10 Unexpected Treatments Doctors Still Prescribe

Modern medicine is a term we use to describe what is generally considered to be the best and most advanced form of medical care we have. This contrasts with things like ancient Chinese medicine or old-school quackery and uninformed procedures like lobotomies, trepanations, and the like. But there are a number of treatments that doctors still use today that may be a little more old-fashioned and surprising than you might think.

10. Indoor tanning is still prescribed for many medical conditions despite the risk of cancer

Some people who want to tan but don't want or can't go out in the sun choose to use a tanning bed. In fact, many people still think it's a safer alternative to the natural sun for getting a tan. Dermatologists will tell you the exact opposite that tanning beds are actually more dangerous than the sun and significantly increase exposure to cancer-causing ultraviolet rays.

Despite the risk of multiple forms of skin cancer, there are still cases where a doctor may actually prescribe tanning beds as a treatment for patients. For example, if you have a severe case of seasonal affective disorder, or SAD, you may feel depressed and tired in the fall and winter. Several minutes in the solarium may actually reverse this condition and help lift one's mood, and they have often been prescribed as a way to "beat the winter blues," as the saying goes. None of this, of course, counteracts the dangerous effects of radiation.

Other reasons why doctors may prescribe tanning beds include: Vitamin D deficiency , fibromyalgia, various skin diseases and more. One patient said their doctor sent them there to deal with cramps. However, most dermatologists will insist that there is no such thing as a good tan and will never recommend it for anything.

9. Coca-Cola is prescribed to treat gastric obstructions called bezoars.

Bezoars are gastrointestinal obstructions that can, over time, lead to a feeling of fullness, nausea, vomiting, and serious stomach damage. There are many types that can consist of various undigested or partially digested food and stomach contents that become lodged in the stomach or intestines and can grow in size over time. Hard lumps can also sometimes cause vomiting, and the result is extremely unpleasant since you are essentially throwing up something that was supposed to come out another way.

A large enough bezoar can cause anemia, intestinal obstruction, ulcers, and other complications. So you need to get rid of them if they appear, and one of the best tools we have at the moment is Coca-Cola.

Half a liter of Coca-Cola three times a day for 7 days can break up the bezoar so that it can be safely removed or destroyed. It is believed that high content phosphoric acid in carbonated drinks is the active ingredient when it comes to treating them, and surprisingly, Coke works better than Pepsi or any other generic cola.

8. Methamphetamine is prescribed to treat ADHD and obesity.

There are many medications prescribed to treat ADHD these days, including popular drugs like Adderall and Ritalin. Many of these drugs are also amphetamines, which are, of course, stimulants. However, when you hear that, you probably think it’s not that unusual because it’s a drug. It sounds like an illegal drug because it’s chemically similar, right? For example, morphine and heroin are pretty close, but one is used in hospitals and the other is an illegal street drug, right? Well, not exactly.

One of the drugs used to treat ADHD isn't just amphetamine, it's methamphetamine. It doesn't mean anything else in medical jargon, it's just methamphetamine. Sold under the name Dexosin , it can also be used for weight loss. However, the Mayo Clinic also notes that methamphetamine has high risk of abuse , if you didn't know, and it should only be used for weight loss if other methods have failed. Please do not take meth to lose weight.

7. The herpes virus is used to treat cancer

Exists more methods cancer treatments than many people think, the main ones being chemotherapy and radiation therapy. But you can also have hyperthermia, hormone therapy, photodynamic therapy, surgery, stem cells and more.

Less well known than any of these treatments is herpes. The herpes virus is sometimes used to treat cancer. A form of the herpes simplex virus 1 is injected directly into melanoma skin cancer cells, which either explodes cancer cells directly as they multiply inside the tumor until it bursts, or trigger the body's own immune response to more aggressively fight the cancer.

Research has shown that a number of different types of cancer can be treated this way, and about 25% patients react to it.

6. Horse urine is used in medications to treat menopause.

Hormone therapy and hormone replacement therapy are very common treatments for women going through menopause. One commonly prescribed treatment is a medication called Premarin, which can be taken in pill form or used as a topical cream, patch, and injection. It provides the patient with estrogen to help balance hormone levels and relieve some of the symptoms caused by menopause.

A lesser-known fact about Premarin is that it is made from horse urine. Specifically, it is isolated from urine of pregnant mares , hence the name Premarin - Pre gnant Ma re Ur in e. Around 700 farms keep a herd of 80,000 horses to produce urine, but they have to be pregnant to do this, so you can imagine what this can entail in terms of how the animals are treated and what their lives are like.

