With summer comes fun in the sun, swimming, hiking, camping, gardening, and often times the dreaded poison ivy. Poison ivy is like the communicable disease of the forest region. I imagine, like most communicable diseases, you are just having a good time when unbeknownst to you, you’ve exposed yourself to it and may not even be aware until the red, itchy, seeping, miserable rash appears and if left unchecked can spread to regions of your person that you didn’t know could itch. I’ve never gotten poison ivy or any other communicable disease for that matter. However, my bibbed wearing buddy is extremely susceptible to it. It usually begins on his hands or arms and in twenty-four hours travels through his blood stream and announces itself on all his bendy parts. After several episodes of steadfastly refusing to see a doctor, I finally just made the appointment and the ultimatum the he was going to said doctor. I’m not sure how his mind works. Does he think he is weak or less of a man because he goes to the doctor? In my humble opinion, men who refuse to seek medical attention when needed just prove that they are indeed inferior in their reasoning skills…duh! Insert funny dance moves and the chorus to Bad Guy… (Duh is the new catch phrase in our home this week…thank you Jordan’s obsession with (the edited versions) of all things Billy Eilish).
The villain of the natural world must have an arch enemy of course. That arch enemy is the humble jewelweed, touch me not, Johnny Jump Up, or orange balsam as you may know it. Jewelweed is an annual plant often found along shaded creek beds in Pennsylvania and other northern states. The sap in the stems of jewelweed is clear and odorless but is effective in relieving the itch of stinging nettle and poison ivy. Jewelweed is not a cure for the rash brought on by exposure to poison ivy. It simply aides in relieving the itch.
As with all dermatitis, often the simple act of washing with soap and water will help elevate the discomfort. Of course, I am going to plug the benefits of my raw, natural goats milk soap products at this point. If you have read previous blogs, you know that goat’s milk is high in vitamins, minerals, and the very make up of the fats found in goats milk help to soothe and moisturize the skin. With that being said, when paired with the natural leaves and sap of jewelweed, our jewelweed soap has offered benefits and relief from poison ivy to a variety of individuals.
This year in particular seems to be more about practicality than in years past. With Father’s Day just around the corner, I would like to suggest a gift of our jewelweed soap as well as our Woodsman or our new The Manly Man. If you have a well-loved man in your life, who is an avid outdoorsman, jewelweed is a good soap to have on hand. I have been gifting jewelweed soap to Jordan’s friend’s families because so many find themselves staying home and having backyard adventures or are opting for more naturally themed vacations.
I hope you have enjoyed my Tuesday Spotlight, perhaps learned something new, and found some inspiration. As always, stay safe, stay smart, and wash your hands…and other parts, to help battle communicable diseases.