Modern Ancient Medicine

The other day at work, one of the patients I was following as part of the Infectious Disease consult team had an interesting convergence of current and "rudimentary" medical treatment. He had an infection [hopefully you figured that part out, since the ID team was consulted] in his foot that would not be cleared by antibiotics alone. Why? Because he had necrotic (aka dead/rotting) tissue that the bacteria would hang out in. If the tissue is dead, that means it doesn't have blood circulation to it anymore, which means any antibiotic we gave him--either intravenously or orally--would not reach where the bacteria were hiding. And it was most definitely not something that can be cured with Neosporin. The necessary cure? Cut off the dead tissue. Which usually takes multiple trips to the operating room, since we'd like to only remove unsalavageable tissue, which is a developing process--we watch for what heals and what doesn't. The alternative for becoming an OR frequent flyer? Maggots.
Yes, that's right. Maggots. As in the larvae of flies, as in the insect that you use a flyswatter on. Strangely, maggots are good at 'dissolving' bacteria as well as dead tissue. So they could be considered antimicrobial. You stick the things in a 'fenced-in' area on someone's wound, and leave them there for at least 24 hours. Check the link out for a medical article on the topic. Fascinating, right? It inspired me to think of other "nonconventional" treatments that have widespread acceptance in the medical community.

~Honey. This bee barf stuff has antimicrobial properties (i.e. it can suppress the growth of bacteria), and there have been many times I used it on pressure ulcers (aka bed sores) to help remove slough and eschar [which are basically types of dead tissue]. It's also an anti-inflammatory,  helps with pain at the wound site, and smells good. That last one is pretty sweet. haha it's honey, so of course it's sweet

~Milk and Molasses enema. When someone's constipated, and stool softeners, laxatives, or even prune juice doesn't work, this is a good one to use. Mostly because it smells like gingerbread, because it legitimately uses molasses and milk (when I worked as a bedside nurse, we would use powdered milk and add water, but that's still milk).

~Silver. Another great antimicrobial for wound care. Kills germs and helps contain the oozing. I've used it in an ointment form and in impregnated dressings--meaning that the silver is throughout the gauze/pad material. It's not a blanket cure, though; it only seems to be effective in infected wounds in the early stages of healing.

~Also, apparently, Gold. Personally never worked with it. But it's out there.

~Leeches. Unlike in previous centuries, we do not use leeches to draw out "bad blood." Apparently they have anti-clotting, analgesic (pain-relieving), anti-microbial, and anti-inflammatory effects, but I've only used it to help restore blood flow to certain wounds. For instance, if you partially cut off decent chunk of a finger, sticking the chunk back on and putting a leech on the detached part can draw blood into the detached finger again. It won't work if your finger has been detached for days, though.

I don't exactly classify these next things as weird, but they've been in use for centuries.
~Aromatherapy. Mostly for nausea: orange oil, peppermint oil, and ginger (although that's actually for eating, not smelling).
~Acupuncture for all sorts of things. Also, acupressure, which I've used for headaches and nausea.
~Yoga
~Good nutrition and exercise--very important determinants of health.

And this concludes the non-confrontational post on modern ancient medicine.