Itching powder explained

Itching powder is a powder or powder-like substance that induces itching when applied onto human skin. This is usually done as a practical joke or prank to an unsuspecting victim.

Description and uses

The cause of the irritation can be mechanical, such as products containing ground rose hips.[1] [2] Another common ingredient is Mucuna pruriens,[3] a type of legume that produces seedpods coated with thousands of detachable spicules (needle-like hairs). The spicules contain an enzyme, mucunain, that causes severe itching, and they have been sold commercially as itching powder.[4] Mucuna pruriens has been used to test the efficacy of anti-itch drugs.[3]

The term "itching powder" is colloquial; there is no one specific source of the powder. For the safety of the maker and of the victim, gloves, dust masks, and glasses are worn, as itching powder is a mouth- and eye-irritant, and caution is strongly encouraged whenever handling the processed powder. Rose hips contain prickly hairs that are used as the active ingredient,[5] whereas the body (rather than the wing) of the samara of the bigleaf maple is covered with spiny hairs that cause skin irritation and are used to make itching powder.[6] [7] [8]

Itching powder was created from Mucuna pruriens in the early-19th century as a cure for lost feeling in the epidermis. When a person would lose feeling on their skin in conditions such as paralysis, the powder (mixed with lard to form an ointment) was used as a local stimulant believed to treat the condition.[9] [10]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Albert MR. Novelty shop "itching powder." Australasian J Dermatology. 1998 Aug;39(3):188–89.
  2. News: Itching powder prank affects dozens of Cobb County students . 15 July 2018 . FOX5Atlanta.com.
  3. G.V. Joglekar, M.B. Bhide J.H. Balwani. An experimental method for screening antipruritic agents. British Journal of Dermatology. Volume 75 Issue 3 p. 117. March 1963
  4. Web site: Epidemiologic Notes and Reports Mucuna pruriens- Associated Pruritus – New Jersey . Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) . Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . 15 July 2018 . 6 December 1985.
  5. Book: Phytopharmacy: An Evidence-Based Guide to Herbal Medicinal Products . 27 April 2015 . John Wiley & Sons . 9781118543566 . 324 .
  6. Web site: Hebda . R . Plant profile: Acer macrophyllum . NPSBC, menziesia . Native Plant Society of British Columbia . https://web.archive.org/web/20070126201226/http://www.npsbc.org/Newsletter/Menziesia03Summer.pdf . 26 January 2007 . 14 .
  7. Web site: Itching Powder . MicrolabNW Photomicrograph Gallery . 15 July 2018.
  8. Web site: Maple Seed Hair . MicrolabNW Photomicrograph Gallery . 15 July 2018.
  9. Book: Blatin . M . American Journal of Pharmacy and the Sciences Supporting Public Health, Volume 1; Volume 25 . 1853 . Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science . 471.
  10. Book: Grieve . Maud . A Modern Herbal: The Medicinal, Culinary, Cosmetic and Economic Properties, Cultivation and Folk-lore of Herbs, Grasses, Fungi, Shrubs, & Trees with All Their Modern Scientific Uses, Volume 1 . 1 Jun 1971 . Courier Corporation . 9780486227986 . 229.

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