The Shasta courier., 1867-03-09
COURIER.
The Poison Oak.

Poisoning by the poison oak is very fire.
quent, and is the cause of SO much pain that
1t may be considered one Of the disadvanta-
ges OF the State The plant grows almost
evei ywhere, and large portion IF the people
who venture out Of town get poisoned. No
one Is secur against it. and there has been
no certain cure for it. In most cases it runs
for months. and finally wears itself out, after
almost wearing out the patient Although
there are few instances in which there :
acute pam, yet the irritation. sleeplessn. es
and Inability to obtain relief. are sources
of much suffering. The best remedy known
to Us Is a bath Of hot water saturated with
common salt, to be taken after the skin has
been scrub ed hard with very hard, rough
brush (the yellow fibre brushes are the best
The steam bath relieves some cases, though
1t does very little good in others. The best
method of taking the steam is to soak the
feet in hot water, drink ginger tea at bed
time, 90 to bed, wrap up very warm, and
stay in bed for several hours after the per-
spiration has ceased. 1t is said that the
Indians eat the buds of the poison oak as
remedy; but we should like some further
evidence ON that point. One person of our
acquaintance said he was cured by making
poutice of the green leaves Of the night
shade, mashed and moistened with milk.
We copy the following from an article
furnished to the San Francisco Medical
Journal, by DR.. c. A. Garfield, of Mon
terey:
q The remedies in use for the effects Of the
poison oak are quite various, and some of
them will cure the milder cases. OF all the
common remedies, the warm solution of the
sugar of lead has within my experience been
productive Of the best results. The water of
ammonia; warm vinegar and water the
warm decoction of the leaves of RhdmauS
oieitoiiHs e. Yerba del Oso," of the Caifor-
MIA Spanish. OF even pure warm water, are
sufficient sometimes to produce ii cure. All
these remedies are, of course, applied ex
ternally by way of washes to the parts affect
ed
- But the only remedy that l have found
HrGridbly successful as an antidote for this
poison is an indigenous plant growing very
abundantly in this vicinity and in other parts
of the State. 1t is tall, stout perennial
belongs to the Comnoste family, and looks
like small sunfiOwer II Is from one to
three feet high; has bright yellow flowers in
heads one or two inches III diameter, land as
| have sai1) like small sunfowers, towering
from June to October. Before Towering
the unexpanGed heads or buds secrpte
quantity of resinouS matter, white and sticky
like balsam, that is finally, after the flow err
expands, distributed over the calyx. etc. of
the flower like varuish. The whole plant.
flowers, leaves and all. is resinous and vscid.
When it grows on dry hills. 1T is stiff and
rigid, with narrow, thin leaves; but in
damp localities it is more robust and succu
lent. with wide fleshy leaves. Its botanical
name is G,i della hirSutuia and &. roJusta
I Lc,. l..
one Species and all the d lferent forms possess
the same remedial virtues.
. The mode of using it is as follows
One NAV bruise the fresh herb and apply it
by rubbing over the parts affected or boil.
ing it in covered vessel, make strong
decoction of the fresh or dried herb. with
which to wash the poisoned surfaces. Its
remedial properties appear to be contained
chiefly in the resin or balsam like Juice of
the plant, which is particularly abundant on
the surface One application is sometimes
sufficient for cure but if the disease has
been of long duration, several davs will
elapse before relief is obtained
= This plant is remedy for the pois m
oak used originally by the Indians of this
vicinity, and by them its virtues have beon
communicated to the Spanish Californian
people. who are now commencing to use it.
:" | became acquainted with it in the fol.
lowing manner: A lady acquaintance of
mine was poisoned in early youth bv the
poison oak, and there resulted a cutaneous
affection similar to 'salt-rheum'-ferv
burning, nsupportable-that would not
yield to remedies the skill Of good pby
sicians. She underwent cauterization and
blstering; she took mercury and other pow
ful remedies. iodine. sarsaparilla-aH to no
purpose. Her hands were covered with
deep ulcers. and her wrists and arms with an
eruption that tormented her day and night
Nothing relieved her. She married in the
meantime and had a family of fine, healthy
children, but she did not get rid # her
'fiilcton. AT length, she believing that the
disease was not salt rheum.' nor ANYTHING
more or less than the effects of poison oak.
was induced to dse the remedy that | have
described and very few application were
sufficient to heal up the ulcers and cure her
entirey. She has never been troubled with
any cutaneous eruption since that time.
alth' ugh several years have now elapsed.
=" Her account of her case induced me to
ase the plant. which have done frequently
siI ce with the happiest effects. One gentle
man of my acquaintance, who is very sus-
ceptlbIe to the prison oak. was poisoned ON
not yield to sugar of lead, beartsh I'm. warm
lotions, or any other of the commonly used
remedies. But few applications of the de
coction of Grindela removed it entirely. 1t
is said that when Fremont was here with his
soldiers. they camped on the fiat below the
town among the poison oak, and many of his
men were badly poisoned. The trouble in
many cases did not yield to the prescriptions
of the physicians. and it was relieved only
by using this remedy. But aside from
rumor or heresay. know of six cases where
the effects of pnson oak have yielded to the
Griudelia where other remedies have filled
Now it cannot be said that the effects of the
Grindelia, as stated above, were lima ginary.
or those cures accidental for the disease
produced by the poison oak is specific and
san qeneris, cutaneous disease pain ,ble and
severe. that is produced hy specific vegeta
bic poison, and hence does not at all las may
be said of many other diseases.) depend