Sometimes, Tylenol just won’t do the trick. Maybe you have a serious headache that you can’t get rid of, or maybe you ate some bad pizza that’s totally messing with your gut. Whatever the cause, the best way to treat chronic pain is to visit the doctor. Even if you don’t have medical insurance, a visit to your doctor will save you tons of money in the long run – if you try to treat the pain yourself.

People have actually tried these methods and wound up in their doctor’s office or the emergency room trying to fix the problems caused by their “cure.” Here are some of the stupidest ways to try to deal with pain:

Pure Crap

There are some “cures” for pain that may not land you in the hospital, but are just plain dumb. For example, some folks believe that rubbing a half of a potato on your forehead can relieve a headache. Others think blowing cigar smoke on someone’s back will relieve back pain. And in some circles people treat cuts by rubbing cobwebs into them to stop the pain and bleeding. These folk remedies have no basis in science and do nothing to get rid of the pain.

Fight Fire with Fire

It’s the old joke that every parent has said when their child’s being a bit whiney. “Here, let me step on your foot and you can forget about your headache.” Still, some people really believe this is a good way to relieve pain.

People have literally pounded their heads with hammers, or bonked it on the wall in order to try to get their headache to feel better. While you might stun yourself which would provide a brief respite from the pain, this is a great way to make the headache worse.

Faulty Logic

Ear candling is another great example of a stupid way to treat pain. The idea is simple: you stick a candle in your ear. Yep, that’s right. A candle. In your ear.

The theory is that, when you light the candle, the smoke or the burning wick will create a vacuum in the ear. This will draw out earwax, toxins or other impurities in the ear that are causing you pain.

The only problem is that the hot air on the end of the candle doesn’t actually cause anything to be sucked out. And, if it were able to create a vacuum that could actually pull out ear wax, it would probably also rupture your eardrum.

Trust me. If you’re in pain, take some Tylenol. If that doesn’t do it, get your ass to the doctor’s office.

Photo via Migraine Chick