Outdated hygiene practices that are anything but clean

Back in the day, before antibiotics were a thing, syphilis treatments were often riskier than the disease itself. One of the go-to methods involved rubbing mercury ointment all over your skin, multiple times a day. Doctors actually thought it helped clear up the infection, even though it had some seriously nasty side effects.

Patients would end up with ulcers, losing their teeth, and even kidney failure. Some poor souls would even kick the bucket from mercury poisoning before syphilis could do its damage. This so-called “cure” was often way worse than the curse itself.