Can You Guess How These 10 Diseases Were Treated in the 1700s?

Modern medicine is a marvel, with cutting-edge treatments and technologies able to prevent, treat, and even cure a litany of issues that would have likely meant the end of you decades ago. But in simpler times, medical knowledge was an extremely inexact science. And by “science,” we mean “try this and hope for the best.”

One example of this approach is Primitive Physick, or An Easy and Natural Method of Curing Most Diseases, a 1747 tome by theologian John Wesley. Is it salient medical advice? Likely not, since it tells you straight off you’re in for some primitive information. See if you can match the ailment to Wesley’s bizarre remedy for it in the quiz below.

If there was a known condition, not-so-modern medicine had a treatment for it. While we know now rabies is nearly always fatal, the Romans believed it could be addressed by covering the wound with raw veal and ingesting boiled badger poop. Hay fever could be addressed with cocaine. Some asthma suffers in the late 19th century were advised to start smoking.

As for Wesley: Despite the fanciful cures and treatments included in his book, it nonetheless proved a popular reference guide. Wesley released a total of 23 editions before his death at age 88 in 1791.

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