Drawing ointment. Who remembers it?

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.

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?

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 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.

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.

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.

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!

I remember it as a child now it’s magnesium sulphate paste I bought some from the pharmacy a few weeks ago.

My mum had a bad witlow on her finger when I was a small girl. Drawing ointment aka Morrison’s paste did the trick to draw the puss. Wonderful stuff.

I remember Kaolin poultice and Gentian Violet being in my mum’s medicine box and the poultice being heated up in it’s tin.

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 remember Black Jack always in the cupboard. Don’t know if it was a “drawing” thing.

Yes have a small pot in first aid box. Love the smell of Magnesium Sulphate.

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

Yes…still available at chemists…
We used it on our three year old “inquisitive” daughter some 40+ years ago…to draw a splinter out of her nose. She had been peering through a knot hole in the fence at new neighbours!

Yes, I remember it. It was very smelly! I usually dig splinters out with a sharp needle.

I still have a small jar of mag sulph in my first aid drawer

Indeed, magnesium sulphate- always have a pot handy.

gentian violet is used a lot on animals and poultry/fowl isn't it?

Yes, it's magnesium sulphate!

I think kaolin has a drawing function. But more for things like septic spots and abcesses.
I also still have a small bottle of gentian violet.

Brilliant stuff! I use it for drawing out post-gardening thorns and splinters.

SueDonim

There you go. A small pot of it can be yours for £3.40!

www.boots.com/boots-pharmaceuticals-magnesium-sulfate-paste-bp-10083701

That's it!

It’s still a available and I always keep some in the first aid box.

We still use it on the dog who gets in growing hairs between his toes and which festers up.