A Natural Cure for What Itches You

Every cloud has a silver lining as the old saying goes.

And, there is actually a silver lining that could be growing close to the poison ivy that grows so well in our neck of the woods -- a neat and kind of pretty plant known as jewelweed, believed to be a natural cure for , poison oak, okra spines, stinging nettle, and other irritating plants.

Have you ever used jewelweed to ease poison ivy? Have another poison ivy cure?

Probably one of the easiest ways to recognize jewelweed is based on its distinctive flower, which tends to be orange and trumpet-shaped. The unique shape of the flower attracts butterflies and hummingbirds, which is another benefit of jewelweed, as far as I am concerned. Jewelweed isn’t a huge fan of dry areas, and is often found in wet locals, such as creek beds.

If you are out and about and get exposed to poison ivy or a similarly irritating plant and spot jewelweed nearby, your worries about itching could be nipped in the bud, so to speak. Simply grab some jewelweed, slice open the stem and rub the jewelweed juice on the skin that may have been exposed to the poison. This should ease the itch almost immediately and some believe it could even prevent a breakout.

If you don’t want to rely on being able to find jewelweed after coming in contact with one of the aforementioned nasty plants, you can brew a jewelweed concoction and then freeze it into medicinal ice cubes that you rub on affected skin areas. Instructions for making the ice cubes can be found online and they supposedly keep for one year.

Finally, if you want to try out the healing properties of jewelweed without all of the fuss and muss, Amazon is offering a 4 oz. bottle of jewelweed spray for $15.95.