When you walk into a clinic, you might expect a pill, but 10 unbelievable things are now showing up on doctors’ prescription pads. Physicians are gradually shifting from solely recommending medications to writing orders for unconventional activities and items that can support recovery and well‑being.

10 Unbelievable Things Doctors Could Prescribe

10 Guinness

Guinness has long been touted for its health‑boosting qualities, thanks to antioxidant compounds that may help fend off heart attacks. It also supplies iron – a single pint delivers about 3 percent of the 19 mg daily iron requirement for an adult.

Because of its iron content, Guinness was historically prescribed to pregnant women and patients recovering from surgery. Irish blood donors even receive a free can of Guinness right after giving blood. On top of that, the stout contains phytoestrogen, which is linked to better mental performance, obesity prevention, and denser bones.

It’s no surprise that Australian doctors wrote a Guinness prescription for a patient in 2017. The patient, Dave Conway, an Irishman from Dublin – the home of the famous stout – had suffered a catastrophic fall from a seven‑story construction site in Brisbane, Australia.

Conway survived the fall but endured severe injuries, undergoing 26 surgeries, including double amputations below the knee. While learning to use a wheelchair, his doctors prescribed a daily pint of Guinness to aid his recovery.

9 Playing

We’d all agree that today’s children don’t play as much as they did a few decades ago. Many parents mistakenly think play is merely a chance for kids to get dirty, while youngsters often prefer passive screen time.

Physicians warn that a lack of play can harm a child’s health because play fuels learning, creativity, stress reduction, and overall mental development. That’s why the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) urge doctors to issue play prescriptions.

The AAP and CDC recommend at least one hour of daily play plus another hour of physical activity. Doctors typically write the order as “Play Every Day,” giving kids a legitimate excuse to get outside and have fun.

8 Cycling

If you’re not motivated to pedal, your physician can help. In Cardiff (UK) and Boston (US), doctors can prescribe cycling to patients who need more exercise or want to shed pounds.

The prescription comes with a membership card for a partner bike‑sharing service. In Cardiff, patients redeem the order at nextbike free of charge, receiving a six‑month, 30‑minutes‑per‑day cycling plan.

In Boston, the prescription is fulfilled through Blue Bikes (formerly Hubway). While Hubway originally charged $85 annually, the prescription covers $80 of that cost for low‑income patients, leaving them to pay just $5.

7 Bird‑Watching And Strolling By The Beach

In 2018, Scotland’s National Health Service in Shetland announced that doctors could prescribe bird‑watching to patients battling chronic illnesses such as diabetes, mental health disorders, and heart disease. The same programme also allows prescriptions for beach strolls or simple wandering.

Patients receiving a bird‑watching prescription are treated to a guided tour organized by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, complete with calendars and route lists highlighting the birds and plants they might encounter.

Those prescribed beach visits spend time watching seabirds, collecting oyster shells, or hiking coastal hills. In winter, patients may be directed to specific sites where strong ocean breezes add a refreshing element to the experience.

6 Gardening

In 2016, the UK’s National Health Service explored offering gardening prescriptions to patients dealing with cancer, obesity, heart conditions, and mental health challenges, including dementia. The NHS notes that gardening and other outdoor pursuits improve sleep, cut loneliness, and lower anxiety, stress, and depression.

Gardening also promotes recovery, encourages activity, and provides a sense of purpose. A study found that dementia patients who spent time in gardens were 19 percent less likely to become violent compared with those who didn’t, with violence rates soaring sevenfold among the latter.

The initiative was already active in London boroughs such as Bromley and Lambeth. In Lambeth, hospital‑based gardens let patients grow food, which they then sold to the hospital kitchen to prepare meals for other patients.

5 Singing, Music, Sports, Arts, And Other Hobbies

The UK NHS is also weighing the idea of prescribing music to dementia patients. Health Secretary Matt Hancock framed the move as a strategy to curb the nation’s tendency to “over‑medicalise” its population.

Research showed that dementia patients who sang or listened to music were less distressed and required fewer medications. In a study run by Hull’s stroke‑recovery service together with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, roughly 90 percent of stroke survivors reported health improvements after music therapy.

The stroke patients experienced reduced dizziness, anxiety, and seizures, slept better, and showed sharper concentration and cognitive function. In Gloucestershire, physicians even prescribed singing to individuals with lung conditions.

