Carbolic soap

Carbolic soap, sometimes referred to as red soap, is a mildly antiseptic soap containing carbolic acid (phenol) and/or cresylic acid (cresol), both of which are phenols derived from either coal tar or petroleum sources.[1][2]

Bar of carbolic soap, demonstrating the rich red colour that gives the soap its alternative name, red soap

History

In 1834, German chemist Friedlieb Ferdinand Runge discovered a phenol, also known as carbolic acid, which he derived in an impure form from coal tar. In August 1865, Dr. Joseph Lister applied a piece of lint dipped in carbolic acid solution to the wound of an eleven-year-old boy at Glasgow Royal Infirmary, who had sustained a compound fracture after a cart wheel had passed over his leg. After four days, he renewed the pad and discovered that no infection had developed, and after a total of six weeks he was amazed to discover that the boy's bones had fused back together, without the danger of suppuration.[3][4]

One of the earliest manufacturers of carbolic soap was F. C. Calvert and Company of Manchester, England, established in 1859 and taken over by Unilever in 1965.[5][6] In the United States, the license for manufacturing carbolic soap was held by James Buchan and Company.[7] In 1894, William Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme, introduced the Lifebuoy brand of carbolic soap to the market.[8][9]

Features

One of the distinctive features of this soap is its deep pink to red colour, which was and still is added to the soap to designate it as carbolic soap. The addition of the red colour was deemed important due to the fact that when carbolic soap was first introduced to the general public it was the only germicidal soap available. Carbolic acid is used in a wide range of industrial and consumer product applications and can be a skin irritant.[10]

Uses

It is still distributed to disaster victims for routine hygiene by the Red Cross and other relief organisations.[11]

See also

References
  1. W. H. Simmons and H. A. Appleton, The Handbook of Soap Manufacture, Echo Library, 2007, p. 104. "Definition of carbolic soap". Allwords.com. 2007-03-29. Retrieved 2010-08-19.
  2. "Cresylic acid | chemical compound".
  3. Lister, Joseph (21 September 1867). "On the Antiseptic Principle in the Practice of Surgery". The Lancet. 90 (2299): 353–356. doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(02)51827-4. PMC 2310614. PMID 20744875.
  4. Lister, Joseph (1 January 1870). "On the Effects of the Antiseptic System of Treatment Upon the Salubrity of a Surgical Hospital" (PDF). The Lancet. 95 (2418): 4–6. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(02)31273-X. Also Here
  5. "F C Calvert and Company, 1859–1965". Science Museum Group collection. Science Museum Group. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
  6. Royal Commission for the Chicago Exhibition, 1893: Official Catalogue of the British Section. London: William Clowes and Sons. 1893. pp. lxxiv, 216, 486.
  7. Bowman & Blewett (1870). Carbolic Acid Soaps. New York: C. C. Shelley, steam book and job printer. p. 9. License for manufacturing these compounds has been granted to JAMES BUCHAN & CO., of New York, who have the exclusive right to manufacture Carbolic and Cresylic Soaps in the United States.
  8. "Lifebuoy through the Years". Retrieved 2021-06-10. Lifebuoy through the Years, lifebuoy.co.uk
  9. "Lifebuoy - A History of Health". Archived from the original on 2014-10-06. Retrieved 2014-10-16.
  10. "ATSDR - Medical Management Guidelines (MMGs): Phenol". www.atsdr.cdc.gov. Archived from the original on 4 March 2010. Retrieved 2018-09-02. Also Here
  11. "ReliefWeb ť Document ť West Africa Appeal No. 01.02/2001 Programme Update No. 2". Reliefweb.int. Retrieved 2010-08-19. "Village Education Resource Center". VERC. Archived from the original on 20 November 2008. Retrieved 2010-08-19.
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