A Jewel for Poison Ivy

I first wrote this column several years ago, and it is

still on my tedmanzer.com website, but I thought it might

be helpful if I published it here.

Poison ivy, a ubiquitous woody vine, is responsible

for many people avoiding the brushy outdoors. The culprit

is a chemical called urushiol. The toxin can bind to skin

proteins within 15 minutes. Once that happens, soap and

water won’t remove it. How the body reacts to urushiol

determines the severity of the dermatitis.

Some people have no reaction at all and are for all

practical purposes resistant to poison ivy, oak, and sumac.

The same toxin is present in all three, though exposure to

poison sumac is much more severe. According to most

estimates about one person in 10 is resistant or nearly so.

Here’s where most people get confused. The toxin is

present in the plant at any time of the year. It can even

be spread by the smoke if plants are burned. Urushiol can

be spread from pets and clothing to other people and other

clothing that have contacted it. What can’t happen is the

toxin cannot be spread from person to person once it enters

the body. In other words, once you get the rash you can’t

rub it on someone and give them the same symptoms.

There are numerous over-the-counter remedies to treat

the dermatitis, which can last as long as a month.

Treatment can be costly and stain clothing. Other

solutions might be in your backyard.

Jewelweed, (Impatiens capensis), is very common in

moist shady areas around here, usually near water. It has

a yellowish orange flower that resembles domestic

impatiens. The stems are also brittle and juicy, just like

the impatiens in flower gardens. This juice is what will

cure the problem.

Crush the stems and rub the juice on the affected area

immediately after thoroughly washing exposed skin with soap

and water. If soap isn’t immediately available, flush the

skin with jewelweed juice. It will help relieve symptoms

even after the rash has developed.

If you happen to venture into other parts of the

country where poison ivy and its relatives are common,

don’t despair. Jewelweed can be found in every state and

province of Canada east of the Rockies. Around here it

begins to emerge in mid-April and strongly resembles the

common impatiens.

There is an old wife’s tale that states where poison

ivy grows so will jewelweed. This is not entirely true.

Poison ivy can tolerate much drier soil and sunnier

conditions than jewelweed. In these sunny, more open areas

there is also another poison ivy solution. Common

broadleaf plantain, (Plantago major), and buckhorn plantain

(Plantago lanceolata) also relieve the symptoms of urushiol

as well as the swelling and irritation from bee stings.

Simply crush the leaves, especially the petioles (stem-like

portion of the leaf) and massage the juice into the

affected area.

Broadleaf plantain is that ugly lawn weed with the

spike-like inflorescence and the rosettes of round to oval

leaves that lay flat against the turf. While not a

favorite in lawns, plantains are edible as a pot herb and

not all that bad when young. Just be careful not to eat

them if you have treated your yard with a broadleaf

herbicide.