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Pythagoras’ Greed Cup and Other Lesser-Known Ancient World Facts

Khalid Elhassan July 31, 2020 34 min

Roman Empire - Roman emperor — The assassination of Caligula. Quora

34. Prescribing Pee for Anus Infections

A Roman doctor. Ancient History Encyclopedia

In addition to dental hygiene, industrial, and commercial uses, the ancient Romans also used pee for medicinal purposes. Pliny the Elder, for example, praised stale urine as being highly effective in treating diaper rashes. He also wrote that fresh urine was good for treating “sores, burns, infections of the anus, chaps and scorpion stings“.

To modern sensibilities, such remedies might come across as gross and disgusting. However, considering urine’s sterile properties – or more precisely the sterile properties of the ammonia contained in urine – such medicinal applications might have actually had something going for them.

Written by

Khalid Elhassan

A lifelong history buff, I developed a particular passion for WW2 history as a child, when I spent hours listening to my grandfather, enraptured, as he recounted his wartime experiences in the British East African Campaign and with the British 8th Army in North Africa.

I graduated with a history BA from George Mason University, then went on to get a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. After lawyering for a decade, I moved to sunny Rio de Janeiro and a less demanding career, opening a tourism agency in Copacabana.

A big chunk of my free time is spent blogging (you can follow me on Quora https://www.quora.com/profile/Khalid-Elhassan ) or freelance writing, mostly about my favorite subject, history.