This drug is used since 1942 , so it has a long history of effectiveness and, frankly, it's not the only animal-based drug we use. People tend to be a little scared when they hear about it because it sounds repulsive to us due to social taboos around things like urine and waste, but if it works, it works.

5. Tilapia skin heals severe burns

Treatment of severe burns is never easy, and often the best outcome is a reduction in the amount of scar tissue that forms, as opposed to severe and disfiguring ones. Skin grafts are sometimes used, and this often requires taking undamaged skin from the victim, perhaps from the back or some other place where it will not be noticeable, and using it to replace the worst of the burned tissue.

Another method of dealing with burns is grafts that do not come from the victim or anyone else for that matter. Tilapia meat has proven to be a reliable source of skin for grafts. The meat contains large amount of collagen , which is vital for healing after burns and also speeds up the healing process due to the presence of some non-infectious microorganisms. In addition, it helps reduce pain during the healing process.

Doctors in Brazil began using tilapia when they couldn't get human or pig skin, which had previously been the preferred choice. Tilapia was used to treat animal burns before testing in Brazil. It turned out that tilapia worked very well, it was also easy to get and quite economical, since the skin is usually just thrown away.

4. Thalidomide is still used to treat various diseases.

Thalidomide was widely used back in the 1950s, when it was prescribed for things like anxiety and morning sickness. This turned out to be a devastating mistake, as the drug was soon found to cause severe birth defects. Born up to 10,000 babies , many of whom died soon after. For the survivors there were problems , ranging from heart and eye problems to severe problems with the formation of limbs, resulting in many having short arms and missing hands and fingers.

However, the drug was not banned completely and is still used to treat diseases such as leprosy. It has also proven effective in treating some types of cancer , and is currently being investigated for its ability to treat other diseases. In Brazil back in 2013 children were born with the same birth defects that the drug causes.

3. Crack ointment can treat snake bites

Being bitten by a venomous snake is not something you want to experience. Some bites are almost guaranteed to be fatal due to the inability to provide timely treatment and the lack of antivenom, which must be specific to the snake that bit you and may not always be available or properly identified. The venom of some snakes can be extremely painful and cause severe tissue damage.

Timing is key when it comes to a snake bite, and one thing recommended to slow the spread of venom is ointment , which is most often prescribed to treat anal fissures. Nitroglycerin ointment releases nitric oxide into the bloodstream. The proteins in snake venom move slowly through your body, so anything you can do to slow them down could save your life. Nitric Oxide constricts lymphatic vessels and slows down the progress of the poison.

In tests to see how well it worked, a substance that mimicked venom was injected into a subject's leg. It took 13 minutes to reach the top of the untreated leg, but when the injection site was lubricated with ointment, it took 54 minutes. So if you're ever hiking in snake country, keep a tube of nitroglycerin ointment in your bag, just in case.

2. Dolphin therapy can treat post-traumatic stress disorder

Awesome 6 out of 10 people suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder at some point in their lives. In Ukraine, soldiers suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder have undergone treatment that includes swimming with dolphins . The results were also quite dramatic. In one case, a child who had stopped talking for months after his school was shot up was sent to swim with dolphins, and after the first session, he began talking again. The therapy has also been used for wounded soldiers.

Other institutions around the world offer similar experiences and the results were promising for many , although the scientific community seems divided over the methods and results. Some argue that the results prove little, if anything, and there are ethical concerns about the dolphins involved. However, parents of severely injured and disabled children report clear and distinct changes after the therapy. Because so little scientific research has been done on the subject, there is not much hard data to draw one way or the other.

1. Beer can help treat radiation sickness

There are probably many people in the world who would like a doctor to prescribe beer to them to treat literally anything. Sometimes it is prescribed in hospitals alcoholics, going through withdrawal symptoms to help them return to sobriety. But that's not the only medicinal use for beer. You can also use beer as part of a treatment radiation sickness .

This doesn't work for all types of radiation poisoning, but if you've been exposed to tritium, the best treatment is to get the tritium out of your body before it can cause damage and DNA damage that leads to cancer. Because tritium likes to hang out in water, including body water, you need to flush your system , and drinking beer is a great way to do this.

You can also use wine or tea to get the same effect, basically any drink that works as a diuretic to make you urinate more often.