Greg Jenner's " Ask a historian "

Menstrual issues

Ancient medical writers argued that a regular menstrual cycle was vital to female health, so for many women, getting their unreliable reproductive system into gear was the priority.

Medical manuals advised married (!) women to eat healthy and have regular sex, so far so good.

If that didn't work, gentle remedies, including positions of herbs and wine or vaginal pessaries made from mashed fruits and vegetables, but still , it's not too bad. Yet .

The barber's knife was mercifully the absolute last resort for irregular periods, though Hippocrates had no qualms in bleeding a woman from her veins .

All blood was the same for him.

But if that didn't work, either the next best thing was to irritate the womb into action.

Hippocrates suggested craming beetle  carcasses into the vagina, specifically cantharides that excrete a toxic chemical that causes swelling and increased blood flow.

Also known as Spanish fly , cantharides have the rare honor of being both poison or aphrodisiac in the same time, depending on the dosage. It seems like a risky bedtime gamble to me , but I never have been a thrill seeker , so it's a no, thank you.

From Greg Jenner's " Ask a historian "