Snake Bite Cures: Weasels, Pigeons, Pee

Animal Remedies

In medieval Europe, treating snake bites involved some truly bizarre practices, including the use of animals like weasels and pigeons. Dr. Kathleen Walker-Meikle explains that these remedies were detailed in medical texts despite the rarity of venomous snake bites in the region 1. The method involved splitting a weasel or bird in half and applying it to the bite, with the belief that the animal's innards would draw out the venom. This fascination with snakes and their bites was almost an obsession, as Walker-Meikle notes:

There's almost a luridness in the material. It's rather exciting if you're talking about. And here, and then there's the viper, and then there's the basilisk.

--- Dr. Kathleen Walker-Meikle

Despite the oddity of these treatments, they reflect the medieval mindset and their attempts to combat the unknown dangers of snake venom.

   

Organic Mixtures

Medieval doctors also relied on organic mixtures to treat snake bites, using ingredients like bird and goat poo, fish gills, and even urine. Wendy Zukerman highlights these concoctions, which were believed to have medicinal properties when applied to wounds 2. The practice of sucking venom from wounds, although still attempted today, was another medieval method that has been debunked by modern science. Walker-Meikle humorously points out the impracticality of these methods:

I don't know if I would be able to get a research grant that would allow me to go around sort of with a pile of snakes and then perhaps a pile of chickens.

--- Dr. Kathleen Walker-Meikle

These treatments, while largely ineffective, offer a glimpse into the historical approaches to medicine and the lengths to which people would go to find cures.