Here are real folk cures found in a bool of medical practices in medieval England.
For deafness, a mixture of rabbit’s gallstone and fox grease was warmed and then poured into the ear.
To treat baldness, dog urine was rubbed into the scalp, If dog urine was not available, horse urine could be used instead.
To treat a child’s case of whooping cough, milk was fed to a ferret. Whatever milk the ferret didn’t drink was given to the sick child.
To eliminate jaundice, nine head lice was drowned in a pint of beer. The mixture had to be drunk every morning for a week.
For arthritis, the skin of a donkey was worn.
Gout could be cured by boiling a red-haired dog in oil, adding worms and pig’s bone marrow, and then applying the mixture to the affected area.
To stop an asthma attack, baby frogs or live spiders are coated in butter and swallowed.
Venereal disease was prevented by rubbing one’s genitals with vinegar. By the 18th century, a more modern method was favored: the genitals were wrapped in a freshly killed chicken.
To cure leprosy, a sufferer bathed in the blood of a dog.