Grindelia for Poison Oak?
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I’m interested in any feedback on success of using Grindelia (gumweed) for poison oak and favorite processing methods. I’ve been relying on a decoction (boiling water) using oak bark, manzanita leaf, and ceanothus flowers but have heard Grindelia is a good addition.
I’ve been using an HerbPharm formula for years that I swear by – it used to be called Grindelia Sassafras but they renamed it in the last year or so to Poison Oak Remedy or something like that -it’s one of the few that has a spray top. I attribute the success of this formula in terms of stopping the itch largely to the potent menthol also in there, though I suspect that the Grindelia and Sassafras may help in healing the rash and irritated skin. I’ve found that after a very hot shower to open pores, spraying this stuff brings great relief and zero itching for 6-8 hours. I always thought it would be fun to make my own but have not found the grindelia yet (in the wild) or have specific feedback on methods. good luck in your research!
This is obviously late, but Grindelia was on my mind today and as such I ended up wildharvesting some when I found an ample amount of plants in various states of bloom in an old burn area. There were well over 100 plants and I harvested buds and blooms from about 5 plants total, making sure to leave flowers in their various stages (bud, bloom, seed) on each plant I collected from. When I got home, I decided to make a tincture using 90 proof botanical gin, filling a 1 pint mason jar with the buds, blooms, and alcohol. I plan to shake the jar once daily for the next month, checking the status of the tincture at that point. Ryan Drum says he prefers to leave the blossoms in the tincture as he uses it, allowing the medicinal potency to increase over time, while other herbalists strain the blossoms out after four weeks. I tend to think along the lines Ryan does, but we’ll see how it goes.
Obviously taking the tincture orally would have benefits as an expectorant, but in terms of topical application for poison oak, doesn’t it seem like adding 10% tincture to an ointment/cream/salve would work?
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