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     Take sweetfern, jewelweed, witch hazel, rubbing alcohol... Zip it all
     up in a blender until it's green and mushed, let it sit for two weeks
     (ouch! I know...not for THIS outbreak, sorry), strain it and voila, a
     marvy liniment.
   * Poison Ivy leaf
     From: bear.helium.Gas.UUG.Arizona.EDU (Soaring Bear), May 1994:
     Actually, this is just the time of the year to build up your immunity
     by nipping off a very tiny piece of poison ivy leaf (size of a head of
     a pin) and put in a capsule and swallow. Do 1-2 times a week. Stop if
     you start breaking out.
     Caution from krrobert.uiuc.edu (K. R. Robertson):
     Eating a leaf of poison ivy may have disastrous results. One may
     surpass his normal level of immunity by the first bite; in this case
     he is in for an internal case of poison-ivy, occasionally known to be
     fatal.
   * Salt (from bss8n.galen.med.virginia.edu)
     For the little initial blisters, I rub salt and burst them and leave
     the salt on to dry. They're history. Also salt worked on the moist
     areas of my face and under my nose where lye soap lather couldn't stay
     dried out long enough to dry out the rash. Works well on large surface
     rashes in case the blister stage grew untreated (but it didn't work on
     the "mini-mountain" reaction to p.i. that my mom got). MOST essential,
     leave the salt on to dry, adding more salt moistened with water to
     help create a paste that will stick as it dries, thus drying out that
     nasty, annoying p.i. The worse the spread, the longer the duration of
     salt/soap treatment alternated 12 hours to 1) dry out the present
     fresh redness, and 2) dry out *new* fresh red.
     Yep, you guessed it... the salt falls off everywhere. That's one
     reason I used the lye soap during bed hours. The other reason was that
     neither treatment, in a prolonged battle (1 1/2 wks) stayed effective
     by itself, i.e. continuous dry-out, but alternating them did it. I've
     wondered why?
   * Lye soap (bss8n.galen.med.virginia.edu)
     - initially from a pioneer reenactment lady. The older/yellower the
     bar got, the less effective it seemed. Now, I've found it at the
     grungiest grocery store in town, a soap called Oxygon. Wet the bar and
     lather it up on the rash into a paste and let dry. Easier than the
     salt but since discovering salt, I tend to believe salt is more
     effective for me, at least with my initial tiny blisters, which is all
     I ever have to deal with now.

             ----------------------------------------------
                         2.7.5 Jewelweed, Impatiens
             ----------------------------------------------

From Elizabeth Perdomo, ElizPer.aol.com:
Jewelweed is a plant I wouldn't be without here in the South, any time of
the year! It works so remarkably well for Poison Ivy, Oak and Sumac, and
for Fungal Infections, as well (try it on athlete's feet!). People are
always getting inspired to rake up leaves in the middle of winter, and get
into the roots or old leaves, producing the nasty itch. However, since the
plant only grows in mid-late summer, this is what I do to keep a supply
around...

Harvesting: Jewelweed is an annual, which means it flowers, produces seeds
and then dies all in one year. Thus, I try to harvest Jewelweed well before
flowering time, so it has a chance to regroup, flower and seed before
frosts. To do so, I cut off (with knife or pruner) the top 1/3 of some of
the plants, leaving many untouched. I don't pull or pinch the tops, as this
often dislodges or pulls up the plant. If you take more than about the top
1/3, the plant may not have enough time to sprout side shoots and go to
seed, thus diminishing future supply for you, others & the earth...

