknown how many unfortunate souls this "treatment" cost their lives. Unfortunately, strychnine's effects were short-lived and its side effects were horrific, so the fashion for this poison quickly faded, and by the early 20th century, it was used to poison rodents.

Radiation

In 1898, the Curies made a revolutionary discovery that changed the world: they discovered radium. However, the detrimental effects of radiation were unknown at the time, so the chemical element began to be widely used in medicine and cosmetology. Those suffering from depression and fatigue could buy Radione tablets, which guaranteed explosive energy and clarity of thought, while those seeking a rejuvenated appearance could buy Tho-Radia face cream and look their best at their funeral.



A package of radium pills

It's now well known how detrimental radiation is to potency, but at the turn of the century, brilliant doctors used radium-based rectal suppositories to restore potency. Of course, they couldn't restore erections, but after a while, the patient realized that the lack of an erection wasn't the most serious health problem.

Animal Sex Gland Transplants

As soon as science discovered the role of the endocrine system, doctors were struck by the idea of ​​treating impotence with animal sex glands. A contemporary of Bulgakov's Professor Preobrazhensky, the American self-proclaimed surgeon John Romulus Brinkley, began transplanting goat testicles into patients.



John Brinkley and his assistants perform another transplant. 1921

Unlike his successful literary hero, Brinkley was a greedy charlatan whose method was based on his own speculation. John spread the rumor that his first patient, farmer Bill Stitzwurf, had fully regained his potency and soon after the operation became a father for the first time.

This publicity worked, and Brinkley began performing transplants daily, charging patients $750 (equivalent to $10,000 today). Of course, the animal's testicles produced no positive effect and were simply painfully rejected by the body. It was later discovered that the fraudster had purchased his diploma from similar swindlers, and his doomed schemes had made him rich in a matter of months. After being exposed, Brinkley was brought to trial and quickly lost his fortune.

Prayers and Dog's Blood

In the 15th century, an unknown author published a scholarly work entitled "A Short Treatise on Men Who, Being Afflicted by Witchcraft, Are Incapable of Intercourse with Their Wives." It was a how-to guide on what to do if a man stopped pleasing her in bed.



Of course, the curse cast by sorcerers was to blame, and it could be removed with prayers and sprinkling the walls of the marital bedroom with fresh dog blood. Sprinkling the room blocked the evil spell and restored the husband's potency.

Burning at the Stake

But the most radical way to combat the scourge of the stronger half of humanity was burning at the stake. In this case, it was not the patient himself who was burned, but the woman deemed responsible for his impotence. The dubious method was based on the works of the 13th-century theologian and philosopher Thomas Aquinas, who claimed that impotence was caused by all sorts of evil spirits.



During the Inquisition, Aquinas's hypothesis was followed, and if a husband had trouble with his wife, the blame was placed on demons possessing her body and soul. For the good of the family, and especially the unfortunate woman herself, she was subjected to a fiery auto-da-fé as a witch. The fact that the woman's potency did not return after the burning somehow didn't bother anyone.