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                                2.5 Ginseng
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There are a number of plants called ginseng; a websearch (I don't recommend
it, you'll get from 16000 to 90000 pages to wade through) will turn up a
lot of different plants, not always correctly named:

   * Ginseng, Asian (Panax ginseng)
        o also including Korean Red Ginseng, which is processed, making the
          root red and giving it a bit differing properties from the
          unprocessed yellowish-white ginseng root
   * Ginseng, American (Panax quinquefolius)
   * Ginseng, "Siberian" (Eleutherococcus senticosus) - better to call this
     Eleuthero, as it isn't a true ginseng.
   * Ginseng, "Brazilian" (Pfaffia paniculata) - better to call this Suma,
     as it isn't a true ginseng.
   * Ginseng, "Indian" (Withania somnifera) - better called Ashwagandha, as
     it isn't a true ginseng

While not all of these are ginsengs, they are all adaptogens. Adaptogens
help you with your general stress response. The definition of an adaptogen
is that it lets mice swim for longer in their bucket of water before they
drown; it will also give you more stamina.

Further adaptogens are for example:

   * Reishi mushroom (Ganoderma lucidum)
   * Gotu kola (Centella asiatica)
   * Rose root, gold root (Rhodiola rosea or Sedum roseum)
   * Maral root (Leuzea carthamoides, Leuzea rhapontica, or Rhaponticum 
     carthamoides), a Russian plant - you use the root and/or seeds.

This is only a partial list. In any list of adaptogens you will find at
least one plant that isn't found in any other adaptogen list.

A couple of good webpages on ginsengs and adaptogens can be found here:

   * http://www.healthy.net/search/content/art/articles603.htm
   * http://www.healthy.net/search/content/art/articles628.htm

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There are some practical considerations:

On the herblist Aug. 1994:

>Could someone be kind enough to summarize the possible adverse effects of
ginseng? I've been taking a popular brand for a month now and am generally
happy with the effect on a chronic sinus problem and energy levels, but
beginning to feel kind of strung out ... I am drinking caffeine and wonder
if this could be a problem. Also need to know about possible adverse
interactions with prescription drugs such as blood pressure medications.

From Jonathan Treasure :
Woah...."Ginseng Abuse Syndrome" is even recognised by the AMA. You do not
mention what kind of Ginseng or how much. I will defer to the TCM people on
this list to give wither you from the Chinese view but ... surely you're
not really doing coffee and ginseng? Oh dear oh dear ... tut tut.

  1. It is nonsensical to take caffeine and ginseng together regularly. You
     will stress your adrenals (*get strung out*) and possibly raise your
     *stress threshold* to a danger point.
  2. Ginseng should be used with extreme caution in hypertensive situations
     especially if under medication.
  3. Sinusitis? Not the *usual* prescription. Pass.
  4. Toxic signs - not uniformly predictable but can include hypertension,
     euphoria, nervousness, skin eruptions, morning diarrhea.
  5. Contraindications - nervous anxiety, nervous tension, hypertension,
     disturbed menstruation, stimulant or rec. drug abuse, good vitality in
     younger persons.

Most recommend taking as a tonic for a period then alternating without e.g.
3 weeks on 2 weeks off.

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

> the Peterson guide I have on edible wild plants recommends wild American
ginseng as a trail nibble...

If you did happen to find a Wild American ginseng, you should leave it
right where it is! Shame on Peterson. The plant is rare, and probably
endangered throughout its range.

Paul Iannone

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On alt.folklore.herbs June 1995:

> I've heard the ads for ginseng pills - are they worth the money? If so,
are all brands the same?

You definitely want to buy from a reputable company. According to Professor
Wang at the University of Alberta, researchers found that many prepackaged
ginseng products had a major shortcoming designed to fool the consumer. You
guessed it ... no ginseng.

Elizabeth Toews

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The UP side of poison ivy

Rarely mentioned but soon enough found out, ginseng and poison ivy are
childhood sweethearts: they grow up in the same neck of the woods. If you
go digging ginseng in the Cumberlands of Tennessee, you will get poison ivy
-- all over your fingers. With common roots in the forest loam, the one
looks out for the other.

But if that's not sufficient protection, the 'sang has yet another look-out
in the plant kingdom: Virginia creeper. A master of disguise, ginseng sets
up housekeeping in the thick of creeper beds. Takes a covite to tell them
apart; the untutored need not apply.

