Poison Ivy Remedy With Jewelweed

Recently, I got a nasty case of poison ivy from the cow field behind my house. Since this is the first time I've gotten it this year, I decided to make my home made, all natural cure again.

Jewelweed blooms May through October in the eastern part of North America from Southern Canada to the northern part of Florida. It is found most often in moist woods, usually near poison ivy or stinging nettle. The leaves and the juice from the stem of Jewelweed are used by herbalists as a treatment for poison ivy, oak and other plant induced rashes, as well as many other types of dermatitis.

What you're gonna need:
Jewelweed plants
Pot to boil it
Stove to boil it
Strainer
Ice cube trays
Freezer
Freezer bag

Jewelweed is an amazing plant that grows all over the place where I live. You can find it next to the road, near creeks and streams, in fields, and just about anywhere.

So get up, go look around, and gather some! You can use the whole plant for the remedy, and it comes up out of the ground easily by pulling the stalk. You will want probably three or four medium sized plants for this. Enough to fill a pot about half way, once it's chopped up.

Take your Jewelweed plants and chop them up so they fit in the bowl you have. The smaller the pieces are, the better it works. Now fill up your pot with water, put the plant in, and toss it on the stove. Bring it to a nice rolling boil to ensure all of the helpful juices have come out of the plant. The water is going to turn a nice bright orange color. Let it cool, and remove all the plant material so you are left with bright orange jewelweed tea.

Once the tea has cooled, pour it into ice cube trays to freeze. I didn't have ice cube trays when I made mine, so I used styrofoam plates and poured it in there. This step is pretty self explanatory. You freeze the Jewelweed tea, so stick the ice cube trays in the freezer.

Once you have solid little orange cubes, pop 'em out and stick them all in a freezer bag. If you don't have a current case of poison ivy, good for you. Toss those babies back in the freezer for later. If you do, grab one (or two, if it's really bad) and go outside or to the tub and rub the cube on your rash. The chemicals in the plant counteract the poison and start to work immediately. Do this twice a day, and your poison ivy will clear up in no time! I've also found that scrubbing my rash with a loofa or semi abrasive pad before rubbing the ice on it helps to heal it faster. The rash opens, I rub the ice on it, the rash scabs and heals.