Replied By Joyce (Joelton, Tn) on 03/01/2004
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.]
Replied By Renate (Jacksonville, Florida) on 02/12/2009
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...
Replied By Les (San Diego ) on 01/19/2018
Go to a tanning booth. The ultra violet light kills them and eggs immediately. Just don't stay in too long.