Drawing ointment. Who remembers it?

tanith yes! I remember Yellow Basilicon ointment. My mum always had a jar handy for splinters when we were little. You can still buy it online!

My mother used to use a piece of bread soaked in hot milk as a drawing poultice for spelks. It always seemed to be the sterilised needle that worked in the end though.

I found that a tiny piece of soap held in place with a plaster, for a couple of days, has the same effect of removing splinters.

I thought we had Lion ointment, yellow and thick like vaseline. Maybe that was for something else. Must get a pot of that magnesium sulphate, thanks.

My mother also used Kaolin or bread to make a poultice.
I always have a pot of mag sulphate handy, but it has been more and more difficult to find in my local pharmacies.

The same can be said for menthol crystals which are also impossible to find.

I used Mag sulph a lot when I worked in the treatment room. When I started nursing you had to spread kaolin from a tin between 2 layers of a linen sheet then warm it on a plate over a pan of hot water, then test it on yourself before applying it to a patient. Eventually they had ready made ones. Any nurses remember this?

I remember Ichthyol/Ichthammol - a thick dark tarry substance which the school nurse put on my grazed knee.

It's also used for eczema and psoriasis.

Elaine, my mother was a nurse and that's the method she used. My father had chronic lung problems and she would put a Kaolin poultice on his chest. It came in a red tin and had a very distinctive smell.

I remember having kaolin poultices as a child, I used to get pneumonia quite regularly. I also remember walking down to wherever the road was being mended so I could breathe the tar fumes!

Drawing ointment goes with my memory of Golden Eye Ointment. Does that still exist?

ElaineL
I can remember doing this when I was a student nurse.
Also Kaolin et Morph ointment, which as it's name shows contained morphine.

I have a little pot of magnesium sulphate, a drawing ointment from Boots.

Golden Lion ointment - I remember my gran administering this to a boil on my bum.

Little trick when removing splinters from children. Give them an ice cube wrapped in a hanky or flannel and get them to rub it on the place where the splinter is. It has 3 benefits:
1. It softens the skin
2. It numbs the skin
3. It gives them some control over the job, as they can tell you to stop a moment while they rub the ice cube on a bit more. Better than just being attacked with a needle and not having any control.

My brother used to get boils and I’m sure I remember my Mum using a bread poultice on them.

You can still get Golden Eye Ointment from Boots.

I knew it had been discontinued because of the mercury content, but has reappeared with different ingredients.

Historically, Golden Eye ointment contained mercuric oxide. This product was discontinued because of concerns about absorption and the adverse effects of inorganic mercury. In 1992, the brand name was used again when Golden Eye drops and ointment were reintroduced.

I used mag sulph last winter, on doctor's advice, to "draw" a breast abcess. Very successful! I must add that I had antibiotics too

Also pot permang. My brother had problems with his feet - probably athlete’s foot - and they were very smelly. Mum used to make him soak his feet in a basin of warm water with potassium permanganate dissolved in it. His feet would come out stained pink.

My mother always used crushed root ginger in a poultice to draw out splinters and rose thorns. It is very antibacterial too…

Marydoll I loved the smell.

tanith

We had something called Yellow Basilicon (sp?)for drawing out splinters when i was young

Yes. Yellow Basilicon. We had the same. Not seen it for years although you can still get it according to Google.

How about horse oils for growing pains?
I loved that smell.

This thread has promted me to order a tub of magnesium sulfate. DH always getting splinters when working in the garden . Will be a useful addition to my first aid box.

My Mum had a recipe of my grandma’s for “green ointment” which I think was a cure all. I wish I knew what happened to it but I think it is one of those things misplaced in a house move.

Puzzled

As a child, ours was a bit like a stick of sealing wax, but yellowish, so was hot when applied. But it worked!
Can't remember the name!
Have used Magnesium Sulphate fairly recently to remove a metal splinter, instead of the usual needle and tweezers.

I wonder if you are remembering Bate's Salve? Both my Mum and Granny had a stick of this. Always a clumsy child I had frequent cut hands and knees which would get them rushing to the biscuit tin that held old sheeting torn into bandages and this dreaded Bate's Salve. The stick was held over a lit match and the hot drips were collected on a piece of bandage. While it was still hot it was slapped on my cut with me protesting loudly. It did the trick though and I don't remember any cuts going septic. Don't think it's available any more. It's probably an exhibit in the Chamber of Horrors.