My Scottish ex-MIL taught me to make a poultice of grated pure soap (Ivory, Sunlight laundry bar soap) and sugar and wet with the intended patient's saliva for boils or infected splinters. It works really well, but you really do have to use saliva.As a child, when I got bitten by the pig, the doctor made a paste out of melted Kirkman soap and put it on the bite. It cleared up the infection. So Kirkman and other soaps of the same kind must have infection fighting ingredients.
The poultice your doctor used was for healing and to prevent infection. The one I learned was for draining already existing infection.I doubt the doctor used his saliva and he certainly didn't ask for mine. He had my mother put a pot on the stove with water, added shaved Kirkman soap and then waited for it to cool down until it wouldn't burn me. He then added the unfurled gauze into the pan and soaked it in the paste. Then he wrapped it around the wound. It was on my knee. I still have the scar. He came to the house twice a week to change the dressing.
Good for you!
For two years I made it that way. I've since switched to making liquid now. I found that sometimes I had clumps of white powder on my clothes, even with adding vinegar to the rinse water.
