Unconventional Strange Treatments

Nurses General Nursing

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What is the strangest and most unconventional treatment you have ever given for you patient? Did it work?

I had a HHC patient who had a terrible itchy rash. She had it for months and many dg had been r/o, as well as she had tried evey treatment you can think of without relief. I mentioned it to the head WCN who advised we try banana peals. I used the banana peals by rubbing the inside of the peal on her skin where the rash was located. It worked!

Thanks for your replies! :p

No one mentioned leeches. Have had to do that once, which was plenty enough for me. BTW, it worked. Saved a girl's ear that was reattached after MVA.

Hi purple,

I just saw a special on Discovery Channel about how in England leeches and maggots and bees are making a comeback in medicine. Maggots were good with diabetics who had infections that could not be cured nor treated well with conventional medicine. Bee stings were used for people with MS to help relax muscles and allow the person control of their muscles, leeches were used in cases of plastic surgery and reattachment of skin and appendages.

When my grandmothers sister was 6 years old she says she remembers the local doctor applying a bandage containg small maggots to an open wound her sister had on her leg. Then the doctor would come by every couple days to change them out. Back then the diagnosis was "bone cancer" but who knows. Either way they used maggots back then with much succes as my great aunt made a full recovery and hardly a scar.

For any mouth ulcer my children have had...I use vinegar..take cotton swab dab in vinager, and paint ulcer liberally. BURNS LIKE H*LL for about 30 seconda then feels better...seems to heal quicker.

---For ear infections that would not respond to abx or drops the doctor had given,..I looked into my childs ear to see this ear cannal full of White cheesy stuff and red raw irritated skinn....Looked like yeast to me...So I poured in the gentian violet...and WA LA pain relief....(but purple ear canal)...My child was 13 at the time and jumped for joy when MOM:saint: cured his ear pain.. The ear healed in about 3 days

Originally posted by Peeps Mcarthur

Ok, even I (we?) think that post was a little strange.

If you managed to visualize that while eating toast and honey, and not miss a bite...................you might be a nurse.

This post was edited after vehement disagreement among the other voices in my head!

......oh, wow, so that explains why I haven't been able to make lemon & honey chicken for the past 5 years.....something to do with the honey & raw meat......YEEEECCCCCHHHHH!!!!!

Specializes in Med/Surg.

when I was a kid and had a earache my dad would blow smoke from his cigaratte into my ear. He said it would make the pain go away and it worked! Boy was I naive! Must have been some psychological thing. I would never do this of course, one because of the risk of the cigarette smoke and 2 because it is just plain stupid but what can I say, it worked!

Not that I have ever used this treatment, or know anyone who has, there is an old wives tale around that says that if you have an earache, to put URINE in the ear canal...ewwwww

The smoke was warm. This is likely the reason it worked.

Urea is found in many theraeutic creams, ointments and lotions that are used to heal damaged or irritated skin. And I think it might be slightly antibacteral.

A very old time practice was to use a wet baby diaper on acne.

I worked up in a first nations reservation and blowing smoke into the ear was a common treatment for ear aches when you were out on a hunting trip. I've also heard of bee stings 1-2 daily for arthritis been used.

My dad kept a few used tea bags in the fridge when he was welding at home. Just in case of flash burn to the eyes.

Hey, I saw a book at Border's book store lastnight that was nothing but these "home remedy" type things.

I think it was called Davey's Kitchen Remedies or something like that.

One of my instructors told us raw bacon works for nosebleeds d/t hypertonic quality and when removed won't dislodge clot.

One of my instructors told us raw bacon works for nosebleeds d/t hypertonic quality and when removed won't dislodge clot.

hot oil in your ear, when it hurted (of course in the middle of the night)

petrol-caps (men, they stank!!) against headlice

worked a lot with leeches on the neurosurgical ward

onion and vinegar-socks on the pediatirc ward against fever, onions on the thorax with thick flanel (know what that is?) sheets against the coughing for kids with pertussis (plus the moist, moist moist!!!!!)

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