What is Drawing Salve?
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Drawing salve can be used to treat a variety of skin inflammations. The ointment "draws out" problems such as infections, ingrown toenails, wood splinters, glass shards, and insect poison. The term "drawing" appealed to people's sense that infection was a spiritual affliction. Instead of drawing something out, the liniment simply treats the wound. For generations, this home remedy has been used to heal cuts, poison ivy, sores, and many other surface abrasions.
Drawing salve became successful during the period of widely advertised medicinals and balms of the late 1800s. Catchy slogans, bright packaging, and sworn testimonials from satisfied customers littered the old-fashioned pharmacies. The line between medicine and fraud was not as firmly drawn as it is today. However, this salve, otherwise known as Black Ointment, or Icthyol Salve, was an effective blend of herbs, roots, extracts, and oils, which actually serve to soothe skin.
While still unregulated by the FDA, and not considered a medicine in the United States, over-the-counter demand for drawing salve remains high. Many families consider it a staple of their medicine cabinet, and use it liberally when children encounter bee stings, splinters, or rose bushes.
The most popular brands of drawing salve list their main ingredients as ichthammol, phenyl alcohol, arnica montana, and several familiar herbs such as echinacea, calendula, etc. These are combined with skin-enriching vitamin E, antiseptic bergamot oil, and anti-inflammatory comfrey oil, in a base of beeswax. Ichthammol, the most active ingredient, is considered a medicine in some countries. It's natural because it is actually extracted from the rock schist. It softens skin by weakening it slightly, which increases circulation. When more blood goes to the area, the wound will heal faster by ejecting any pus or irritant.
In the early 2000s, interest was reinvigorated in the use of drawing salve as a holistic treatment of cancerous tumors, in particular skin cancer. Some people believe it can heal internal inflamed or abnormal tissue, like cysts and tumors. However, as yet no scientific research has been conducted to support these claims.
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13
i personally love drawing salve. it works great for slivers and boils. - anon50063
12
What I'd like to know is why the vehicle for this ointment is petrolatum. I don't see how putting it on your skin could be healthful. I used to use a product called Boil-Ease that was only 2 percent ichthammol, the the ichthammol ointment with the petrolatum base is 20 percent ichthammol, which, according to the pharmacist, is the actual "drawing" agent. A really stinky mixture, nonetheless. - anon42795
11
For anon37094 and others Tractor Supply carries it in the Equine Department. you don't have to go to the pharmacy. - anon41415
10
why do i need a prescription to get this product - anon37909
9
I am not a doctor so this is not medical advice but if you have pilonidal cyst and have had to endure the pain until they come to a head and rupture or had to had a doctor cut them to relieve the pressure, use this salve. It works. I use to get the pilonidal cyst alot and once I started using this it helped me 1000% - anon37790
8
I am out of draw out salve. Used it all my life of 60 years. The pharmacist told me today that it is no longer being manufactured! Is it going to be outdated in a year if I stock up on it? Works on amimals as well as people. - anon37094
7
I am so thankful for the net and ichthammol ointment. I have a little boil that has really caused some pain. I stopped at a hometown pharmacy to get the stuff my grandmother used to use and what a relief. The pain...gone in less that one half hour. Tomorrow I hope the redness and swelling will be gone also. - anon36093
6
I've used ichthammol with success. First on a boil, then on a sebaceous cyst I had removed by a doctor twice that kept growing back.Since then I've used it on boils, zits, and splinters. I never knew of this growing up, but learned about it on the internet. I desperately needed something for a boil on my head and figured trying the ichthammol couldn't hurt, although I didn't expect it to work. It made a big difference and even removed the cyst I kept having to have surgically removed every year or so....and now it hasn't grown back! - anon34587
5
My experience with drawing salve is that it really works: Last fall I had gotten a large wood splinter under my thumbnail. It was extremely deep and painful and I couldn't touch it. I put a glob of "drawing salve" on it and kept a large bandaid completely over it. Within an hour, the pain was gone. I changed the dressing and added more drawing salve twice a day. In a couple of days, the splinter had come to the surface - painlessly- and I was able to remove it with a pair of tweezers. I recommend this product whole-heartedly. - anon34039
4
My Mom used to use this product on small infections when we were children. I hadn't thought about it for years but I bought some today to help heal an under-wire attack spot. Still smells the same, and same texture, and I am so glad I thought of it. Hot packs and band-aids weren't working. The Pharmacist knew exactly what I was talking about, and I feel like it is already working. Thank goodness! - anon30806
3
I was wondering if anyone has had good luck with the drawing salve for a stonefish sting? - dpierce
2
I had an encounter with raspberry thorns and cactus needles in my garden. My co-worker handed me a tube of this black, tar-like substance that she insisted would draw out the jaggers. She was right! And it was overnight relief. I'll be stopping at the pharmacy tonight. - anon11546
1
When you first see drawing salve, you might be a little disgusted. It has a strong odor, and while it is not too bad, it certainly isn't pleasant. Even more surprising than the odor, is the dark black color and thick texture. It looks more like tar than something that you want to put on your skin. Despite all of that, however, the salve surprisingly works as advertised. - elsewhen
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Written by
S. Mithra
Last Modified: 25 October 2009
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