The Top 10 Unabashed Quacks in Medical History

[Ian David]

10 Unabashed Quacks in Medical History
- Published November 10, 2009 by Simptimatik - 133 Comments

The history of medicine is a noble one, with an ultimate goal of extending human life and easing human suffering. Unfortunately, medicine also has its share of charlatans, con-men, and incompetents whose greatest evil is to cast doubt on the benefits of any medicine in the minds of laymen. Merriam-Webster defines a “quack” as “a pretender to medical skill”. Presented here are some self-proclaimed, as well as licensed, “pretenders” who may have had the best of intentions, but certainly achieved the worst of results.

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#8 Bernard Jensen 1908 – 2001

Famous American chiropractor and iridologist who asserts that all of the body’s underlying dysfunctions and toxins can be identified through the iris (colored part) of the eye, despite the fact that the iris does not undergo major changes during a person’s life. Nevertheless, Jensen insisted that darker areas of the iris, or areas that changed from lighter to darker, would be read as indications that there were problems or diseases in the corresponding part of the body. Different areas of the iris would represent different limbs and organs, and the left and right eye would be read differently. For instance, if the bottom of your right eye’s iris had a dark fleck, your right kidney would be in grave danger. You can view one of Jensen’s iridology charts here.

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#6 D.D. Palmer 1845 – 1913

Father of modern chiropractic, Palmer’s scientific method, leading to his theory that misalignment of the spine is the most common cause of all illness in the human body, boiled down to two incidents: 1) he whacked a deaf janitor with a book during some witty banter, and a few days later the man claimed he could hear better, and 2) he manipulated an undisclosed patient’s spine and “cured” her vague “heart trouble”. On these two incidents alone, Palmer postulated that there was a fluid called “Innate Intelligence” flowing through the body that could heal any ailment and that could be made to flow more easily by unblocking pathways through the manipulation of the spine. As chiropractic is a very common practice today, this will most likely be the most controversial of the entries on this list.

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#4 John Harvey Kellogg 1852-1943

Immortalized in T. Coraghessan Boyle’s book “The Road to Wellville”, which was later made into a move starring Anthony Hopkins as Kellogg, and the brother of cereal magnate Will Kellogg, J.H. Kellogg, one of the few licensed medical doctors on this list, is well-known as an eccentric and monomaniacal leader of the “health movement”. His sanitarium in Battle Creek drew large numbers of “patients” who apparently volunteered for such masochistic treatments as: complete abstinence from any sexual activity, since it was the source of most illness; yogurt enemas to cleanse the body; marching while eating meals to help digestion; carbolic acid applications to the clitoris to prevent female masturbation; and immersion in freezing water laced with radium. Apparently, he, not Will, was the original Frosted Flake.

More:
http://listverse.com/2009/11/10/10-unabashed-quacks-in-medical-history/

[MineralMan]

1. It would be interesting to compile a list of today's

quacks. Here in the USA, we have plenty of them. I'd start with Dr. Mercola.

[Ian David]

2. Mercola should be in jail. n/t

[LeftishBrit]

3. I would put HIV-denialists pretty high on the current list

[MineralMan]

4. Yup, closely followed by homeopathetic practicioners.

[salvorhardin]

9. I'd think Kevin Trudeau would have to be at the top of that list

If for sheer perniciousness alone.

[LeftishBrit]

5. Wow

I knew about some of these people, but did not realize that some people had actually recommended drinking radioactive substances.

I would give the early 20th century surgeon Sir William Arbuthnot Lane at least (dis)honourable mention, for attributing lots of illnesses to constipation, and treating many patients by the totally unnecessary removal of their colons!

[eppur_se_muova]

8. You weren't supposed to drink these ...

http://www.orau.org/ptp/collection/quackcures/radsup.htm

Lots more at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radioactive_quackery

[SidDithers]

6. K&R...

though I'm disappointed that Samuel Hahnemann isn't on the list. Homeopathy is the quackiest of the quacky, as far as I'm concerned. (though, at least Homeopaths aren't sticking icepicks into people's brains)

Sid

[HuckleB]

7. kick

[Warpy]

10. These quacks are why the FDA and medical licensure were both

instituted with strict penalties for violating the laws. Standard medical practice back then was nothing to brag about, though.

Radiation was a novelty when it was discovered and paraded as a cureall. I have taken care of people with massive facial bone cancers who had their faces irradiated in the 30s to cure their acne. Standard treatment for rheumatoid arthritis was full dental extraction on the theory that smoldering infection in the teeth was somehow migrating to the joints, like infection with tuberculosis had been known to do.

I take exception with putting Freeman on the list. While lobotomy looks barbaric now, it was a miracle cure for the violently insane in a time when there were absolutely no drugs to help them. I worked in a mental hospital just after Thorazine came out and many of the older patients had been lobotomized. It's the only thing that allowed them to walk around freely instead of being chained up to protect the staff. Yes, he was a quack and the use of a filthy kitchen ice pick and no anesthesia was reprehensible. However, his clumsy and barbaric surgery did work for a patient population that had no other hope.

Eventually, as we learn more about brain structure and pathways, we might end up with a modified procedure, a singulotomy that will end violence in the people we now lock up in Supermax.

I would add in his place a real charmer named Dr. James Burt. He was the grandfatherly doctor his OB-Gyn patients trusted completely until he butchered their external sex organs rendering them incapable of enjoying sex and often from managing to live at all with the tremendous pain. He call it his "love surgery," but one has to wonder who he loved, it sure wasn't any woman in the world. http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20119884,00.html

I'm sure 100 years from now much standard medical practice will be seen as barbaric, but at least we have evidence now that much of it does work on the majority of patients.

I'd still like to use a time machine and find out what they think of things like heart transplants from the dead when they simply grow replacement organs with stem cells, for instance.

Still, this was an impressive list of quacks. The Quack Museum is also worth a look: http://www.museumofquackery.com/welcome.htm

On edit: Hulda Clark belonged on that list, too, for sheer malevolence. Perhaps it should have been the top 12.

[Name removed]

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[GoneOffShore]

12. Needs an update to include Gary Null & "the Health Ranger"

[astral]

14. If you got a problem with the Health Ranger, you should be specific.

I think he's got wealth of information, and you can't name one thing that he says that can't be proven to be true.

Maybe that would be another topic.

[trotsky]

15. Here's two, since they kinda go together.

From http://www.healthranger.org/healthtips.html

"Take absolutely no prescription drugs or pharmaceuticals whatsoever"
"No visits to M.D.s or western medical doctors (visit naturopathic physicians only)"

Dangerous quackery that would kill millions of people. All-or-none thinking is deadly.

[GoneOffShore]

16. I think he's got a wealth of lies and antivax woo on his site -

There, fixed it for you.

[Thirtieschild]

13. Goat gland

My grandmother's fifth husband got a goat gland from Dr. Brinkley. He died shortly thereafter.