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Acriflavine

Edifi

master brummie
In 1949 in Dolman St I came of my bike and unfortunately rubbed my face on the newly resurfaced gritted road quite badly.I was rushed to the General Hospital by someone's car.Iwas treated with a newfound dressing called ACRIFLAVINE which was a Gauze covered in a yellow liquid which I had to keep onmy face .to save infection.It was fairly new having been used to treat War Wounds.It as now been replaced by Antibiotics
 
Yes, Edifi, this was used to treat gunshot wounds and was very good. I'm not sure whether you can buy it over the counter in the UK. I acquired some from an Army doctor many years ago in a small metal tin. Next time I'm in a Greek pharmacy, I'll see if it is available here as you can buy almost anything that isn't derived from an opiate!

Maurice :cool:
 
That brings back memories of falling on a step
I believe I was taken by car to a hospital, where in a darkened room I received a dressing which was a yellow gauze. I still have a small scàr, though hidden by an eyebrow. This was when I was quite young and probably 1939/40.
 
In 1949 in Dolman St I came of my bike and unfortunately rubbed my face on the newly resurfaced gritted road quite badly.I was rushed to the General Hospital by someone's car.Iwas treated with a newfound dressing called ACRIFLAVINE which was a Gauze covered in a yellow liquid which I had to keep onmy face .to save infection.It was fairly new having been used to treat War Wounds.It as now been replaced by Antibiotics
Hi Edifi,

That brings back a few painful memories of coming off bikes onto gritted roads (my poor old knees & elbows), I always thought that yellow stuff was known as "AQUAFLAVIN"? I remember it stung like mad lol.

Lozellian.
 
I remember that name too, I think maybe my grandmother had some :)
I remember we had a tube of bright yellow cream called Acraflavine in our first aid / medicine chest. In reality the chest was an old biscuit tin filled with whatever we picked up from various places. Eye patches, Sal Volatile, Sloan's liniment were amongst the things we had, together a small round cardboard tub filled with an ointment called "Blackjack" which dad claimed would cure anything!
 
I remember we had a tube of bright yellow cream called Acraflavine in our first aid / medicine chest. In reality the chest was an old biscuit tin filled with whatever we picked up from various places. Eye patches, Sal Volatile, Sloan's liniment were amongst the things we had, together a small round cardboard tub filled with an ointment called "Blackjack" which dad claimed would cure anything!

Blackjack was brilliant stuff, when you had those big deep splinters, a gob of blackjack and a plaster for a few days would soon draw it out.
 
Can someone please tell me what was Blackjack and what was it made of.My mother had some so did my wife's mother when we were young
 
As far as I know it was a shale oil based compound mixed with sheep wool oil and a few other things
 
Can someone please tell me what was Blackjack and what was it made of.My mother had some so did my wife's mother when we were young

Hi Edifi,

As far as I'm aware it was an ointment that the older generation swore by to "draw out" items you got stuck in your limbs (arms, legs fingers etc), e.g. wood / metal splinters rose thorns etc.

Lozellian.
 
Sospiri.Why did we all have Boils in our childhood.And as you say Blackjack always got rid of them
 
Well I was told "poor diet", Edifi, and certainly we were short on Vitamin C and some minerals. But I'm not a doctor, but I must admit they have all but disappeared these days.

Maurice
 
Well I was told "poor diet", Edifi, and certainly we were short on Vitamin C and some minerals. But I'm not a doctor, but I must admit they have all but disappeared these days.

Maurice
The poor diet bit I can understand, not so much the basics e.g. meat and two veg. but the vitamin C providers as in fruit were a luxury. Apples and pears were not so rare but the likes of oranges, grapes and peaches etc. were unheard of.
We used to say that a sign of being posh was having those sort of fruits in the house even if no-one was sick!
( there was also a saying about being posh involving baths and needing the toilet which I won't go into !!!!!!!)
 
Posh people would hire a pineapple to place on the dinner table. No to eat, just a show of status.
 
I'm sure it did, Edifi. I can't remember the timetable when all the goodies started to reappear after WW1, but I know butter was still on ration in the UK in 1952. It was the year my father suddenly died and my uncle took me on holiday with him to Ireland for three weeks and I brought back two packs of butter from Co. Wicklow. I also remember having my first banana, but I can't remember the year.

"Baby" orange juice was, of course, wonderful, but I think we needed a wide variety of other fruit & vegetables and the minerals they contained, to build up our immune systems and resistant to boils & carbuncles. I think that whitlows also fell into the same category - you don't see those these days either.

Maurice
 
I remember we had a tube of bright yellow cream called Acraflavine in our first aid / medicine chest. In reality the chest was an old biscuit tin filled with whatever we picked up from various places. Eye patches, Sal Volatile, Sloan's liniment were amongst the things we had, together a small round cardboard tub filled with an ointment called "Blackjack" which dad claimed would cure anything!
[/QU0TE/)
Listening to 'Whatever became of the Likely Lads' on Radio 4 Extra this morning, Sal Volatile was mentioned. Does it still exist? I had a Great Grandmother who when I visited her as she lay in her bed in the front room of my grandmother's house, would suddenly from under the covers bring out a bottle of smelling salts and wave it under my nose, cackling like an old witch as she did, I was 5/6 at the time.
Bob
 
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