Carbolic soap Carbolic soap Carbolic soap is a mildly antiseptic soap containing carbolic acid and/or cresylic acid, both of which are phenols derived from either coal tar or petroleum sources. In 1834, German chemist Friedlieb Ferdinand Runge discovered a phenol, now known as carbolic acid, which he derived in an impure form from coal tar. In August 1865, Dr. Joseph Lister, 1st Baron Lister applied a piece of lint dipped in carbolic acid solution onto 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
Carbolic soap a great deal of carbolic soap might find that their skin becomes irritated as a result of prolonged contact. This is one of the reasons carbolic soap has been displaced in hospitals by more gentle disinfectant skin cleansers. By killing bacteria, it also acts as a mild deodorant when used as a body soap. It is still distributed to disaster victims for routine hygiene by the Red Cross and other relief organizations. Remembered by generations of people from the 1920s through the 1970s as the household soap of their childhood, it is still sought after by some for its nostalgic