Beyond music, UK doctors may prescribe sports, arts, and other hobbies as part of a “community activities” package aimed at patients suffering from loneliness, a plan slated for nationwide rollout by 2023.

4 Museum Visits

In 2018, legislation enabled doctors in Montreal to prescribe museum visits. Patients receive complimentary tickets and may bring friends, relatives, or caregivers along. The program partners with the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA).

Nathalie Bondil, director of the MMFA, explained that museum visits positively affect the nervous system. Helene Boyer, vice‑president of Medecins francophones du Canada (MdFC), added that such outings boost serotonin secretion, lifting mood.

Boyer also noted that walking through a museum provides exercise equivalent for seniors and those with chronic pain, while viewing art can aid patients battling serious illnesses like cancer.

3 Electricity

Even within medical circles, doctors have been criticized for defaulting to drug prescriptions for almost every condition. Patients often expect a pill and may doubt a physician’s credibility when none is offered.

Now, researchers are exploring “electricity prescriptions” as a low‑intensity, barely perceptible alternative. The idea is not to deliver jolts, but rather to emit faint electrical signals that the body’s nervous system can interpret.

The technique is still experimental, but scientists argue it could work because the brain already uses weak electrical impulses to command muscles and organs. Nerve injuries, which cause paralysis, often stem from disrupted signals.

Future plans involve implantable devices that release precise electrical cues to stimulate insulin production in the pancreas for diabetes, or to modulate heart rate for cardiac conditions, alongside repairing damaged nerves.

2 Food

Not every patient needs a pill; some simply require the right diet. California doctors have pioneered a “Food is Medicine” program that allows them to prescribe meals, though initially limited to 1,000 low‑income patients with congestive heart failure.

The initiative builds on a 2013 study by the Philadelphia nonprofit Metropolitan Area Neighborhood Nutrition Alliance (MANNA). That year, MANNA provided three square meals and a snack each day to 65 heart‑failure patients.

One year later, the study revealed that participants’ monthly medical expenses dropped from $38,937 to $28,183. Hospital admissions halved, and stays became shorter when patients were admitted.

Researchers attribute the success to the low‑salt, heart‑healthy meals required for managing congestive heart disease, a dietary need often hard to meet amid a market flooded with high‑sodium options.

1 Park Visits

In 2015, South Dakota’s Department of Health teamed up with the Game, Fish and Parks Department to launch a pilot program allowing doctors to prescribe park visits. Patients received a “prescription” directing them to any state‑owned park or recreation area.

Similar programmes have sprouted across the United States, such as Baltimore’s “Docs in the Park” and Albuquerque’s “Prescription Trails,” encouraging patients to reap the health benefits of nature.

Prescriptions do not always end up at a pharmacy. These days a doctor’s scribble can whisk you off to virtual realms or even a sham surgery. The homeless may receive a house, addicts can be handed medical‑grade heroin, and chronic complainers might find themselves shuffled off to bingo halls or Bollywood dance classes. This is the top 10 bizarre list of unconventional remedies that doctors actually prescribe.

Why These Top 10 Bizarre Prescriptions Matter

When traditional pills fall short, clinicians turn to creativity, leveraging everything from books to nature walks. The goal is the same: improve health, but the toolbox is astonishingly diverse.

10 Books

In the United Kingdom, physicians can now hand patients a prescription for reading, a practice known as bibliotherapy. When someone grapples with moderate depression, the doctor writes a special form that can be exchanged at a library for carefully selected titles. These aren’t any old best‑sellers; the books are chosen to address topics like anxiety, obsessive‑compulsive disorder, diet, and general wellbeing. The aim is to lessen feelings of isolation and spark a cathartic, solution‑focused mindset.

Bibliotherapy already boasts a solid track record with children, helping them process tough subjects such as death or divorce. While reading alone won’t cure depression, it offers an additional avenue for managing mood and fostering resilience.

9 Community Gardening

The NHS has coined the term “green prescriptions,” but it’s not about cannabis. Instead, doctors are encouraging patients to dig into community gardening projects. Joining a shared garden can combat loneliness, anxiety, and depression, while also nudging participants toward healthier habits like walking to the plot.

Beyond the social boost, community gardens yield fresh produce that can be harvested for free or at a low cost. Planning and tending a garden sharpens communication and problem‑solving skills, and the greenery itself helps sequester carbon and provides habitats for birds and wildlife.

