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What Is Drawing Salve?

Drawing salve is also known as a black drawing salve, due to its black tar-like color. It has been around since the 1800s and has been used to treat many different conditions, such as splinters and boils. It is commonly confused with what is called a black salve, which is used to treat skin cancers.

  1. Ingredients

    • While there are many ingredients in drawing salve, the main ingredient is most-often ichthammol. It may also contain ingredients such as phenyl alcohol, echinacea, arnica montana and calendula. There are different manufacturers of drawing salve; ingredients will vary slightly with each manufacture.

    Benefits

    • Drawing salve will help to pull or draw foreign objects such as splinters or pieces of metal to the skin's surface. This makes it much easier to remove the offending object from the skin. It is also said to have antibiotic properties that will help ward off infections.

      Boils on the skin can be painful, especially when they will not bring the infection in the skin to a head so that it can be easily drained or lanced. Drawing salve will help bring boils to a head. It can also help to relieve the symptoms of ingrown toenails.

    Misconceptions

    • It was mistakenly believed by many that certain illnesses or diseases could be drawn from the body, such as cancer, by a salve.

      There are some reports that claim that ichthammol comes from fish, but that is not true. It is actually known as aluminum bituminosulphate. This particular part of aluminum bituminosulphate is taken from high sulphur oil shale.

    Identification

    • Most drawing salves are a black ointment with a foul odor. The foul odor comes from the sulfur in the ichthammol. It resembles a black petroleum ointment.

    Effects

    • It is always important to keep allergies in mind and makes reading a label important. You can expect to see some results within approximately 3 hours on such things, as foreign objects in the skin. If you suffer with a splinter, then you can expect to see the splinter brought closer to the skin's surface, which will help you remove it.

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