Preparing: Jewelweed is one of those plants which just doesn't dry well.
It's too fleshy and juicy, and loses it's good qualities when dried. I make
a strong infusion, by adding LOTS of the plant to a pot (non-aluminium) of
boiling water. Then, I cover the pot, and allow it to simmer for at least
30 minutes. After simmering, covered, I put it into a blender or food
processor and blend. Then, I cover the mixture again and allow it to cool
to room temp. After cooling, I strain the mixture through a stainless steel
strainer and/or cheesecloth. Then, if needed right away, I label and store
part of the mixture in a jar in the refrigerator. The remainder, I freeze
in ice cube trays. After frozen, pop the cubes into a zip lock bag and
LABEL WELL with herb name/date before returning to freezer. Then, I have a
winter's supply. The cubes also feel really good on especially sensitive
areas, like on the face, between fingers, under arms and in private
parts... I also use the fresh Jewelweed and make it into a tincture by
filling a jar with the plant, and then covering it with 100 proof vodka. If
you are going to use it exclusively for EXTERNAL use, it could be
"tinctured" in rubbing alcohol.

Administering: Whether fresh, infused, tinctured or in ice cube form, apply
Frequently!!! Cotton balls work well to apply the infusion or tincture.
Yes, the tincture burns some, so I dampen the cotton ball 1st with water,
then add the tincture. The alcohol also helps to dry out the ooze... If
someone has a really bad, "systemic" case (not just a few bumps on their
ankles or hands), I recommend that folks take the (vodka) tincture
INTERNALLY, about 1/2 dropper 2-4 x Daily, in liquid, But for only 2-3
Days! (I don't recommend using this orally if pregnant or nursing.) It
seems that the oral use in conjunction with frequent, liberal external use,
can really turn a bad case of poison ivy around fast! Also, for "oozy"
spots, cosmetic grade (French) clay can be sprinkled on as often as desired
to help dry the spots out. Sometimes, I mix the clay with powdered oatmeal,
and apply the mixture to absorb and sooth.

Elizabeth Perdomo

             ----------------------------------------------

From: Peter Gail 

Re: the post about jewelweed tincture: Be extremely careful in applying an
alcohol extract of jewelweed on anybody. Over the past 8 years Steven
Foster has reported one and I have observed 3 extremely severe skin
reactions from such applications, in each case landing the person in
hospital. Euell Gibbons also referred to the possiblity of allergic
reactions to jewelweed tinctures.

Comment from Henriette: the frozen cubes don't have these risks.

             ----------------------------------------------
              2.7.6 How to get rid of poison ivy in your yard
             ----------------------------------------------

Suggestions from rec.gardens/alt.folklore.herbs:

  1. Planting catnip should get rid of poison ivy.
  2. Goats. They are very effective, but in the end will be a bigger bother
     than the poison ivy. (Be suspicious if someone offers you free goats!)
  3. Poison ivy again: buy the super concentrated form of Round-Up and
     dilute to 3 times the recommended strength. (Well, hot damn! It killed
     off nearly every piece of PI in one application and only a few (about
     a dozen) plants returned a year later.)
  4. Pull it, but protect yourself (big plastic bag, disposable suit...)
     Immediately wash all clothes you used two-three times. Do not touch
     the plastic bag / disposable suit from the outside. Do not touch your
     clothes / boots / whatever from the outside before washing.

             ----------------------------------------------
                               2.8 Echinacea
             ----------------------------------------------
                           2.8.1 Using Echinacea

                    (also see King's dispensatory, here:
       http://www.ibiblio.org/herbmed/eclectic/kings/echinacea.html)
             ----------------------------------------------

From Todd Caldecott (toddius.netidea.com):

In my training with NA's I learned that Echinacea (blood purifier and
antibiotic) can be used as long as two weeks. The German research branch of
their equivalent of FDA (called Komission E) Drs. Wagoner and Bauer
demonstrated this fact. Their studies also showed that tinctured extract of
this plant could be chemically potent or not depending on how it was grown,
harvested and extracted. In their studies, the extracts available on the
commercial market were far less potent than their own prepared version. So
their conclusion was 2 weeks on then off for a week, then one could use it
for another two weeks at diminished activity. Also the plant varieties of
Echinacea angustifolia, E. purpurea and to a lesser extent E. pallida all
had medicinal chemical activity. The whole plant is medicinal but needs to
be at least 3 years old before you should harvest.

