I just realized that after I went on and on about Jewelweed and my experiments with it on my poison ivy I never told all of you what did work to clear it. I ultimately used common plantain (Plantago Major) with great success. I chopped the plantain up and made a poultice. I taped (I used medical tape and/or bandaids) the poultice to my leg for several hours a day. It dried up rather quickly after that. I have used common plaintain to take the pain out of bee stings as well. It takes a couple of minutes but it works great (at least for me). You can find it easily here in Woodland Valley. It grows in most lawns. Try it out next time you get a poison ivy rash.
I found the following additional information about common plantain on the Wikipedia site.
Plantago Major
The standard native English name is Greater Plantain though it is also called Common Plantain in some areas where it is introduced, particularly North America. Another one of its common names was "Soldier's Herb" for its use on the battlefield as a field dressing. The plant is native to most of Europe and northern and central Asia. It is widely naturalized elsewhere in the world, where it is a common weed. It is believed to be one of the first plants to reach North America after European colonization. Native Americans called the plant "white man's footprint" or "Englishman's foot" because it appeared wherever white men went. Historical uses as a wound healer and snakebite remedy have been found to have scientific merit. It is a potent coagulant. The herb is astringent, anti-toxic, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, anti-histamine, as well as demulcent, expectorant, styptic and diurectic. Externally, a poultice of the leaves is useful for insect bites, poison-ivy rashes, minor sores, and boils.
