About 2 years ago, I had the worst battle with poison ivy I've ever experienced. This was my 3rd or 4th time with the itchy and irritating skin reaction. To complicate matters, the dubious plant shared its wealth 2 days before my wedding - there is an entire story to share some other time there.
As @mustardseed and I were making our way to Kentucky, we met some new friends in Virginia who introduced us to Jewelweed. This green plant grows along the moist banks of streams from Southern Canada to the northern part of Florida.
The picture to our right is from a hiking trail near our home in Kentucky. Needless to say I am thankful to have so much Jewelweed within a 5 minute drive.
Before
I know, it is not a pretty picture. My left arm was the main spot of difficulty and it swelled to nearly 3 times its original size at the worst stage.
There were boil like spots the entire length of my left arm, and a few across my chest. It was terribly uncomfortable. The first couple days I used a blend of essentail oils and 100 ppm colloidal silver directly on the skin, and consumed 200-250 mg a day of calcium lactate (it helps to dry out the poison ivy from within the body).
Even with all that firepower, the best we seemed to be doing was slowing down the spread of the reaction. Sweat is not your best friend when you have poison ivy, and this started in the middle of June.
When we met our friends in Virginia, my reaction had been going on for over a week. When they saw my arm and confirmed that it was poison ivy, they immediately asked if I knew about Jewelweed. When I said no, Andrew proceeded out the door and drove to the nearest stream to find Jewelweed for us.
After
This after picture is only 2 days into my Jewelweed treatment. The plant stem breaks open revealing a gel with the consistency of Aloe Vera. You can rub it on directly.
The fresh Jewelweed counteracted the effects of the poison ivy better than anything I have ever seen or heard of. Fun fact, Jewelweed grows alongside poison ivy in the moist parts of the woods. Some people point to it as the remedy growing alongside of the irritant.
Someday I'll tell you the full story of how my wife and I had our wedding, moved to Kentucky in two vehicles, and dealt with this poison ivy in a two week span - it is quite the tale.
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