The Ultimate Itch Medicine! by Peter A. Gail Illustration in "Just Weeds" E. Rollin Spencer - copyright free
It may seem a bit early to be talking about plants which emerge in late spring, but I read something recently which fascinated me, and I wanted to share it with you. In April, 1989, Harrowsmith magazine reported "The U.S. Forest Service estimates that 10% of its workforce is off the job at any given time because of poison oak and poison ivy. Allergic reactions to these plants result in more workmen's compensation claims than any other single cause." To me, this is absolutely amazing, because if anyone should know how to cure poison ivy, it's the U.S. Forest Service! Just about every edible wild plant, outdoor living and wilderness survival book tells us that either of the two species of Jewelweed or Wild-Touch-Me- Not, (Impatiens capensis and I. pallida) is the best cure for poison ivy. And these two relatives of common garden Impatiens are both available to most foresters from Newfoundland to Saskatchewan and South to South Carolina, Alabama and Oklahoma (and to all the rest if it is extracted and shipped to them!) It is, I am sure, the rare forester who hasn't read a least one of these books in his/her formative years! According to several authors of the above books, there are summer camp directors and nurses who boil down quantities of Jewelweed to extract the watery orange/brown juice, and freeze it into ice cubes to use when campers contract poison ivy, are bitten by mosquitos, stung by bees and/or have encounters of the worst kind with stinging nettles. Adding the extract of boiled jewelweed to bathwater after exposure to poison ivy is another effective way to administer the remedy. A friend in New Jersey, even though extremely susceptible to ivy poisoning, felt that he had to protect his kids from the stuff. So each spring he would spend a day ripping out the new growth of ivy, and the next week or so in severe agony. After learning about this modern version of human sacrifice, I told his wife to add 3 quarts of jewelweed tea to his bath water, and have him soak in it for 20 minutes. He emerged with no trace of ivy poisoning, and, since this has become a yearly ritual, he has had none since. One of the greatest good fortunes is that Jewelweed and poison ivy have similar habitat requirements, and grow either together or at least near one another. Jewelweed's medicinal marvels don't stop with poison ivy and oak. It is also a potent antifungal, good for eczema, athletes foot, and scalp diseases. In 1950-51, the U.S.D.A. "Yearbook of Agriculture - Crops in Peace and War", reported that, of 73 plant extracts tested for fungicidal or fungistatic properties, the most active antifungal extracts were obtained from Impatiens (wild touch-me-not), Cucumis melo L. (muskmelon) and Tropaeoleum majus L. (nasturtium). The crystaline antifungal agent isolated from Impatiens was 2 methoxyl-1, 4- napthoquinone." Early settlers learned about Jewelweed from Indians who used it for any itch, for unhealthy scalp, athletes food and other types of dermititis which are now known to be fungal in origin, as well as for poison ivy and to rub on the head for headaches. The U.S. Dispensatory and Potter's Encyclopedia both have reported that an ointment made from boiling Jewelweed plants in lard is very effective treatment for hemmerhoids. Potters Cyclopedia reports further that raw juice will remove warts and corns and cure ringworm. The juice of Jewelweed is also a very effective remedy for the itch of stinging nettles and for insect bites. Several summers ago, I shoved my lawn mower into a huge yellow jacket nest. Before I could reach safety, their airforce had scored numerous direct hits on my anatomy. Jewelweed ice cubes, rubbed on the stings, provided temporary relief from both pain and swelling, and, when the effect wore off, I applied more Jewelweed juice. After 3 days I emerged cured, not having more than a total of 10 minutes discomfort. These same ice cubes cure mosquito bites almost instantly. It must be remembered, however, as with any medicine, that what works for one person may not work for another. In clinical trials in 1957, R.A. Lipton found that complete cures from poison ivy were effected in only 108 out of 115 patients treated with Jewelweed. I also have encountered people for whom it doesn't work. One of the minor inconveniences with Jewelweed is that it doesn't seem to keep very well. After 2 weeks in the refrigerator, Jewelweed tea gets moldy! We have achieved our best results by covering a pot of jewelweed with water, then boiling until the water is reduced by half, pouring the strained tea into ice cube trays and freezing it. We then store the cubes in a plastic bag in the freezer until we need them. They keep indefinitely this way, with no apparent loss of effectiveness. Jewelweed plants can easily be identified even before they bloom by their smooth, dull, egg-shaped leaves, with widespread serrations on the edges, and by their smooth, glassy, almost transparent water-filled stems which are swollen at the nodes. Late in the season and in dry years Jewelweed stems are opaque, thin, and dry but the active properties are still be there and highly concentrated, and they are easily identified by the flowers. Jewelweed is often called "Silverleaf" because the leaves, when held under water, have a silvery irridescent sheen. The name "Jewelweed" comes from the fact that water droplets ball up on the surface of the leaves and the sunlight reflecting off them gives a jewel-like radiance to the early morning. Jewelweed is as easily recognized and identified, however, by its striking little yellow to orange flowers with long nectar-filled spurs and spotted throats that are very attractive to hummingbirds. I. pallida, with a pale yellow corolla, is a woodland species, preferring shady spots in deep moist woods. I. capensis (Spotted Jewelweed) has more orange flowers with spots on their throat, and tolerates more light. It will be found in both shady and sunny locations along brooks, roadsides, and in damp meadows. Its seedlings emerge in early June, and the plant remains available through late September. The name "Touch-Me-Not" refers to the small, flipper shaped seed capsules which, when fully ripe, burst open with a sharp "snap" at the slightest touch, shooting seeds out violently as far as 3-4 feet. Walking through a Jewelweed patch in late summer and autumn after these seed pods have matured is like walking onto a Lilliputian battlefield. You are bombarded on all sides by seeds, with the sides of the seed pod curling back in tight spirals as they catapult the seeds outward. As a food plant, Jewelweed is at best controversial. Young shoots up to about 2" tall can be eaten raw, and shoots from 4-6" may be eaten if cut into bite-sized pieces, cooked in 2 to 3 waters for 10-15 minutes, and seasoned with butter and salt. After so much boiling, they tend to be quite bland. The seeds on the other hand, are eminently edible, and have the flavor of English walnuts without the expense or the work. Collect the seeds by putting a plastic bag over the mature seed pods and then bump them, exploding the pods into the bag. Separate the out the hulls and use the seeds to flavor cookies, bread, ice cream and puddings as you would use walnuts. This is lots of fun to do with kids. There is one major caution in the use of Jewelweed extracts, and that is that you must use an aqueous (water) extract, not an alcohol extract (tincture). While the literature says little about it, Euell Gibbons reported on a case of severe discomfort when a friend used a tincture of Jewelweed on his poison ivy, and Steven Foster reported that a lady in Kansas City experienced a serious and potentially life-threatening reaction when she used an alcohol extract of jewelweed she had used on her poison-ivy. A final use for this versatile plant is as a dyestuff. The flowers of both Jewelweeds make an excellent yellow dye. So, you Forest Service types, pass the word. If you are in the West, get your Eastern and Midwestern buddies to send you some Jewelweed tea, and freeze it when it arrives. This hopefully will be the last time we hear about downtime in the U.S. Forest Service caused by poison ivy! -- The silver-list is a moderated forum for discussion of colloidal silver. 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