Cumberland ginseng endangered? Don't think so. Most of the knowledgeable
diggers have sense enough to harvest after the seeds have matured, and
don't have to be told to replant from what they've dug. If there's to be
"more where that came from" (talking car payments), they know they have to
replant. It's city slickers, out for a test drive of their bean boots, we
got to look out for. For their advancement, thank we heavens, there is
poison ivy.

Alex Standefer (astandef.seraph1.sewanee.edu)

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> I had read somewhere that women should not take ginseng on a regular
basis (I'm cutting back from six capsules to two per day), but was told by
a friend that Siberian ginseng is suitable for women to take.

Ginseng shouldn't be used as a stimulant, but where needed it can be taken
for comparatively long periods by children, women, old people, anyone.

I have many female clients who take ginseng on a regular basis, in formulas
appropriate to their health pattern.

As a general rule Chinese herbalists don't use ginseng by itself.

--Paul Iannone

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                  2.6 Stevia Leaf - Too Good To Be Legal?
             ----------------------------------------------

by Rob McCaleb, Herb Research Foundation

For hundreds of years, people in Paraguay and Brazil have used a sweet leaf
to sweeten bitter herbal teas including mate. For nearly 20 years, Japanese
consumers by the millions have used extracts of the same plant as a safe,
natural, non-caloric sweetener. The plant is stevia, formally known as
Stevia rebaudiana, and today it is under wholesale attack by the U.S. Food
and Drug Administration.

Stevia is a fairly unassuming perennial shrub of the aster family
(Asteraceae), native to the northern regions of South America. It has now
been grown commercially in Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Central America, the
United States, Israel, Thailand and China. The leaves contain several
chemicals called glycosides, which taste sweet, but do not provide
calories. The major glycoside is called stevioside, and is one of the major
sweeteners in use in Japan and Korea. Stevia and its extracts have captured
over 40% of the Japanese market. Major multinational food companies like
Coca Cola and Beatrice foods, convinced of its safety, use stevia extracts
to sweeten foods for sale in Japan, Brazil, and other countries where it is
approved. Europeans first learned of stevia when the Spanish Conquistadors
of the Sixteenth Century sent word to Spain that the natives of South
America had used the plant to sweeten herbal tea since "ancient times".

The saga of American interest in stevia began around the turn of the
Twentieth Century when researchers in Brazil started hearing about "a plant
with leaves so sweet that a part of one would sweeten a whole gourd full of
mate." The plant had been described in 1899 by Dr. M. S. Bertoni. In 1921
the American Trade Commissioner to Paraguay commented in a letter "Although
known to science for thirty years and used by the Indians for a much longer
period nothing has been done commercially with the plant. This has been due
to a lack of interest on the part of capital and to the difficulty of
cultivation."

Dr. Bertoni wrote some of the earliest articles on the plant in 1905 and
1918. In the latter article he notes:

"The principal importance of Ka he'e (stevia) is due to the possibility of
substituting it for saccharine. It presents these great advantages over
saccharine:

  1. It is not toxic but, on the contrary, it is healthful, as shown by
     long experience and according to the studies of Dr. Rebaudi.
  2. It is a sweetening agent of great power.
  3. It can be employed directly in its natural state, (pulverized leaves).
  4. It is much cheaper than saccharine."

Unfortunately, this last point may have been the undoing of stevia.
Noncaloric sweeteners are a big business in the U.S., as are caloric
sweeteners like sugar and the sugar-alcohols, sorbitol, mannitol and
xylitol. It is small wonder that the powerful sweetener interests here, do
not want the natural, inexpensive, and non-patentable stevia approved in
the U.S.

In the 1970s, the Japanese government approved the plant, and food
manufacturers began using stevia extracts to sweeten everything from sweet
soy sauce and pickles to diet Coke. Researchers found the extract
interesting, resulting in dozens of well-designed studies of its safety,
chemistry and stability for use in different food products.

Various writers have praised the taste of the extracts, which has much less
of the bitter aftertaste prevalent in most noncaloric sweeteners. In
addition to Japan, other governments have approved stevia and stevioside,
including those of Brazil, China and South Korea, among others.
Unfortunately, the US was destined to be a different story. Stevia has been
safely used in this country for over ten years, but a few years ago, the
trouble began.

