Jewelweed
Other Names: Alegria del Hogar, Balsam-Weed, Balsamina foemina, Balsamine du Cap, Balsamine des Jardins, Balsamine Orangée, Feng Xian Hua, Garden Balsam, Herbal Impatiens Balsamihal, Impatiens, Impatiens balsamina, Impatiens biflora, Impatiens capensis, Impatiens giorgii, Impatiens pallida, Impatiente, Impatiente Biflore, Impatiente du Cap, Impatiente Orangée, Jewel Balsam Weed, Jewel Weed, Quick-In-The-Hand, Silverweed, Slipper Weed, Speckled Jewels, Spotted Touch-Me-Not, Tou Gu Cao, Touch-Me-Not, Wild Balsam, Wild Celandine, Wild Lady's Slipper.
Jewelweed is a plant. The parts that grow above the ground are used to make medicine. Be careful not to confuse jewelweed with potentilla, since both are known as silverweed.
Special Precautions of Jewelweed
Lithium interacts with Jewelweed
Health Benefits and uses of Jewelweed are
- People take jewelweed by mouth to treat mild digestive disorders
- Poison ivy rash : Freshly crushed and rubbed onto the skin, the plant helps control the itching of a variety of irritations and is a traditional remedy for poison ivy. If rubbed immediately onto the affected areas, or used as a strong wash after exposure to poison ivy, jewelweed can prevent or alleviate the allergic reaction. A poultice or strong wash (used separately or together) can also heal a rash that has developed.
- Because jewelweed, in addition to its other attributes, has fungicidal properties, it can help repel an itchy and uncomfortable case of athlete's foot.
- Allergies : Jewelweed has been used for centuries by Native Americans as a natural approach to poison ivy. The allergic response generated by poison ivy is what is known as a histamine reaction. The natural chemical constituents of jewelweed appear to act much like corticosteroids, compounds that inhibit or “block” this histamine reaction. This may also apply to other histamine reactions, such as those that occur with contact dermatitis and bee stings.
- It increases the loss of body water through the urine (diuretic effect).
