Fake medical news: The black salve and the black arts

If you don’t know about the treatment Josie and Jake underwent – it’s called “escharotic treatment” – you can look it up on Wikipedia. It’s also the topic of a case study in the May issue of JAMA Dermatology (2018;154[5]:618-9).

Escharotic treatment has been around a long time. It is used for cancers of the skin and cervix, among others. The principle behind it is the same as that behind “drawing salves” (available at pharmacies and department stores), sometimes known as “the black salve.” The idea behind both is to apply something that blisters the skin and raises a scab. The eschar is supposed to draw the evil out of the body and bring cure.

Smile if you want, but this idea has been around forever and will likely outlast many treatments we now use. Fake news is old news, and does not need social media to spread (though Facebook helps).