FDA ATTACK ON STEVIA

Around 1987, FDA inspectors began visiting herb companies who were selling
stevia, telling them to stop using it because it is an "unapproved food
additive". By mid 1990 several companies had been visited. In one case
FDA's inspector reportedly told a company president they were trying to get
people to stop using stevia "because Nutra Sweet complained to FDA." The
Herb Research Foundation(HRF), which has extensive scientific files on
stevia, became concerned and filed a Freedom of Information Act request
with FDA for information about contacts between Nutra Sweet and FDA about
stevia. It took over a year to get any information from the FDA, but the
identity of the company who prompted the FDA action was masked by the
agency.

In May, 1991 FDA acted by imposing an import alert on stevia to prevent it
from being imported into the US. They also began formally warning companies
to stop using the "illegal" herb. By the beginning of 1991, the American
Herbal Products Association (AHPA) was working to defend stevia. At their
general meeting at Natural Products Expo West, members of the industry
pledged most of the needed funds to support work to convince FDA of the
safety of stevia. AHPA contracted HRF to produce a professional review of
the stevia literature. The review was conducted by Doug Kinghorn, Ph.D.,
one of the world's leading authorities on stevia and other natural
non-nutritive sweeteners. Dr. Kinghorn's report was peer-reviewed by
several other plant safety experts and concluded that historical and
current common use of stevia, and the scientific evidence all support the
safety of this plant for use in foods. Based on this report, and other
evidence, AHPA filed a petition with FDA in late October asking FDA's
"acquiescence and concurrence" that stevia leaf is exempt from food
additive regulations and can be used in foods.

FDA, apparently attempting to regulate this herb as they would a new food
additive, contends that there is inadequate evidence to approve stevia.
However, because of its use in Japan, there is much more scientific
evidence of stevia's safety than for most foods and additives. The extent
of evidence FDA is demanding for the approval of stevia, far exceeds that
which has been required to approve even new synthetic food chemicals like
aspartame (Nutra Sweet).

AHPA's petition points out that FDA's food additive laws were meant to
protect consumers from synthetic chemicals added to food. FDA is trying, in
the case of stevia to claim that stevia is the same as a chemical food
additive. But as the AHPA petition points out, Congress did not intend food
additive legislation to regulate natural constituents of food itself. In
fact, Congressman Delaney said in 1956, "There is hardly a food sold in the
market today which has not had some chemicals used on or in it at some
stage in its production, processing, packaging, transportation or storage."
He stressed that his proposed bill was to assure the safety of "new
chemicals that are being used in our daily food supply," and when asked if
the regulations would apply to whole foods, he replied "No, to food
chemicals only." AHPA contends that stevia is a food, which is already
recognized as safe because of its long history of food use. Foods which
have a long history of safe use are exempted by law from the extensive
laboratory tests required of new food chemicals. The AHPA petition,
however, supports the safe use of stevia with both the historical record,
and references to the numerous toxicology studies conducted during the
approval process in Japan, and studies by interested researchers in other
countries.

To date, the FDA still refuses to allow stevia to be sold in the U.S. but
the recently-enacted Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994
may prevent the FDA from treating stevia and other natural herbs as "food
additives."

rmccaleb.herbs.org -- [also herbal.netcom.com]

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                 2.6.1 Changed legal status of Stevia Leaf
             ----------------------------------------------

> Where do you get your stevia? No one here in RI will sell it.

From: Mark D. Gold (mgold.holisticmed.com):

You should suggest to your local natural food stores and herb stores in RI
that the legal status of stevia has changed recently. While importation of
stevia was banned to protect Monsanto's NutraSweet sales and the future
sales of other artificial sweeteners a few years ago, stevia can now be
sold as a "dietary supplement." I have a copy of the FDA's new "Import
Alert" on my Web page (or I can email it to you). Stevia products can and
have been sold over the last few years as skin treatment products.
Therefore, your local natural foods store should be able to get stevia skin
treatment products and supplements from their distributor (or they should
find a distributor who does sell it).

Stevia still cannot be legally sold as a "sweetener" by itself or in
another product. This will help protect companies such as Monsanto (selling
a dangerous artificial sweetener - aspartame) from having to compete
against a safe, natural sweetener on a large-scale basis. But at least
individuals can now use stevia as a supplement.

