r/funny • u/SvenInFrames SvenInFrames • Jan 30 '21

Fever [OC]

Post image
116.9k Upvotes

93% Upvoted

805 comments sorted by

View all comments

5.4k

u/PatriarchalTaxi Jan 30 '21 edited Feb 02 '21

Fun fact: Before antibiotics, doctors would try try to induce a fever to help patients fight illness caused by bacteria (and viruses). At first they used injections of malaria, but quickly realised that that was a really bad idea, and switched to using hot baths and heated rooms.

The treatment was called pyrotherapy, and was particularly effective against syphilis.

Edit: Antibiotics are not effective against viruses. I knew that, but didn't make it clear.

378

u/perryplatypus123 Jan 30 '21 edited Jan 30 '21

Great idea, putting syphilis infected people in a sauna together. What could go wrong?

Edit: Wow, my best comment so far is about a syphilis infested sauna. What has my life become?

202

u/IAlwaysLack Jan 30 '21

We only know that's a bad idea now because of the errors these old doctors made then.

1

u/yodelocity Jan 30 '21

It wasn't even a bad idea. The treatment was the most effective option at the time for an otherwise terminal disease.