Magnesium sulphate paste is used as a drawing salve to treat small boils and infected wounds and to remove 'draw' small splinters.[2] Black ointment, or Ichthyol Salve, also called Drawing Salve, has been traditionally used to treat minor skin problems such as sebaceous cysts, boils, ingrown toenails and splinters.
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.[3]
