World's Most Bizarre and Weirdest Medical Cures: Do They Work? [PHOTOS]

By | July 21 2011 10:23 AM

Photo: REUTERS

Scorpion Drink

Thai villagers there are found of wine fermented with scorpions, believing the insects can cure various diseases and improve sexual potency.

Photo: REUTERS

Terrapin Touch

A belief in the supernatural healing powers of animals such as turtles, cows and snakes is a relatively common phenomenon in Cambodia.

Photo: REUTERS

Fish Swallowing

Every year in June, the Bathini Goud brothers from Hyderabad draw thousands to their camp to take part in the administering of the fish medicine, which they believe cures them of asthma and respiratory problems.

Photo: REUTERS

Bulgarian Bathing

It is believed in Bulgaria that mud baths from the lake cures rheumatism and other body ailments.

Photo: REUTERS

Thai Maggot Therapy

Maggot therapy has been used to treat patients suffering from infections, ulcers and burns since April last year. Each bag costs about 3,000 baht ($72.50) per bag and contains some 200 larvae.

Photo: REUTERS

Leech Therapy

Photo: REUTERS

Train Track Therapy

In some parts of Indonesia, residents believe that the electrical energy from the tracks will cure them of various illnesses.

Photo: REUTERS

Bee Sting

One clinic in Beijing uses bee venom released into the patient's body when the bee stings, to cure diseases such as rheumatism, arthritis and rhinitis, local media reported.

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Beer Spa

The bathing beer - a product for external and internal use, its label says - is brewed at the Neuzeller Kloster Brewery near the Polish border.

Photo: REUTERS

Mud Magic

The 'Lagoon of Miracles,' with its distinct greenish color along with the mud ponds that surround it, is said to cure everything from acne to rheumatism.

Photo: REUTERS

Dolphin Kiss

This therapy is supposed to stimulate the brains of the baby inside the belly, with the dolphins high-frequency sounds, to develop neuron abilities.

Photo: REUTERS

Face Buring Treatment

A traditional Chinese medical treatment with needles is ignited dry moxa leaves on a woman's face to cure facial paralysis, at a hospital in Jinan, Shandong province.

Photo: REUTERS

Military Sand Therapy

The program is run by the Jimmy Miller Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated the healing of mental and physical illness through surfing and ocean related activities.

For thousands of years, humans have been on a quest to find effective disease cures and methods of staying healthy. While modern Western medicine has evolved into a system of doctors, hospitals, and pharmaceutical drugs, other remedies—from bloodletting to coordinated laughing — are still in use around the world.