I have a list of stevia resources on my web page which you can use and give
to your local natural foods store. Hope this helps.

http://www.holisticmed.com/sweet/

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                        2.7 Poison Ivy / Oak / Sumac
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We're lucky in Finland in that we don't have any of these problem plants.
But since it's asked every week in season it has to be in the FAQ, so
what's in here is mostly pulled from rec.gardens archives 1992 - 1994, or
from alt.folklore.herbs archives 1993 -, or taken off bionet.plants June
1995. If you wrote some text I've included here but you aren't mentioned
please email - I'll be happy to mention you in the next posting.

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                      2.7.1 How to recognize PI/PS/PO
             ----------------------------------------------

From Kay Klier (klier.fern.com):

POISON IVY (Toxicodendron radicans = Rhus radicans = Rhus toxicodendron)

Found in a wide range of habitats, but in the midwest often seen in
disturbed woods, roadsides, and flood plains. Most widespread of PI, PS,
and PO.

Small, slightly woody plant, or shrubby, or vining. LEAVES ALTERNATE (= 1
leaf per node), TRIFOLIATE (= 3 leaflets), with pedicel (leafstalk) and the
CENTRAL LEAFLET WITH PETIOLULE (= leaflet stalk). The lateral two leaflets
are not distinctly stalked. Leaflets are a variety of shapes, but generally
ovate or obovate (roughly apple-leaf shaped). Leaflets may be smooth-edged
(entire), irregularly toothed, or shallowly lobed. Leaves of one variant
look like small oak-leaves (but look again!).

Leaves apple-green and shiny in the spring, deep green and often dusty in
the summer, turning a glorious reddish orange in the fall. Flowers tiny,
whitish, in clusters; fruits white berries in late summer or fall.

Closest look-alike: Box-elder seedlings (Acer negundo), which has OPPOSITE,
trifoliate leaves; the lateral two leaflets are often slightly stalked.
Older box-elders generally have 5 leaflets per leaf.

POISON SUMAC (Toxicodendron vernix = Rhus vernix)

Shrub, to perhaps 15-20 ft tall, often branched from the base. LEAVES
ALTERNATE WITH 7-13 LEAFLETS, lateral leaflets without a petiolule (leaflet
stalk), TERMINAL LEAFLET WITH A STALK. MIDRIB OF THE LEAF WITHOUT A PAIR OF
WINGS OF TISSUE THAT RUN BETWEEN LEAFLET PAIRS. More small, whitish berries
in a long cluster. Usually in wetlands, Maine to Minnesota, south to Texas
and Florida.

Closest look-alikes: Staghorn sumac, Rhus typhina, which has clusters of
fuzzy, red fruits and toothed leaflets, and likes dry soils; Smooth sumac,
Rhus glabra, with bright red fruits and slightly toothed leaves; much drier
soil than PS.

POISON OAK (Toxicodendron diversiloba = Rhus diversiloba).

Reputedly the worst of the bunch. Erect shrub, usually about 3-6 ft tall
(to 12 ft!), bushy, with ALTERNATE LEAVES OF THREE LEAFLETS, the LEAFLETS
generally lobed slightly or as much as an oak leaf; CENTRAL LEAFLET
STALKED. Leaves generally bright, shiny green above, paler below. Fruits
are small whitish berries. Common on the west coast, esp. low places,
thickets and wooded slopes. Occasionally a 5-leafleted form is found.

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

Steve Hix (fiddler.concertina.Eng.Sun.COM), in response to above:

>POISON OAK description...
If it were only that simple! In addition to that form, you can find poison
oak growing as a vine (very like wild grape, but with smooth bark) up to
six inches in diameter disappearing up into the tree tops near streams, or
in thickets that look a *lot* like blackberry without spines, or sometimes
as collections of leafless single branches (later the leaves appear, shiny
and red, changing to oily green, and so on).
Fortunately, it doesn't seem to grow much above 5000' elevation.

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                        2.7.2 How to avoid the rash
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Difficult if you live near PO/PI/PS...
... the best way not to get the rash is to learn to recognize the plant(s)
and avoid it (them) after that.

But:
- You can even get a dose if a bunch of the leaves get dumped into a stream
or pond ... the oil ends up floating on the surface of the water.
- Dogs / cats / horses can get it on their coats and you'll get it from
them when you pet them barehanded.
- If you burn these plants and inhale the smoke you'll get a bad case of
internal PI.

