Well, you are correct about the sulphur (see Grok response below). The old stuff did smear on more like beeswax, and stained like pine tar. The new tube stains also. I do remember results only taking a day or two for it to work.
New tube lists the active ingredient as..... ichthammol, and inactive ingredients as lanolin and petrolatum. Should’a kept mom’s old tube!
For anyone interested, Grok says:
What is ichthammol made of?
Ichthammol is a dark, tar-like substance derived from sulfur-rich shale or bituminous coal. It is produced through a process called dry distillation, where the shale or coal is heated without oxygen to release volatile compounds. The resulting material is then treated with sulfonating agents (like sulfuric acid) and neutralized with ammonia to form ammonium bituminosulfonate, the chemical name for ichthammol.Its main components include:Sulfur compounds: Responsible for its characteristic odor and therapeutic properties.
Ammonium salts: Formed during the neutralization process.
Organic hydrocarbons: Derived from the shale or coal, giving it a thick, viscous consistency.
Ichthammol is commonly used in ointments for its anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and antifungal properties, often to treat skin conditions like boils, abscesses, or minor wounds.
Mrs. K
Try Grokking “Oil of Icthycanth.” In recent times I don’t see references to it anymore. That was the name of the active ingredient in my Gramma’s mix. But there’s over a century difference between her original formula and what’s available commercially now even tho it has the same “stink.” Not gross but a smell you won’t forget.
The “canth” part of the name implies an extract from a sea shell as opposed to an oil shale derivative. And Gramma had to stir up her own, about a pint at a time. Warm up the beeswax then stir in the rest. Smelled up the house when she was “cooking.” My Mom always went to the druggist to round up the makin’s when Gramma needed a batch. I always wondered why he didn’t mix it up for her but I guessed he didn’t like the smell of it either?
As for applications I’ve used my Gramma’s stuff in some odd places. Recently had a neighbor with a really sore toe nail. Trimming the nail wasn’t enough and the toe doctor couldn’t fix it. I put on a patch of Granny’s and overnight it pulled a BB-sized chunk out from under it. Been fine ever since. Neighbor lady had fallen and had a big bump on her back bone. Sore as heck and wouldn’t heal. I put a patch of Granny’s on it for two days. It pulled a wad of pus out of it and it cleared up over a couple weeks. These things have happened a bunch of times over the last half century , or so, and I always have to remind myself to consider Granny’s as a possible fix.
I still have about half of Gramma’s last batch so I’m hoping it lasts at least as long as I do. “cause store-bought just ain’t as good.
About a year ago I had what I thought was a boil on my back. It got nasty & doc gave me oral antibiotics. They didn’t work and I ended up having to have another doc cut it open and remove it. He said it was a cyst and could return.
So last fall it started to come back & I didn’t want to return to have it removed. I put manuka honey on the pad of a big bandaid & covered it. We changed out the bandaid every night and within a week to two it went away. My massage lady said she could feel it starting under my skin recently so we started the same protocol. I’ll let you know if it goes away . The honey has antibiotic and antiviral properties in it.