Drawing ointment. Who remembers it?

Glad you can still buy it, we always had a pot in the cupboard when I was a child. Also had Collis Browne liquid for upset stomach and bowels, and Kaolin and morphine which I seem to remember was chalky? Or was that the blue bottle of Milk of Magnesia?

For bigger problems with pus etc, buy some poultices from a saddlery and cut them to size.
Work wonders on hoof abcesses etc.

My mother always had in something from Boots called Ucal ointment. Seems an odd name. Pale yellow, stiffish paste in small jar. What can it have been? Dunno.

Love the mention of gentian violet, my late mother in law trained in nursing pre war. About twenty years ago a young sexually relative came to her for advice having got pubic lice(crabs). She shaved off his pubic hairs and anointed the suspect areas with gentian violet. I think we can all picture this. Needless to say when he did go to the GP it did cause a lot of discussion/stifled mirth. Did it ever work?

I had a thorn from a hawthorn hedge in my thumb this week. Very painful, so I found the bicarb tip online.
The paste inside a sealed plaster overnight did the trick. Soaked my hand in the morning then gave a squeeze to the sore area, and out it popped! Great relief!

Elaine1 I remembe Kaolin poultices when I was a student Nurse, and Kaolin and Morph liquid medicin, I had a feeling that was for diarrhea, so long ago I cant remember.This is all showing my age.

I bought some Zam Buk from Amazon not long ago. The tin seems smaller but the colour is the same - dark green. My mother used to put it on my scraped knees when I fell as a small child. Don't know if it can draw a spinter- on young people they come out quickly anyway. But Zam Buk has been in use since around 1900.

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.

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.

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.

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

Marydoll I loved the smell.

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

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

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.

You can still get Golden Eye Ointment from Boots.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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!

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.