Poison Ivy

Rick Marchand

Rick Marchand

Donkey on the Edge
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A few days ago my neighbor came over with his kids(4,5 and 13). I noticed his eldest boy had a nasty rash on his neck. I asked him about it and they said he's had it for a month and it's popping up all over his body. They took him to a doctor who diagnosed it as psoriasis(sp?) and gave him cortizone cream, which has had little effect.

I new it was poison ivy right away because I work for Parks Canada, trimming trails and see the workers getting it ALL the time.

I walked across the street and pick a couple stalks of jewelweed(touch-me-not) a very common plant around these parts. I had him crush the leaves and stems in his hand(they are very juicy) and rub it directly onto the rashes. I then threw the kettle on and we sat and talked a little more. By the time the kettle boiled, he had already started feeling the soothing effects of the plant. I took the pot off and threw in two big handfulls of Jewelweed, and let it steep for a half hour or so before straining it. When they left I gave him a couple waterbottles full of the strained "tea" and told him to freeze it in icecube trays.... and apply it 3-4 times a day for the next while. I just received a call from him(4days later) saying that the rashes are completely healed and only new pink skin is visible. They are very happy and couldn't believe that a plant could have such healing powers. Natures cure.

This plant also protects from the oils of poison ivy, posion oak, poison sumac and stinging nettles. Good to keep onhand... and very pretty to have in a garden, too.

Rick
 
Magnussen said:
A few days ago my neighbor came over with his kids(4,5 and 13). I noticed his eldest boy had a nasty rash on his neck. I asked him about it and they said he's had it for a month and it's popping up all over his body. They took him to a doctor who diagnosed it as psoriasis(sp?) and gave him cortizone cream, which has had little effect.

I new it was poison ivy right away because I work for Parks Canada, trimming trails and see the workers getting it ALL the time.

I walked across the street and pick a couple stalks of jewelweed(touch-me-not) a very common plant around these parts. I had him crush the leaves and stems in his hand(they are very juicy) and rub it directly onto the rashes. I then threw the kettle on and we sat and talked a little more. By the time the kettle boiled, he had already started feeling the soothing effects of the plant. I took the pot off and threw in two big handfulls of Jewelweed, and let it steep for a half hour or so before straining it. When they left I gave him a couple waterbottles full of the strained "tea" and told him to freeze it in icecube trays.... and apply it 3-4 times a day for the next while. I just received a call from him(4days later) saying that the rashes are completely healed and only new pink skin is visible. They are very happy and couldn't believe that a plant could have such healing powers. Natures cure.

This plant also protects from the oils of poison ivy, posion oak, poison sumac and stinging nettles. Good to keep onhand... and very pretty to have in a garden, too.

Rick
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Wow, nice work! How did you learn about the medicinal purposes of plants? I've been putting together a list of useful survival books and was wondering if you've got some to recommend for identification, consumption, or medical uses of plants?

So far the list includes a couple books of this category including:

A Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants: Eastern and central North America by Lee Allen Peterson and Roger Tory Peterson
A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants and Herbs: Of Eastern and Central North America by James A. Duke, Steven Foster, and Roger Tory Peterson
A Field Guide to Venomous Animals and Poisonous Plants: North America North of Mexico by Roger Caras, Steven Foster, and Roger Tory Peterson
A Field Guide to Western Medicinal Plants and Herbs by Steven Foster, Christopher Hobbs, and Roger Tory Peterson
The Forager's Harvest: A Guide to Identifying, Harvesting, and Preparing Edible Wild Plants by Samuel Thayer
 
Excellent example of an old herbal cure working very well. I know the plant and where it grows and have avoided it so I haven't had the opportunity to try jewel weed. It grows here and the deer eat it but I haven't tried it. The poison ivy is an allergic reaction to the oils in the plant. If you are removing the vines NEVER burn them or you will get the oils in your lungs and a trip to the hospital will follow !!
 
Hello all, I'm new to bladeforums and I love this W&SS section!!
Good thinking with the jewelweed, i'll have to log that away for use because I'm pretty allergic to poison ivy myself. One question...what the hell kind of doctor can't diagnose poison ivy rash??
 
My thoughts exactly.... but it wasn't my place to roast their family doctor.
Rick
 
Did you help them try to figure out where he was getting it from? The oil from the plant can get get on to clothes or camping gear and causing new rashes every time that item is handled until it is thoroughly washed. I heard one story of a guy who kept getting rashes and they finally figured out that he had gotten it on his hands when out at a park and then driven home, getting it all over his steering wheel. So every time he drove his car his hands were re-exposed to the oils and then if he touched any other part of his body he would get new rashes there too.
 
