Poison oak: no jewelweed, what now?

Date: Fri, 18 Aug 1995 00:54:22 -0400
Sender: HERB.TREARNPC.EGE.EDU.TR
From: Peter Gail <PETERGAIL.AOL.COM>
Subject: Re: Need help for poison oak

Just gettng to the reading of my mail, and have noticed the request for help with poison oak. Responses have talked about using jewelweed, which is the best remedy if available. Jewelweed (Impatiens capensis and pallida), while abundantly available in poison ivy territory, is often much less so in the Western US where poison oak is abundant. You might want to try extracts or poultices of two other plants with reputations for alleviating the symptoms of poison ivy/oak - plantain (Plantago lanceolata and/or ovata), and yellow, broadleaf or curly dock (Rumex whatever). When we don't have jewelweed handy, we take plantain, boil it to soften, and apply it either as a poultice or apply the liquid to affected areas. It is so effective that it merited mention in the New England Journal of Medicine some time back as an effective folk remedy from the Chesapeake Bay Region.

Good luck