8 Museum Visits

In 2018 the Francophone Association of Doctors in Canada (MfdC) asked a daring question: could a museum serve as a therapeutic venue? Over a hundred physicians signed up, and the pilot program now offers a free access card to the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts for two adults and two children.

While patients wander among paintings, they also spend quality time with family or friends in a calm, culturally rich environment. This exposure to visual art has been shown to lower stress, benefiting a wide spectrum of conditions ranging from trauma and anxiety to epilepsy, autism, and Alzheimer’s disease.

7 Nature

Scotland’s “Nature Prescriptions” programme, launched after a successful trial, officially authorises doctors to send patients outdoors to treat or prevent ailments such as diabetes, cancer, hypertension, and stress. The prescription comes as a colourful pamphlet that outlines seasonal activities, from lichen hunting in January to dog‑walking in March.

Patients are encouraged to let their imagination run wild—cloud‑watching, hurling rocks into the sea after inscribing worries, or simply soaking up bird song. Engaging with the natural world can lower stress hormones, improve mood, and foster a sense of belonging to the environment.

6 Bike Rides

Wales rolled out a pilot in 2019 that lets doctors prescribe free bike‑rental subscriptions for six months. Regular cycling slashes the risk of cardiovascular death by more than half and lifts spirits, all while keeping the air cleaner than motor‑vehicle traffic.

The scheme supplies a subscription that would otherwise cost up to £10 (≈ $13) per day, allowing patients to pedal around the city at no charge. If the initiative proves successful, the UK plans to broaden the menu of unconventional prescriptions.

5 Placebos And Fake Surgery

A 2011 survey by Germany’s Medical Association (BÄK) revealed that roughly half of German doctors hand out placebos, with the figure soaring to 88 % in Bavaria. These “sham” treatments ranged from vitamin tablets to homeopathic remedies and even simulated surgeries.

When paired with real medication, placebos boosted the latter’s effectiveness. Their impact varied with appearance and price—larger, colorful pills and injections performed best. Trust appears to be the secret sauce; patients who felt heard and respected responded more positively to the inert therapies.

4 Bollywood Dancing

London’s Parchmore Medical Centre piloted a “community prescribing” project to tackle the flood of non‑medical appointments that overwhelm GPs. Patients with issues like loneliness, debt, or housing instability received tickets for activities that would pull them out of the house.

Examples included bingo nights, Bollywood dance lessons, and meetings held in church halls to discuss welfare concerns. Over 18 months, 112 distinct activities were offered, resulting in roughly 30,000 social sessions. The program helped reduce GP burnout, cut outpatient referrals by 20 %, and re‑energised community ties.

3 A House

Hawaii’s $2 billion annual Medicaid budget is heavily strained by repeated emergency‑room visits from the homeless, who often present with injuries, infections, mental‑health crises, and substance‑abuse complications. On average, a single homeless individual costs the system about $120,000 per year, while a modest $18,000 could secure stable housing.

A 2017 legislative proposal suggested classifying homelessness as a medical condition, thereby allowing doctors to prescribe a house. Studies indicate that providing housing can cut healthcare expenses by roughly 43 %. Critics worry about potential abuse and the fiscal impact of handing out free homes, but the data points to substantial savings and improved patient safety.

2 Virtual Reality

At Shriners Hospital for Children, pediatric burn victims often endure excruciating pain that even strong analgesics can’t fully quell. Cognitive psychologist Hunter Hoffman discovered that immersing patients in a virtual world can distract the brain enough to halve perceived pain.

Using a robotic arm to hold VR goggles, children play “SnowCanyon,” an Arctic‑themed game where they fling snowballs at friendly characters. While the kids are engrossed, nurses can clean wounds, and reported pain scores dropped by about 50 %.

1 Heroin

In 2016 Canada enacted a groundbreaking law permitting doctors to prescribe medical‑grade heroin (diacetylmorphine) to patients who have exhausted all other treatment avenues. Eligibility requires a thorough assessment, and doctors must apply to the health department on the patient’s behalf.

Research shows that this approach outperforms methadone: more participants achieve abstinence, and fewer switch to alternative illicit drugs. Moreover, the supervised setting reduces overdose risk, providing a safe environment for the injection. Similar programs exist in Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany, and Switzerland.

Modern medicine is a term we use to describe what is generally considered the best and most advanced kind of health care we have available. This is in contrast to things like ancient Chinese medicine or old school quackery and ill-informed procedures like lobotomies and trepanning and such. But there are a number of treatments doctors still use today that may be a little more old school and unexpected than you’d think. 

