Yet Another Funky Food Experiment

"I never get poison ivy" said me right before I got it from weeding my garden. Nothing says put your foot in your mouth like red, bumpy reptilian-looking lines of poison ivy spreading all over. Come on, who wouldn't want to hug this?

In my quest for different ways on how to use foods, I came across an article that listed several different foods that were supposed to stop the poison ivy from spreading or itching. I decided that I was up for the challenge. Of course I got strange looks from my husband during the process but I am used to that by now.

One of the foods that is supposed to help with the itching is banana peel. What luck- a snack and a natural medicine. I rubbed the inside of the peel on my bumpy areas and waited. I will say that initially, it did feel less itchy. However, as soon as I stopped rubbing, the itching quickly returned. So now I was itchy and I had smeared banana goop up and down my arm, which nobody would touch. I can just feel the love.

I also tried apple cider vinegar, which is suppose to remove the poisons. I poured it onto my arm, let it dry and waited. Honestly, the only thing that I did notice was that my arm was drippy and I smelled like a giant Easter egg. And, again, nobody would come near me. Gosh, it's just vinegar people!

Aloe vera- ok, good, I have that in the fridge. (yes, the fridge. See my Mom Tip from my Summer 2012 newsletter). Aloe is supposed to help with itching. Apply, rub, wait. Not bad. I did find some relief and it wasn't too messy or smelly. Aloe passes the test in my book.

Next was a concoction of baking soda and water (3 teaspoons to 1 teaspoon) but I found that I needed more than that. The original "recipe" left just a small, dry pile of unusable stuff. I mixed it, applied it and let it dry. I looked like I had a fight with a paper mache project. I also decided that since everyone was teasing me, I would tell me daughter that I saw some poison ivy on her and that she needed this on her as well. As you can see, this did not go over well.


The baking soda dried very quickly and then left white, chalky dust wherever I was. Did it help? Not quite sure. I was too busy rubbing off the dust but I did notice that the lack of itch was a bit longer than the other items I had tried.

The last food that I tried was lemon juice. Lemon juice is to stop the spread of the poison ivy which was not helpful to me since I applied it after I started to stem poison ivy on all of my limbs. Note to self- read articles thoroughly, do not skim. Luckily, the lemon juice smelled better than the vinegar and I was only met with the familiar odd looks.

Although this was done later, I think the best combination that stopped the itch and felt the best was the combination of lemon juice and the goopy baking soda mix. Not sure how I tasted by the end of the day but I was definitely feeling better. The moral of the story- always be willing to play with your food.