This kid plays in a area that is literally covered in the stuff... I've told them that it gets on everything and won't get rid of itself so the ball's in their court now.

I find it growing in my front yard sometimes and try to dig it out as best I can.

Rick
 
I'm senstitive to PI myself and have gotten careful about it, but we have periodic outbreaks here where it seems like it's everywhere. :rolleyes: I just got in the habit years ago to wash thoroughly whenever I get home from the woods, and toss the clothes in the laundry. I can tell the rash by the first blister that pops up!
 
Magnussen said:
I find it growing in my front yard sometimes and try to dig it out as best I can.

Rick
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A neighbor of mine worked in landscaping and said that he used Roundup successfully on it. I'm not a big fan of tossing chemicals around, but he was also the hazmat expert for the local volunteer fire dept.
 
My father makes a weed killer that is more enviro-friendly. He mixes 8oz table salt, 10oz dishsoap (liquid) and 4L(1gal) of white vinegar. Use liberally and wash out your sprayer or it'll crust up. Good if you have pets.
Rick
 
Good thinking. Jewelweed is my favorite medicinal plant, as I'm hypersensitive to poison ivy. I haven't had to receive steroid treatments (or any medical treatments at all) for my yearly encounters with urushiol ever since I started utilizing Jewelweed.
 
While I have no testimonial to give to Jewelweed, not having reacted to Poison Ivy or Poison Oak yet, I have heard dozens of personal testimonials.

Then there is this:

My friend Robert Rosen, Ph.D., a chemist at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, is a whiz at isolating chemical substances from plants. He may have come up with an explanation for jewelweed's effectiveness. Urushiol does its dirty work by binding to skin cells and triggering the rash-producing irritation. A mere one-billionth of a gram of urushiol is enough to affect those who are highly sensitive.

Dr. Rosen has identified the active ingredient in jewelweed as a chemical called lawsone. This substance binds to the same molecular sites on the skin as urushiol. If applied quickly after contact with a poison plant, lawsone beats the urushiol to those sites, in effect locking it out. The simple result is that you don't get the rash.
Click to expand...

By the way:
Plantain (Plantago, various species). The prestigious New England Journal of Medicine reported that poultices made from plantain leaves can help control the itching of poison ivy.
Click to expand...

However, the Wilderness Medical Society does not buy the efficacy of Jewelweed: http://www.wemjournal.org/wmsonline...&issn=0953-9859&volume=002&issue=03&page=0178

Nor does the Nation Standard, a natural medecine journal:http://www.naturalstandard.com/monographs/herbssupplements/jewelweed.asp

On balance, I'm still a believer, even if I can add no personal experience.
 
I am so allergic that if I get in the middle, I might as well call the doctor. he just takes my word for it and prescribes oral steroids.

I think I am going to start weightlifting next time.
 
Quoting from Jim Duke, Mr. Linton?

I don't get Poison Ivy, at least not up to now, but I can tell you Jewelweed works on Wood Nettle (Laportea canadensis) stings from personal experimentation.

Doc
 
That's great info, Thomas. I have read that, too..."Pros and cons" are always a welcome guest around here.

Question:

"How effective is washing your clothes to get rid of the oils? I spend alot of time in the bush and have been washing my "woods" clothes in a tub in the garage. I would hate to contaminate the washer and have my kids break out in a rash. How readily does the oil in PI, and the like, break down with soap. I know it can last for decades and still hold on to its potency."


Rick
 
Magnussen said:
That's great info, Thomas. I have read that, too..."Pros and cons" are always a welcome guest around here.

Question:

"How effective is washing your clothes to get rid of the oils? I spend alot of time in the bush and have been washing my "woods" clothes in a tub in the garage. I would hate to contaminate the washer and have my kids break out in a rash. How readily does the oil in PI, and the like, break down with soap. I know it can last for decades and still hold on to its potency."


Rick
Click to expand...

Just a personal anecdote for you. I have a pair of Keen sandals that I was wearing when I inadvertantly stepped into a patch of poison ivy. This occured 3 months ago. I have washed them in the washing machine (per Keen's instructions) several times. The sandals can still raise a blistering rash. As such, I have stopped wearing them until I come up with a better plan.
 
I am also allergic to PI and have found that there is a laundry soap by the name of Fells Naptha that works wonders at removing any of the PI oils from my skin when I come in contact with it. After I come in from yard work, I wash any exposed skin with the soap and it seems to work very well. Even if I do get an outbreak the soap seems to prevent spreading. Since this is a laundry soap I'm sure it works just as well on clothing.
 
Asfried2,
Someone mentioned that rubbing alcohol disolves it.... maybe try that before you wash them... I wouldn't wash them in the regular load, though.... better safe than sorry.

Rick
 
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