Modern medicine has evolved over thousands of years to become what it is today. While a lot of ancient treatments have fallen out of fashion, some things like eucalyptus and mint are still used as home remedies. While most of these remedies are harmless, there’s one remedy that’s making a surprise resurgence despite being both brutal and shocking.

Bloodletting is a medical practice that dates back thousands of years. It was incredibly common up until the late 19th century, as doctors once believed that blood and other bodily fluids needed to be kept in balance in order for the body to remain healthy. Modern medicine has largely abandoned the practice except in the treatment of rare conditions like hemochromatosis or polycythemia vera. Today, most respectable doctors would consider bloodletting to be pseudoscience.

But despite bloodletting going the way of the Dodo bird and the VCR, we’re suddenly seeing viral videos of patients undergoing the procedure in the modern day. Several videos have appeared on the internet showing patients getting pricked in the forehead by a sharp metal object, after which a small stream of blood shoots out of their head and into a small bucket in front of them. It’s enough to make anyone faint, and it’s a wonder these patients are able to walk away from the procedure without serious damage.

After the first video was posted on the social media site Weibo, it was reported that the procedure is used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat headaches, of all things.

“Venipuncture, meaning cutting a vein to remove blood from the body for therapeutic purposes, is a commonly-used method in Chinese Medicine,” says Michael Chung, a lecturer at the School of Chinese Medicine at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. “It is quite commonly used in the treatment of pain, swelling, or other disorders related to blood congestions.”

Bloodletting is also used in a practice called wet cupping, where a doctor punctures a patient’s skin several times with a lance before applying a suction cup to draw out the blood. Dry cupping is the same procedure only done without bloodletting, although wet cupping is supposedly more effective as it allows the blood to flow more freely.

There might be many who believe in the science behind modern-day bloodletting, but there are plenty who warn against it. Doctor Anthony Youn posted a video on TikTok speaking out against the practice, saying, “This is a practice that started upwards of 3,000 years ago. And although there are a couple of medical conditions that do require this as a treatment, it just isn’t really widely done. George Washington actually died after having this done.”

Comments on the viral videos of the procedure have been largely skeptical, with one commenter saying, “So, are we back to middle age?”

“Stop spreading misinformation, this has no scientific evidence to show it has any medical benefits at all, this is completely useless and potentially dangerous,” said another.

Whether the practice has any benefits or not, it’s hard to imagine anything outweighing the risks. If you’re looking for an ancient remedy to ease headaches, perhaps try something a little tamer–like Eucalyptus.