There is no evidence to suggest that Echinacea cannot be used longer than 2
weeks. In the original study (and please be patient I'm doing this from
memory) Echinacea was found to be increasingly effective for 5 days, after
which the study ceased. This paper, originally written in German, was
mistranslated, leading one to believe that Echinacea's effects plateaued
after five days. Echinacea is being used by several professionals long
term. Typically though, it is used as a surface immune tonic, useful in
chronically immunodepressed patients who suffer from chronic colds etc.
(although its use in AIDS is still a matter of some controversy). For most
of us who take it seasonally for colds etc. it is most effective when taken
in combination with other herbs i.e. garlic, Baptisia, Thymus, Astragalus
etc.

             ----------------------------------------------
                 2.8.2 Echinacea - poaching and extinction
             ----------------------------------------------

Thread on the phytopharmacognosy list:

> Over 90% of all Echinacea material in the U.S. and Europe comes from
cultivated species. There is very little wild harvested ech. on the market.
The claim that the use of ech. preparations contributes to the extinction
of this plant species is nonsense. Such claims may apply to other medicinal
plants but not to the easy to cultivate Ech. spp..

From P. Mick Richardson , to above:

Disappearance of the plant in the wild may be nonsense to you but it is
reality to those of us who live in areas where the plant is native. Several
points. The plant is easy to grow in cultivation but if you have no land on
which to grow it you can get ready cash by collecting it in the wild. Even
if 90% comes from cultivated sources, the remaining 10% is still a massive
amount in relation to the ever decreasing number of plants in the wild,
especially when consumption rises each year and the 10% translates into an
ever increasing number of plants to be sought.

After receiving your message, I sought out a local person who collects
seeds of Echinacea from wild plants in Missouri for cultivation of the
plant. He confirmed my suspicions that the plant is becoming non-existent
in many parts of Missouri as local populations are exterminated. So the
nonsense is in fact reality to the people who see the plants. I suggest
greater cultivation of the plant would decrease the demand for
wild-harvested material. After all, no-one would be killing rhinos and
elephants for sale if there was not a market for them. Let's stop before
Echinacea becomes a great auk or a passenger pigeon example for textbooks.
Sorry to ramble on, but extinction is for ever and it would be shameful for
herbalists to contribute to it.

             ----------------------------------------------

... and more in the same thread:

From: P. Mick Richardson :

It is illegal to collect Echinacea unless it is on your own property in
Missouri. However, if someone offers cash for echinacea plants, then the
demand will be met by poaching. Although on a lesser scale, it is no
different to the situation with rhino horm and elephant ivory. If there is
a cash market, people will provide the product. I could give descriptions
of the nationalities of the buyers but this is probably unnecessary. The
plants end up in Europe, presumably the site of greatest demand.

Hopefully, there will soon be enough Echinacea in cultivation that the
price will fall and this may remove the demand for wild-collected plants.
Until then, if you encourage the use of Echinacea, you endanger the plants
growing wild in Missouri. Admittedly Echinacea is being poached on a lesser
scale than Panax or Hydrastis, but it is still disappearing. Let's aim for
complete domestication. It works for Ginkgo, which is a cultivated cash
crop in the U.S.A. now.

             ----------------------------------------------
                         2.9 Feverfew and migraine
             ----------------------------------------------

by Eugenia Provence, Eprovence.aol.com

It's not at all unusual for people interested in using herbs to replace
over the counter medications with simple herbal counterparts. What has been
unusual enough to generate headlines, though, is the conventional medical
community's research and acceptance of a traditional European folk remedy,
Feverfew, in preventing migraine headaches.

Migraines are believed to be caused by an upset in serotonin metabolism,
causing spasms of intracranial blood vessels, which then causes dilation of
extracranial blood vessels.

