Black Salve Information

Black salve is an alternative cancer treatment that contains the rock-derived ingredient ichthammol. Proponents claim it burns away skin cancer without affecting surrounding tissue, while opponents illustrate the dangers of black salve by pointing to a case in which a woman lost her nose after using it.

Function

• Black salve is an alternative topical medicine. It's also known as drawing salve, because it's often used to bring boils, cysts and splinters to the surface of the skin. It's frequently used on horses, but people use it too. Controversially, it's also an alternative treatment for skin cancer: instead of choosing to have the cancer surgically excised, some people apply black salve to it. Proponents claim it kills cancer cells without harming surrounding tissue.

Components

• The chief ingredient in black salve is ichthammol, a chemical compound extracted from sedimentary rock. This is the drawing agent. It usually comes in concentrations of 20 percent. The remaining ingredients in black salve are an oil, beeswax or water base; anti-inflammatory herbs like arnica, echinacea and calendula; phenyl alcohol; and bloodroot, an herb that purportedly helps dissolve skin lesions. Some black salve makers add zinc chloride to the salve in concentrations of over 40 percent. There's evidence, however, that this concentration of zinc chloride can cause scarring. Other salve makers substitute DMSO for some of the zinc chloride, claiming that the DMSO aids absorption of the ichthammol without scarring the skin.

How to Use Black Salve

• For a boil, splinter or cyst, users spread a thin coating of the salve directly onto the affected area every 24 hours until the problem comes to the surface of the skin. For skin cancer, users apply a thin coating of the salve to their cancerous moles or lesions, cover the area with a bandage and repeat every 24 hours until a thick, deep scab, called an eschar, forms. They then keep this eschar covered until it dries completely and falls out. After the eschar falls out, black salve proponents say, the cancer should be completely gone.

Warning

• Very little scientific research has been done to corroborate claims that ichthammol or bloodroot kill skin cancer cells. Black salve is a corrosive agent. Some salves even contain sulfuric acid, and can cause serious skin burns. One woman lost her nose and a large part of her cheeks because her naturopath had prescribed her black salve for a bump on her nose. The FDA has banned Alpha Omega, the company who provided black salve to the woman's naturopath, from manufacturing its Cansema salve. However, Alpha Omega has rebuilt the lab the FDA tore down, and are still operating in Ecuador.

Dr. Weil's Perspective

• The respected integrative medicine practitioner Andrew Weil, M.D., is a proponent of black salve containing bloodroot. He says he has personally used it to get rid of skin tags. He doesn't, however, condone the use of black salve for cancerous lesions. He recommends you see a dermatologist if you are concerned you may have skin cancer, rather than attempting to treat it with salve.