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        2.7.3 Why does it give you a rash? / Spreading the oil about
             ----------------------------------------------

From Ron Rushing (f_rushingrg.ccsvax.sfasu.edu):

The irritant in poison ivy, poison sumac, and poison oak is urushiol. The
rash you get is an allergic reaction. Everything I say below about poison
ivy should also apply to poison oak and sumac. If you brush up against a
healthy undamaged plant, you won't usually get urushiol on you. You usually
have to come in contact with a damaged leaf. Almost all plants have damaged
leaves - either from insects, weather, or from your stepping on them.

The oil is easily transferred from one place to another. For example, I got
some on my shoelaces once, and I kept getting poison ivy on my hands for a
couple of months. Once it is on your hands, it can, and will, end up
anywhere on your body.

The rash from poison ivy can take up to 72 hours to appear after exposure,
and is often spread on the body by taking showers while the oils are still
on the skin.

Once you get the oil on clothing, it can sit for months and still cause a
rash upon contact with your skin. For example, lets say you get some poison
ivy oil on your boots, then put the boots away for the winter. Next spring
you get out the boots and go for a walk - but not in the woods. A few days
later, voila - your hands are breaking out from putting on your boots and
tying the laces. As long as you've washed the original oil off your skin,
the exudate from the blisters should not re-infect your skin. It's just
exudate, and does not contain urushiol.

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

From krrobert.uiuc.edu (K. R. Robertson):

Washing with strong soap merely removes excess poison from the skin, but
will not remove any which has already reacted, because the poison is
believed to form a complex with skin proteins and therefore is not
removable short of removing the skin! Even so, it is difficult to wash off
this insoluble poison completely.

Eating a leaf of poison-ivy may have disastrous results. One may surpass
the normal level of immunity by the first bite; in this case one is in for
an internal case of poison-ivy, occasionally known to be fatal.

The mechanism of sensitivity is not thoroughly understood. It does not
behave like protein sensitivities such as hay fever. It is a
hypersensitivity of the delayed type, whose mechanism is related to that of
organ transplant rejection.

(Originally prepared by William T. Gillis, 1973, Revised by Kenneth R.
Robertson, 1993, Illinois Natural History)

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Poison Ivy, oak, sumac: Clothes contamination
From: Gerry Creager 

One thing a lot of folks don't seem to understand, especially now that a
lot of laundry detergents are available for cold water use, is that HOT
water is a good element for elimination of the oily residue that causes the
allergic reaction. I noted several anectdotal comments about reinnoculation
that could have been prevented if the contaminated clothes were washed in
hot water (not warm, not warm/cold, HOT!) and alone so as to avoid cross
contamination to other clothing. I've had good result with this in our
family as well as in the folks I have advised with the problem. Me? I'm one
of those who so far has not manifested an allergy despite a lot fo time in
the woods!

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

From ab282.detroit.freenet.org (Robert Gault):

The active ingredient in poison ivy and other plants in the same family is
3-n-Pentadecylcatechol, common name urushiol, which is a chemical in the
phenol family.

Dermatitis (skin inflammation and blistering) is spread by the act of
scratching which redistributes the urushiol over the body. While the normal
treatment for poison ivy does not include the suggestion below, a
reasonable approach would be to convert the urushiol into a water soluble
material. Phenols are acids so washing with a weak base like diluted house
hold ammonia or a paste of baking soda should do the trick.

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

From Kay Klier (klier.fern.com):

People who react to any of the species of PI/PO/PS will undoubtedly react
to the others; further, they may cross-react with mango (Mangifera indica),
cashew (Anacardium occidentale), and Chinese or Japanese Lacquer (Rhus
verniciflua). (the cellulose-based spray paint that is called lacquer is
not involved in this... just "real" lacquer, like carved lacquer boxes,
etc.). Generally speaking, it's not a good idea to sit under any member of
the Anacardiaceae in the rain... they all tend to have a leaf toxin that
falls on innocent bystanders below.

Most people are NOT sensitive to PI/PO/PS at birth, but become sensitized
through repeated exposures. Some people are apparently immune throughout
their lives, but I really don't know how to test that claim... ;-)

There is a barrier cream and a cleanup wash called Technu commonly used by
those who are sensitized to PI/PO/PS. Works quite well.

             ----------------------------------------------
                              2.7.4 What helps
             ----------------------------------------------

First a word of caution:
The recommendations listed here are without medical foundation and, if
actually used, are at the sole risk of the reader.

