Pokeberry Benefits, Risks & Reader Reports | Phytolacca

Hello Patty from Houston, I don't think there would be any problem with refrigeration of the water from the boiled poke root, but have you considered boiling enough for one day or two and dehydrating or freezing the rest of the root until you need it. Pokeweed should be growing rampant in Texas, the same as here. But be prepared to dig, because those roots can get pretty big. I would just bathe with for one day, and if the itching stopped, hold off to see if it started again.If it does repeat the bathing again (wiping off with drippy wash cloth). I just tried to call my brother to see how many times his daughter had to bath with the pokeroot boiled in water since he didn't mention her using it more than once, but alas my phone is not working now. You probably shouldn't use it continuously for more than 2 or three days.

You should also boil clothing and bed linens to get rid of scabies.

I just looked up scabies in "Cuz Jim's" The Green Pharmacy and he suggests that one can find skin care products containing neem at some health food stores. He says to just mix in several teaspoons of turmeric and apply it to the affected areas daily. He gives this advice because an Indian researcher treated 8l4 people with scabies using a paste made from 4 parts neem leaves and one part turmeric roots, having the infested patients rub it all over themselves daily. 98% of them were improved within 3 to 5 days and were completely cured within 2 weeks.

Another suggestion he has is to boil the skins of a half dozen yellow onions in a quart of water for l5 to 30 minutes to extract the quercetin which has soothing powers against scabies and other skin problems.

Another suggestion is boiling green hulls (from black walnuts) in a cup of water until the water is half evaporated and apply to affected areas. A more heavy concentration can be obtained by covering the hulls with water, bring to a boil and simmer until half the water is evaporated. Apply liberally to the skin, daily applications should be safe, but hope you don't mind being brownskinned for awhile.]

Scabies can live off of the body for 48 to 72 hours. A big reason reason why people get re-infestations is failure to properly clean the mattress (wish someone would have said that a year ago...) You spend a significant part of you day in bed so that is where they thrive outside of the body. The best thing to do, in my opinion, is get a steam cleaner and steam that puppy everyday before putting on new sheets. Make sure you give it time to dry because you don't want to grow mold in your mattress. If you have to take your clothes to the laundry mat like I do (sadly that makes everything that much harder) make sure you keep a "quarantine" bag for dirty laundry and never,never wear anything twice without washing it. Another good tip is if you have a job where you have to wear a uniform like me (go Kmart yay) and you don't have a uniform for everyday of the week, iron the clothes before you put them back on again. High heat kills them instantly. And another thing that I never once thought of to clean everyday is shoes. Especially if you wear them everyday. And lastly, never think that one treatment will cure them if you haven't already noticed. Scabies lay eggs!!! 1-3 eggs per day!!!

Never let anyone tell you that you are dirty because you have scabies. They don't come from dirty people or go to only dirty people. Anyone can get them. Think of it this way... Head lice, for instance, goes to the person with the cleanest hair. Same with scabies... those damn creatures...

Go to a tanning booth. The ultra violet light kills them and eggs immediately. Just don't stay in too long.

Remember to wash all your bed linens after your Poke Green Roots treatment, because once you get back in the same bed you will get them again. Wash anything, clothes you came in contact with before you do the treatment. I got them from someone who laid a coat on my bed. Also spray your doorknobs and spigots, whatever you touch, with some kind of disinfect, even wipe over your telephone, glasses, keyboard and mouse, because they're there and you'll get them again. Wear plastic gloves while you're cleaning areas and picking up clothing you've worn. I only had to do it once. Susan

I would never use the poke green treatment on a child or a pet. It worked for me, an adult. Susan

What exactly is the Poke Green Treatment, and how do I go about treating myself with it for scabies? This website is awesome!

Hello Vera from NY, Poke greens have always been called poke sallet around here in the south. At the time we were catching scabies in my youth we didn't know about boiling poke root in water and then bathing with the water would kill them, so I have no personal knowledge of this. However, when a niece got the problem a couple of years ago and asked her father what to do to get rid of them, he asked me what to do because they had no money to go to the doctor. When I informed him that pokeweed root boiled in water, and then bathing in the water was said to kill them, he proceeded to dig one up and present it to her to boil in water to bathe in. I don't know how much they put in the water but knowing my brother, I am sure that he got a big old pokeweed root to give her to boil. He laughed as he told me about the results later. She said she felt like she was on fire when she put it on but it sure did work to kill the scabies. If you want to research on this plant, put in pokeweed for the common name, or you'll have trouble finding it. Pokeweed grows back from the same roots in the spring and some of those roots get pretty darned big and difficult to dig out, so my advice is to look for one that looks like it just came up from seeds this year, which it will soon be poking up from the earth. If you get a big root I would hesitate to boil the whole thing to bathe in since it would be very strong.

The letter from Susan from Charleston telling how she used it sounds logical, but I think I would prefer to use something besides Crisco for soothing after the bathing, maybe olive or coconut oil instead. Lots of luck. We have been having a lot of head lice going around down here the last few years and if they make an appearance in this family again, we are likely to boil some poke root and mix in some borax for shampoo to see if they don't succumb quickly as the scabies did. Lots of luck and be sure to cool that water down before bathing with it.

Hi Joyce,

I have just in the past day relized I have scabies. I'm interested in your polk soak recipe to use. Sad thing is, I'm in Nevada...no polk out here. Is there someplace I can buy the root? Please reply, I'm desperate.

We have sheep and sometimes you need the from-the- bottle remedies. Apparently, I cannot provide the actual chemical name here, but if you look up scabies at Wikipedia, you'll see some photos, and you'll probably see the name of the remedy that clears this up fast. I'd suggest you go to a feed store [for farm animals] or a sheep farmer, and buy some. It is usually administered sub-cu to sheep, but on a dog, or a human, 1/2 cc, twice a day, mixed with a little mineral oil, or a little, um, ..liquid horse liniment [comes in an yellow/orange plastic bottle*] and rubbed on the affected area,will clear up the problem -pronto. Ask the farmer or the feed dealer for the injectible product [it begins with the letter, 'I'] that is, it is usually administered by injection, under the skin, in a regular worming program, for ruminants. *come to think of it, this 'liquid horse liniment' might make the 'I' meds. even more effective, since the active ingredient is potassium iodide. Stings like the dickens, though, on any sort of open-type sore. I only saw this problem once, some years back, when we were seeing other problems, associated with widespread use of defoliants, locally, to manage clearcut areas. [very attractive sounding, isn't it? -you can't imagine..] Had this remedy not worked, -and FAST- I can tell you it's one you'll want to high-tail it to a doctor, to get fixed. Hope this helps! -By the way, we are, and have been for many years, COMPLETELY Earth Clinic 'types', and I'm so grateful for this wonderful site. Best wishes to all -

Hello Shan from Reno,

Sorry I can't help you with a source for buying poke sallet (pokeweed) root but you might inquire at a natural resource place in your locality. Before giving up on it growing wild there, type pokeweed or poke sallet in a search window and see if you can pull up a picture of it & go hiking. It is a very easy plant to identify if you know what it looks like. It is growing all over here. Shame you aren't a neighbor because I'd even let you borrow my shovel to dig one up from my yard.