10. Indoor Tanning is Still Prescribed For Many Condition Despite the Cancer Risk

Some people who want a tan but don’t want to or can’t get out into the sun choose to use tanning beds. In fact, a lot of people still think these are a safer alternative to natural sun to get a tan. Dermatologists will tell you the exact opposite, that a tanning bed is actually more dangerous than the sun and greatly increases your exposure to cancer-causing UV rays. 

Despite the risk of multiple forms of skin cancer, there are still occasions when a doctor may actually prescribe tanning beds to patients as a treatment. For instance, if you have a bad case of seasonal affective disorder, or SAD, you may find yourself feeling depressed and tired during the autumn and winter. A few minutes in a tanning bed can actually turn this condition around and help elevate your mood and was often prescribed as a way to “beat the winter blues,” as they say. None of this counteracts the dangerous effects of the radiation, of course.

Other reasons doctors may prescribe tanning is for Vitamin D deficiencies, fibromyalgia, various skin conditions and more. One patient said their doctor sent them there to deal with cramps. Most dermatologists will insist there’s no such thing as good tanning and would never recommend it for anything, however.

9. Coca-Cola is Prescribed to Treat Stomach Obstructions Called Bezoars

Bezoars are gastrointestinal obstructions that can lead to feelings of fullness, nausea, vomiting and serious stomach damage over time. There are numerous types which can be composed of various undigested or partially foods and stomach contents which get caught in your stomach or intestines and can grow larger over time. The hard lumps can also be vomited up sometimes, and the result is extremely unpleasant as you’re basically throwing up something that was meant to go out the other way.  

A large enough bezoar can cause anemia, bowel obstruction, ulcers and worse. So you need to get rid of them if they appear and one of the best tools we currently have to do that is Coca-Cola. 

Half a liter of Coke, three times a day for 7 days can break down a bezoar so that it can be safely passed or broken up. The high phosphoric acid content in the soda is believed to be the active ingredient when it comes to treating them and, weirdly, it seems to be Coca-Cola more so than Pepsi or any generic cola that works best. 

8. Meth is Prescribed to Treat ADHD and Obesity

There are numerous drugs prescribed to help treat ADHD these days including popular choices like Adderall and Ritalin. Many of these drugs are also amphetamines which are, of course, stimulants. When you hear that, however, you probably think it’s not too unusual because it’s medicine. It sounds like an illegal drug because it’s chemically similar, right? Like how morphine and heroin are kind of close but one is used in hospitals and one is an illegal street drug, right? Well, not exactly.

One of the drugs used to treat ADHD is not just an amphetamine, it’s methamphetamine. That doesn’t mean something else in medical jargon, that’s just meth. Sold under the name Dexosyn, it can also be used to help assist with weight loss. That said, the Mayo Clinic also points out that meth has a high risk for abuse, in case you weren’t aware, and should only be used for weight loss if other methods have failed. Please don’t do meth to lose weight.  

7. The Herpes Virus is Used to Treat Cancer

There are more methods to treat cancer than a lot of people realize, chief among them chemo and radiation therapies. But you can also undergo hyperthermia, hormone therapy, photodynamic therapy, surgery, stem cells and more. 

Less well known than any of those treatments is herpes. The herpes virus is occasionally used as a treatment for cancer. A form of the herpes simplex 1 virus is injected directly into melanoma skin cancer cells which either explodes the cancer cells directly as it multiples inside the tumor until it bursts or it triggers the body’s own immune response to go after the cancer more aggressively. 

Studies have shown that a number of different cancers can be treated this way and around 25% of patients seem to respond to it.

6. Horse Urine is Used in Medications to Treat Menopause

Hormone therapy and hormone replacement is a very common treatment for women who have gone through menopause. One commonly prescribed treatment is a medication called Premarin which can either be taken in pill form or used as a topical cream, a patch and injections as well. It provides the patient with estrogen to help balance hormone levels and alleviate some of the symptoms caused by going through menopause. 

A less-well known fact about Premarin is that it’s made from horse urine. Specifically, it’s isolated from the urine of pregnant mares and that’s actually where the name Premarin comes from – Pregnant Mare Urine. Around 700 farms maintain a herd of 80,000 horses to produce the urine but they have to be pregnant to produce it so you can imagine what that might entail in terms of how the animals are treated and what their lives are like.