In the 1970s an English research group sought volunteers already using
Feverfew before beginning a study of its efficacy. Their advertisement in a
London newspaper brought more than 20,000 responses. Since then, several
well-documented double-blind, placebo studies in England confirm its value.

An interesting one reported in The Lancet (July 23, 1988; 2(8604):189- 192)
followed 72 volunteers. After a one-month trial using only a placebo, half
of the group received either one capsule of dried Feverfew leaves a day (or
a matching placebo) for four months. Neither the group nor the researchers
knew which group was receiving the Feverfew. The group kept diary cards of
their migraine frequency and severity. After four months, the groups
switched medications, and the trial continued for an additional four
months. 60 patients completed the study, and full information was available
on all but one.

The study found Feverfew to be associated with reducing the number and
severity of attacks (including vomiting), with the researchers concluding
that there had been a significant improvement when the patients were taking
Feverfew. There were no serious side effects.
Feverfew is currently classified as Tanacetum parthenium, a member of the
Asteracea (or Compositae) family, and was formerly named Chrysanthemum
parthenium, where you'll still find it listed in some references. Feverfew
is a corruption of Febrifuge, based on its tonic and fever-dispelling
properties. It's been called Maid's Weed, referring to its emmenagogue
qualities, which are also reflected in its Greek name, Parthenion ("girl").

Its primary actions are anti-inflammatory, bitter, emmenagogue and a
vasodilator. Aside from migraine relief, long-term users report relief from
depression, nausea and inflammatory arthritic pain. Drunk in cold infusion,
it can relieve the cold, clammy sweats associated with migraine.
Additionally, it's been used externally as an insect repellant, and
topically for insect bites. Perhaps the insect-repelling quality accounts
for the tradition of planting it around the house to ward off illnesses and
to purify the air.

The tea, drunk cold, has been used for sensitivity to pain, and for relief
of face-ache or ear ache (all migraine-like symptoms). The Eclectic
physicians of the 19th century called it one of the pleasantest of the
tonics, influencing the whole intestinal tract, increasing the appetite,
improving digestion, promoting secretion, with a decided action on kidney
and skin.

John Gerard's Herbal in 1663, said it to be "...good against summer
headaches to inhale crushed Feverfew blossoms. Dried and taken with honey
or sweet wine good for those as be melancholic, sad, pensive or without
speech." Culpepper used in it poultice form for head ache.

Feverfew in blossom is easily identified by its flat or convex yellow disk
and numerous short, broad 2-ribbed white rays. The leaves are alternate,
petiolate, flat, bi or tripinnate with ovate, dentate segments. It quickly
escapes cultivation, and has become naturalized in many areas of the U.S.
and Europe, in some places regarded as a nuisance weed.

Among its constituents are a volatile oil, containing pinene and several
pinene derivatives, bornyl acetate and angelate, costic acid, B-farnesine
and spiroketal enol ethers; Sesquiterpene lactones, the major one being
parthenolide); and Acetylene derivatives.

Pharmacologists say it is likely that the sesquiterpene lactones in
Feverfew inhibit prostaglandin and histimine released during the
inflammatory process, preventing the vascular spasms that cause migraines.
It appears to regulate the serotonin mechanism.

To attain the maximum benefit from Feverfew, it should be taken daily as a
preventive. For migraine prevention, parthenolide plays an important role.
The parthenolide content in Feverfew is highly variable in different
populations grown in different locations or harvested at different times of
the year.

Recent Canadian tests of U.S. Feverfew products found all of them to be low
in parthenolide. Canada, which has recently recognized Feverfew products as
official, over the counter drugs for migraine prevention and relief, will
require that they contain a minimum of 0.2% parthenolide.
So, this is one of the few cases where a standardized extract may be more
desirable than the whole plant, with a lot to be said for fresh or
freeze-dried preparations. If you want to use the fresh plant, the flowers
have a higher parthenolide content than do the leaves. If you are picking
the leaves, they are best just before flowering.

