A salve is a medical

ointment A topical medication is a medication that is applied to a particular place on or in the body. Most often topical medication means application to body surfaces such as the skin or mucous membranes to treat ailments via a large range of classes ...

used to soothe the

skin Skin is the layer of usually soft, flexible outer tissue covering the body of a vertebrate animal, with three main functions: protection, regulation, and sensation. Other animal coverings, such as the arthropod exoskeleton, have different ...

Medical uses

Magnesium sulphate Magnesium sulfate or magnesium sulphate is a chemical compound, a salt with the formula , consisting of magnesium cations (20.19% by mass) and sulfate anions . It is a white crystalline solid, soluble in water but not in ethanol. Magnesium ...

paste is used as a drawing salve to treat small boils and infected wounds and to remove 'draw' small splinters. Black ointment, or Ichthyol Salve, also called Drawing Salve, has been traditionally used to treat minor skin problems such as

sebaceous cyst A sebaceous cyst is a term commonly used to refer to either: * Epidermoid cysts (also termed epidermal cysts, infundibular cyst) * Pilar cysts (also termed trichelemmal cysts, isthmus-catagen cysts) Both of the above types of cysts contain ...

s, boils,

ingrown toenail An ingrown nail, also known as onychocryptosis (from () 'nail' and () 'hidden') is a common form of nail disease. It is an often painful condition in which the nail grows so that it cuts into one or both sides of the paronychium or nail b ...

s and splinters. The main ingredients are often

ichthammol Ichthammol or ammonium bituminosulfonate (brand name Ichthyol), also known as black ointment, is a medication derived from sulfur-rich oil shale (bituminous schists). It is used (sometimes in combination with zinc oxide) as a treatment for diffe ...

phenyl alcohol Phenol (also known as carbolic acid, phenolic acid, or benzenol) is an aromatic organic compound with the molecular formula . It is a white crystalline solid that is volatile and can catch fire. The molecule consists of a phenyl group () bond ...

, or

Arnica montana ''Arnica montana'', also known as wolf's bane, leopard's bane, mountain tobacco and mountain arnica, is a moderately toxic European flowering plant in the daisy family Asteraceae that has a large yellow head (botany), flower head. The names "wol ...

, and may contain herbs such as

echinacea ''Echinacea'' is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants in the daisy family. It has ten species, which are commonly called coneflowers. They are native only in eastern and central North America, where they grow in wet to dry prairies and open ...

calendula ''Calendula'' () is a genus of about 15–20 species''Calendula''.
Flora of China.

. The name comes from archaic belief that an irritant can "draw out" evil

humors Humorism, the humoral theory, or humoralism, was a system of medicine detailing a supposed makeup and workings of the human body, adopted by Ancient Greek and Roman physicians and philosophers. Humorism began to fall out of favor in the 17th c ...

. (This should not be confused with

black salve Black salve, also known by the brand name Cansema, is an ineffective and unsafe alternative cancer treatment. The product is commonly classified as an escharotic—a topical paste which destroys skin tissue and leaves behind a scar called an es ...

which is dangerous.)

Agricultural uses

In the days before dipping, a greasy salve was rubbed into the wool of sheep in the autumn as a precautionary measure against parasites - as referenced in social literature about ancient farming areas in England.Pontefract, E. & Hartley, M. ''Wharfedale'' (1943 reprint) Dent & Sons

References

Ointments Magic substances {{treatment-stub

Medical uses

Agricultural uses

See also

References