An ointment that was supposed to help treat skin cancer ended up causing an inch-wide hole in an Australian man's head, UK MailOnline reported.
Black salve, an "alternative medicine" ointment, created a large lesion on the 55-year-old's right temple after he applied it for four months.
In order to fight the agony caused by the wound, he started applying a "strong narcotic analgesic used to relieve pain."
But after a black hole in his head formed, he was forced seek professional medical help at a Brisbane hospital last September.
Doctors at Princess Alexandra Emergency Department were initially stumped by the infection and believed it would require an operation.
But after checking the infection and tending to the wound, the man was sent back home with proper instructions. The wound healed within three months.
"The ointment, also known as drawing salve, contains sanguinarine - derived from bloodroot - and is often mixed with zinc chloride, working as a corrosive," UK MailOnline reported. "The paste is used on a topical area, moles, scars and sometimes cancer, it destroys skin tissue, leaving being a black scar which later falls off."
UK MailOnline added, "Black salves were popular in the early 1900s to treat skin lesions, but have been listed as a 'fake cancer treatment' by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) since 2004, and the organization is actively trying to ban it in the U.S."
In 2012, the ointment was condemned by the Therapeutic Goods Administration in Australia. However, they were not successful in banning the medicine.
The TGA said it is "unaware of any credible, scientific evidence that black salve, red salve or cansema can cure or treat cancer."
The widespread use of Black salve has mostly stopped in Australia after the warnings, UK MailOnline reported.
"I think it's used a lot more commonly than we realize," dermatologist Dr. Erin McMeniman said.
"Patients are often quite secretive about where they get it from, but dermatologists often end up seeing cases where there are major complications. Most commonly the tumor is not adequately treated and then 12 months later it's still growing beneath the scar the cansema [black salve] has produced."