In one of those magical bits of synergy that herbalists love, the isolated
parthenolides used alone don't work on migraines, nor does the whole plant
with the parthenolides removed. The parthenolide is bioavailable only in
the whole plant.

PRECAUTIONS: I know of nothing, whether allopathic or herbal medicine, that
I would feel free in saying to have absolutely no unpleasant side effects.
We're all unique individuals when it comes to body chemistry. Some
unfortunate people are allergic to chamomile. They may also be allergic to
Feverfew.

A few recent studies of parthenolide in vitro point to toxicity involving
smooth muscle tissue. However, no side effect resembling this has ever been
reported in human use. Feverfew's safety and usefulness are historic.

Pregnant women should never take Feverfew. Its traditional use as an
emmenogogue underlines the risk here.

The bitter tonic qualities, so useful for indigestion, can cause gastric
pain in people with gall stones or gall-bladder problems, by making the
gall bladder try to empty. Likewise, the increased production of stomach
acid would make it highly aggravating to anyone with a gastric ulcer or
esophogeal reflux.

Some people have developed mouth ulcers from eating the fresh leaves.

DOSAGE: Feverfew is most effective fresh or freeze dried. Take the
equivalent of 1 fresh leaf or 125 mg. freeze-dried herb once a day (0.2%
parthenolides) 1-3 times daily (don't chew the leaf).
In addition to Feverfew on its own as preventive herbal therapy, one would
want to look at one's individual migraine triggers or pattern and add herbs
whose actions complement Feverfew's anti-inflammatory, bitter and
vasodilator actions to support the affected body systems.

             ----------------------------------------------
            Please also check entry 3.2, Herbs for migraine.
             ----------------------------------------------

From Rene Burrough :

Eating feverfew leaves I learned this from a nursery woman here who grows
herbs commercially & was a nurse during WW2, and has suffered from
migraines from years, and it extremely sympathetic to herbal medicine. She
swears that the GREEN leaf is far more efficacious than the yellow or
golden version. And she takes one leaf a day for months at a time to keep
the migraine at bay. What she does is to make a  with the
feverfew leaf inside and squished into a tiny ball with a doughy bit of
bread around it as a casing. Then the pill can be swallowed without the
leaf coming into contact with the lining of the digestive tract.

             ----------------------------------------------
            Feverfew dangers, in the best of the herbal forums:
     http://www.ibiblio.org/herbmed/archives/Best/1995/feverfew-3.html
     http://www.ibiblio.org/herbmed/archives/Best/1995/feverfew-se.html
             ----------------------------------------------
                              2.10 Kava kava
             ----------------------------------------------

by Dennis McClain-Furmanski (dynasor.infi.net)

Kava-kava (Piper methysticum) is a plant native to the Pacific Islands,
originally from the island of Vanuatu. Following the influx of missionaries
over the last century, its cultivation and use has decreased but not
disappeared. Several botanical houses in the US and elsewhere have begun
regular cultivation. The supply remains low, as the harvest rotation period
is from 1.5 to 5 years. Restrictions on import have been considered and may
be imminent, meaning only locally grown supplies will be available.
Indigenous growths are now being protected as endangered in some areas, but
this does not preclude cultivation.

Kava is more of a social and ceremonial preparation than it is medicinal.
Its primary action is as a relaxant, and at high levels an intoxicant and
divinitory preparation. In normal use, the kava drinker becomes relaxed and
sociable, and may later drift off into revery. Large doses, as used by
village chieftains and seers, induces a trance-like state with vivid
dreaming. It is still used in some areas as a medicinal liniment, being
prepared there as a tincture. Modern use of kava has included a preparation
given to electroshock therapy patients as a muscle relaxant.

The active constituents of the plant, such as the lactone resins yangonine
and kawaine, are found primarily in the root rhizomes, although some
preparations such as the Hawaiian liniment make use of the fresh stem. Most
preparations use chopped root material. There are some commercial products
in the form of tablets made from a powder, but these tend to suffer in
strength, apparently due to excessive drying.