The drug has been in use since 1942 so it’s got a long history of being effective and, in truth, is not the only animal derived drug we use, either. People tend to be a little freaked out when they hear about it though because it sounds off-putting to us thanks to social taboos around things like urine and waste material but if it works, it works. 

5. Tilapia Skin Treats Severe Burns

Treating severe burns is never easy and often the best result is a lessening of scar tissue that forms as opposed to serious and disfiguring ones. Skin grafts are sometimes used and this often requires taking undamaged skin from the victim, perhaps from their back or some other place where it won’t be noticeable, and using it to replace the worst of the burned tissue. 

Another method for dealing with burns is grafts that don’t come from the victim or anyone else for that matter. The flesh of tilapia fish has proven to be a reliable source of skin for grafts. The flesh has high amounts of collagen which is vital for healing after burns and it also speeds the healing process thanks to the presence of some non-infectious microorganisms. In addition, it helps reduce pain during the healing process.

Doctors in Brazil started using tilapia when they were unable to secure human or pig skin which had been the preferred choices prior. Tilapia was used to treat animal burns before the Brazil trials.  Turned out that tilapia worked really well and was also easy to get ahold of and pretty cost effective as well since the skin is usually just thrown away.  

4. Thalidomide Is Still Used to Treat Various Diseases

Thalidomide was widely used back in the 1950s when it was prescribed for things like anxiety and morning sickness. That proved to be a devastating mistake as it was soon learned that the drug caused severe birth defects. As many as 10,000 babies were born, many of which died shortly after. The survivors had issues ranging from heart problems to eye problems to serious issues with limb formation that resulted in many with short arms, missing hands and fingers.

The drug was not banned outright, however, and is still used today to treat conditions like leprosy. It has also proven effective as a treatment for some cancers as well and was being investigated for its ability to treat other conditions.  In Brazil, children were being born as late as 2013 suffering from the same birth defects the drug causes. 

3. Ointment for Fissures Can Treat Snake Bites

Getting bit by a venomous snake is not something you want to experience. Some bites are almost guaranteed to be fatal due to the inability to get to help in time and the lack of antivenoms which need to be specific to the snake that bit you and can’t always be obtained or properly identified. The venom from some snakes can be extremely painful and cause serious tissue damage as well.

Timing is key with a snake bite and one thing recommended to slow the progress of venom is an ointment that is more typically prescribed for the treatment of anal fissures. Nitroglycerin ointment releases nitric oxide into your bloodstream. The proteins in the snake venom are slow to move their way through your body so anything you can do to slow them down can save your life. Nitric oxide constricts your lymphatic vessels and slows the venom’s progress. 

In tests to see how well it worked, a substance that mimics venom was injected into a subject’s foot. It took 13 minutes to reach the top of an untreated leg, but when the injection site was smeared with ointment, it took 54 minutes. So if you ever hike in snake country, keep a tube of nitroglycerin ointment in your bag, just in case.

2. Dolphin Therapy Can Treat PTSD

A stunning 6 in 10 people will suffer PTSD at some point in their lives. In Ukraine, soldiers there suffering from PTSD were undergoing treatment which involved swimming with dolphins. The results were pretty dramatic, too. In one case a child who had stopped speaking for months after his school was shot up was sent to swim with dolphins and after the first session he started talking again. The therapy has also been used for injured soldiers.

Other facilities around the world offer similar experiences and the results have been promising for many, though the scientific community seems quite split on the methods and results. Some have claimed the results prove little if anything and there are ethical concerns for the dolphins involved. Parents of severely injured and disabled children say they have noticed clear and distinct changes after the therapy, however. Because there has been so little scientific study on the matter, there’s not much reliable data to go on one way or the other. 

1. Beer Can Help Treat Radiation Sickness

There are probably a lot of people in the world who wish they could get a doctor to prescribe them beer to treat literally anything. Sometimes it’s prescribed in hospitals for alcoholics going through withdrawals to help ease them back to sobriety. But that’s not the only medicinal use for beer out there. You can also use beer as part of the treatment for radiation sickness. 

It doesn’t work for every kind of radiation poisoning, but if you’ve been exposed to tritium, then your best treatment is to get the tritium out of your body before it can wreak havoc and cause DNA damage leading to cancer. Because tritium likes to hang out in water, including body water, you need to flush your system and beer drinking is a great method of doing just that.

You could also use wine or tea to get the same effect, basically any beverage that works as a diuretic to make you urinate more frequently.