Historical Medicinal Uses of Blood

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The following offers readers a wide array of resources showing the prevalence of using blood medicinally by ancient peoples where the blood was not obtained by murder and it was not applied orally for eating. Not only was medicinal use of blood prevalent among ancient peoples, it was also used for a wide array of medical conditions.

Hives and Shingles:

“hives and shingles: smear on the blood of a black chicken.”—(Smith, Folklore from "Egypt", The Journal of American Folklore, Vol. 54, No. 211/212 (Jan.-Jun., 1941), pp. 48-59)

Cellulitis:

"Caldcleugh testifies to the blood of a black lamb being administered for erysipelas in South America."--(Folk Medicine, Black, 1883, p. 116)

Bleeding:

"The local use of serum or blood has resulted in arrest of superficial hemorrhages in many instances. Recently Dr. Sayer of Cozad reported one in which other remedies having failed he applied blood from a fresh cut of his own person with prompt arrest."--(Bridges, The Present Status of Serum and Vaccine Therapy, Medical Herald, October 1912, p. 509)

Bleeding from circumcision:

To protect male boys from bleeding to death after circumcision ancient Africans poured fresh blood on the wound immediately.--(Ref: Universal History from the Earliest Account of Time, 1760, p. 401)

Nose Bleed:

Of animal blood: “Dry pigeon blood, mixed with snuff is helpful for nosebleeding.”—(The Jew and Human Sacrifice, Strack, 1909, pp. 86-7

Gangrene:

“Topical application of a mixture of peripheral blood mononuclear cells and basic fibroblast growth factor appears to be a useful, non-invasive and convenient method for the treatment of diabetic gangrene.”—(ASAI et al, Successful treatment of diabetic gangrene with topical application of a mixture of peripheral blood mononuclear cells and basic fibroblast growth factor, Journal of Dermatology 2006; 33: 349–352)

Inflammation:

Africans used fresh animal blood to sooth inflammation.—(Little, Medicine and Folklore, St. Mary’s Hospital Gazette, January 1904, p. 3

Snake Bite:

“Snake-bites are cured by applying to the bite the raw and bleeding surface of the flesh of a fowl that has been stunned.”—(Animal and Folklore, Bergen, 1899, p. 69)

Paralysis:

Pigeon blood applied topically to treat paralysis.—(Mahawar et al, Animals and their products utilized as medicines by the inhabitants surrounding the Ranthambhore National Park, India, Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine, 2006, 2:46)

Pain:

“THE MIRACLE OF PAIN-ANNIHILATION BY APPLIED BLOOD. In March, 1894, the Sanitary Era published the following statements on this subject, in connection with the report of a case at the New York Polyclinic, in the early days of Haematherapy. "The Editor saw the case at the second dressing, and asked the patient if it was painful. She replied that it had been extremely painful until she came to Dr. B., but as soon as he had dressed it the pain ceased and she had suffered no further. This singular experience brought to mind the identical report given' by the brakeman with the lacerated arm, and also the delighted exclamation heard from another sufferer a moment after the bovine dressing had been applied: "Oh, doctor! What have you been putting on? My pain is all gone!"-an exclamation which the doctor informed us was a usual occurrence in such cases. A.s there is nothing of opium, cocaine, ether, arnica, or any other pain-killing drug, or, in short, of any drug whatever, in the bovine blood-preserve, or in any element of the dressing ap• plied. it becomes a subject of most interesting inquiry, what could be the nature of this unheard-of and mysterious effect.”—(Modern Medical Science Vol. VIII, Conant, 1896, p. 835)

Sty:

“Blood from the tip of the tail of a black cat without a single white hair will cure a sty.”—(Animal and Folklore, Bergen, 1899, p. 68)

Eye wounds:

“Blood is u[s]ed as an ointment for the eyes, when they are blood [sh]ot, and in recent wounds of them.”—(Pharmacopaeia Univerfalis, R. James MD, 1747)

Sun Burn:

"The blood applied warm to the fkin is cofmetic, efieemed good to' take away fpots, freckles, fun-burnings.”—(Zoologia Medicinalis Hibernia, Keogh, 1739, p. 47)

Gout:

“The.blood outwardly applied, or inwardly taken, is good again[s]t the gout.”—(Zoologia Medicinalis Hibernia, Keogh, 1739, p. 76)

Typhus:

“…in cases of typhus or red discolouration of the skin, the patient is cured by killing a cock, and smearing the red blotches with its blood.”—(The Indian Antiquary, Campbell, May 1895, p. 124)

Inflamed tumours:

“Bears' blood is curative of inflamed tumours.”—(Natural History Vol. 5, Pliny, 1856, p. 351)

Dog bite:

“…insert [menstruous blood of a bitch] in the wound ashes of hairs from the tail of the dog that inflicted the bite.”—(Natural History Vol. 5, Pliny, 1856, p. 405)

Infection:

“For ulcerated scrofula, a weasel's blood is employed.”—(Natural History Vol. 5, Pliny, 1856, p. 435)

Elephantitis:

“For the cure of elephantiasis, the blood and ashes of a weasel are employed.”—(Natural History Vol. 5, Pliny, 1856, p. 460)

Blisters:

“For the cure, too, of morphew, a liniment [of bat's blood] is recommended.” —(Natural History Vol. 5, Pliny, 1856, p. 461)

Small pox:

"Cures for Smallpox... The process of cure by hot water and permanganate of potash, is simple, and it is based on reason. Immediately the pustules form, the patient gets into the hot bath, the water relaxes the skin, and the pus exudes, leaving the raw sore; the permanganate acts both to assist in pulling out the pus and then in cleaning the sore place left, leaving it in shape to rapidly heal [where applied blood would insure the healing] the permanganate at the same time perfectly neutralizing the poison of the pus."--(Physiological Treatment in Small Pox, Modern Medical Science, October 1903, Vol. 16, No. 4, p. 206)

The preceding sources are not given to suggest the medicinal application of blood is/was in each case the most efficacious remedy at the time, or that they should be applied today as in yesteryears. Rather these sources are only to show that blood used by topical transplantation for medicinal purposes has a long history dating back to the most ancient times.

Marvin Shilmer

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