Use of kava requires bringing the insoluble resins into emulsion.
Traditional preparation is done by chewing the stems and spitting them with
copious saliva into a bowl, to which water and coconut juice is added. The
mixture is then kneaded and strained through fiber and drunk immediately.

A more palatable preparation is to wrap about an ounce in a single layer of
plain cotton cloth or a few layers of cheese cloth, and tied off to form a
ball. This is dunked in a quart or so of water, lifted and squeezed out,
repeating this until the bubbles forming from the dripping water tend to
remain on the surface of the water -- about 10 to 15 minutes. As with the
traditional preparation, this tastes strongly musty and not particularly
pleasant. It is drunk immediately in gulps. A tablespoon of sugar helps,
and my favorite additive is a tablespoon of Ovaltine or other malted
mixture. Most non-traditional preparations such as herb teas and other
mixtures are either too low a dosage or improperly prepared and so are
ineffective, most probably due to the bad taste of effective dosages.

A tincture is made by soaking the chopped root material in 3 times its
volume of alcoholic liquor such as brandy or gin. This is shaken daily over
2 or 3 weeks and then strained. Internal use is 1 to 2 ounces, and external
use is an ounce rubbed into sore muscles or soaked into a cloth which is
laid over the affected area.

Some reports have been made regarding chewing and swallowing fresh root.
All the same effects are noted, with the addition of a decongestant-like
opening of breathing passages. This is only in healthy individuals; there
is no true decongestant effect in congested individuals.

Heavy daily use of kava for years has been reported to cause dry, flaking
skin, yellowing of the eyes and persistent lethargy. The doses involved are
those used by local chiefs and visionaries, and normal recreational or
medicinal use will not cause this. When this syndrome does appear, 2 to 3
weeks of abstinence cures it. Reports of lowered peripheral blood flow seem
to be anecdotal only.

The plant itself is available from some ethnobotanical houses, and seems to
thrive even in non-tropical conditions, though it still requires indoor
cultivation.

             ----------------------------------------------
                              2.11 Pau D'Arco
             ----------------------------------------------

by Dennis McClain-Furmanski (dynasor.infi.net)
Pau D'Arco (Tabebuia impetiginosa), also known as Taheebo and Lapacho
colorado, is a tree native to the Andes and nearby rain forests. The bark,
and in particular the inner bark lining, is scraped and turned into a tea.
It has been used for centuries by the indigenous peoples as an
immunofortifier.
Recent pharmacologic studies have uncovered the anti-tumor agent lapachol,
as well as the anti-candidas agent xylidione, and the consistent effects of
both have gathered the interest of the global pharmacological community.
Claims that the tea contains a large proportion of oxygen in solution have
peaked the interest of the oxygen-therapy movement, and it is being
considered for anti-AIDS/HIV testing.
The normal preparation is a small amount of scraped bark prepared as a
normal tea. The taste is reported to be heady and pleasant.

             ----------------------------------------------

From hrbmoore.rt66.com (Michael Moore), as a sidenote in a post on herbs
and fibroids:
I, frankly, have no idea why you would want to use Pau D'Arco (Tabebuia
spp.). It is a useful anti-oxidant and anti-fungal. I fail to see its
implication with fibroids. Besides, it is a pocket-change byproduct of
rain-forest timbering...don't let anyone fool you otherwise.

             ----------------------------------------------

From Susan Marynowski (sumar.mail.ifas.ufl.edu):
Pau d'arco is a common street and park tree of central and southern
Florida. It can easily be grown in a Florida backyard where it would be
protected from freezing. Because of the value of this tree, I often
encourage people to grow or collect their own in Florida instead of
purchasing rainforest product.

             ----------------------------------------------
                            End of part 2 of 7.
             ----------------------------------------------

-- 
Henriette Kress, AHG                      Helsinki, Finland
Henriette's herbal homepage: http://www.ibiblio.org/herbmed

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