   * Jewelweed, Impatiens pallida, I. capensis, I. biflora, or similar
     species. AKA Touch-me-not, silverweed.
     The plant produces both cleitogamous (self-fertilized), and
     chasmogamous (cross- fertilized) flowers. Mature seed pods will build
     tension as they dry, and can "shoot" seeds 5 feet away when activated
     by a slight disturbance.
        o Jewelweed, fresh: crush some leaves and a bit of the stem and rub
          the resulting juice on the rashy area. Repeat frequently.
        o Jewelweed decoction: take one part Jewelweed (or stronger as
          needed), and twenty parts water. Boil water in non-metallic
          container, add jewelweed, boil for fifteen minutes, strain and
          store in jar in fridge or freeze as ice cubes. Apply frequently.
        o Jewelweed juice:
          From YE71.MUSIC.FERRIS.EDU (Robert King):
             + Gather the entire plant, leaves, stems, and all; the plant
               is very succulent and juicy... I have never had a need to
               add extra water, but if you do, use distilled. Don't be
               greedy, either trim tops & outer branches, or selectively
               take entire plants from the center of a crowded stand. One
               large (4-foot) plant should be adequate for the largest rash
               on one person. Plants will lose turgor and wilt quickly
               after cutting, this is OK, just makes it easier to emulsify.
             + Liquefy the plants in a blender at the highest speed
               possible. Then extract the juice by filtering thru cloth,
               common strainer, or fruit press... a little pulp in the mix
               won't hurt, this will settle out after a couple hours,
               anyway. Use immediately, or refrigerate... this stuff spoils
               rapidly at room temperature..!!
             + Apply the juice to the infected area with a common paint
               brush... I've found 1 to 2" size works best. Blow-dry the
               area as you apply it with a hair dryer on low heat... after
               several coats of 'paint,' an orange-colored "skin" will
               develop. This "skin" will protect uninfected areas against
               the poison ivy allergen.
             + Repeat this procedure as needed, especially first thing in
               the morning, and before bedtime. Be sure to use common sense
               in keeping any fluid that happens to come from blisters away
               from unprotected areas... yourself AND others. Keeping the
               infected area as dry as possible will hasten the healing;
               continue application until no more blisters are present...
               usually about 3 days.
             + Ironically, jewelweed favors growing in areas of similar
               habitat as poison ivy, therefore it can often be found
               nearby, preferring moist ground, near water, or often, even
               in shallow water. It grows rapidly in ideal environs, but
               usually doesn't reach significant size until mid-summer;
               therefore, it might pay to keep a bit frozen in the fridge
               from the previous year for early-season use. The extract
               tends to spoil rapidly, even at cooler temperatures, so I
               wouldn't recommend keeping it for much more than a week
               without freezing... the fresh solution works best, anyway.
   * Catnip: rub fresh catnip leaves on the affected area.
   * Mugwort (Jilara [jane.swdc.stratus.com])
     Pick two large handfuls of fresh mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris) and let
     infuse in 1 cup alcohol for overnight. Apply to affected area with a
     clean sponge/washcloth/q-tips/whatever every four hours. Dries it up
     quickly.
     Robert Gault reminded me that mugwort is a strong allergen (have I
     told you they keep track of mugwort pollen in the air over here?). To
     quote Robert Gault: 'Can you imagine the result if the poison ivy
     sufferer is also allergic to Mugwort?!' Ouch - yes, I can.
   * Aloe vera (Jilara [jane.swdc.stratus.com])
     Take a large leaf from the aloe vera plant you keep on your windowsill
     for burns. (If you don't have one, get one!) (NOTE: "aloe vera gel"
     sold commercially does NOT work!) Slice lengthwise to expose the juicy
     interior of the leaf. (This will give you an upper and lower leaf,
     with a juicy side to each.) Trim off leaf edges. Apply directly to
     affected area, juicy side against the sores. Bandage in place. Apply a
     new leaf every day until healed. This works phenomenally well, but you
     have to put up with bulky slabs of aloe vera leaf against the area.
     Which would you rather have: oozing sores or a succulent slab of leaf?
     Thought so. ;-) I can't laude this one enough! It works faster than
     any other remedy! And relieves the dreadful *itching*, too!
   * Gumweed Plant (Grindelia)
     Native Americans used the resin from the gumweed plant to treat poison
     ivy.
   * Baking Soda
     I swear by baking soda paste for poison oak. It not only soaks up the
     oozing mess, it completely stops the itching throughout the day.
   * Mixed alcohol liniment

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