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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.
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]
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Itch is a sensation that causes a strong desire or reflex to scratch. Itches have resisted many attempts to be classified as any one type of sensory experience. Itches have many similarities to pain, and while both are unpleasant sensory experiences, their behavioral response patterns are different. Pain creates a withdrawal reflex, whereas itches leads to a scratch reflex.
A topical medication is a medication that is applied to a particular place on or in the body. Most often topical medication means application to body surfaces such as the skin or mucous membranes to treat ailments via a large range of classes including creams, foams, gels, lotions, and ointments. Many topical medications are epicutaneous, meaning that they are applied directly to the skin. Topical medications may also be inhalational, such as asthma medications, or applied to the surface of tissues other than the skin, such as eye drops applied to the conjunctiva, or ear drops placed in the ear, or medications applied to the surface of a tooth. The word topical derives from Greek τοπικόςtopikos, "of a place".
Miliaria, commonly known as heat rash, sweat rash, or prickly heat, is a skin disease marked by small, itchy rashes due to sweat trapped under the skin by clogged sweat-gland ducts. Miliaria is a common ailment in hot and humid conditions, such as in the tropics and during the summer. Although it affects people of all ages, it is especially common in children and infants due to their underdeveloped sweat glands.
Mucuna is a genus of around 114 accepted species of climbing lianas (vines) and shrubs of the family Fabaceae: tribe Phaseoleae, typically found in tropical and subtropical forests in the Americas, sub-Saharan Africa, southern, southeastern, and eastern Asia, New Guinea, Australia, and the Pacific Islands.
Calamine, also known as calamine lotion, is a medication made from powdered calamine mineral that is used to treat mild itchiness. Conditions treated include sunburn, insect bites, poison ivy, poison oak, and other mild skin conditions. It may also help dry out skin irritation. It is applied on the skin as a cream or lotion.
Araroba powder, also known as Bahia powder and Goa powder, is a drug occurring in the form of a yellowish-brown powder, varying considerably in tint, from the Portuguese colony of Goa, where it appears to have been introduced about the year 1852.
Mucuna pruriens is a tropical legume native to Africa and tropical Asia and widely naturalized and cultivated. Its English common names include monkey tamarind, velvet bean, Bengal velvet bean, Florida velvet bean, Mauritius velvet bean, Yokohama velvet bean, cowage, cowitch, lacuna bean, and Lyon bean.
The proteolytic enzyme mucunain is a protein in the tissues of certain legumes of the genus Mucuna, especially velvet bean.
Guilinggao, also known as tortoise jelly or turtle powder, is a jelly-like Chinese medicine, also sold as a dessert. It was traditionally made from the gao, or paste of the plastron from the turtle Cuora trifasciata and a variety of herbal products, in particular, China roots Smilax glabra . Although the critically endangered golden coin turtle is commercially farmed in modern China, it is extremely expensive; therefore, even when turtle-derived ingredients are used in commercially available guilinggao, they come from other, more commonly available, turtle species.
Balsam of Peru or Peru balsam, also known and marketed by many other names, is a balsam derived from a tree known as Myroxylon balsamum var. pereirae; it is found in El Salvador, where it is an endemic species.
Centella asiatica, commonly known as Indian pennywort, Asiatic pennywort, spadeleaf, coinwort or gotu kola, is a herbaceous, perennial plant in the flowering plant family Apiaceae. It is native to tropical regions of Africa, Asia, Australia, and islands in the western Pacific Ocean. It is consumed as a culinary vegetable and is used in traditional medicine.
Xerotic eczema is a form of eczema that is characterized by changes that occur when skin becomes abnormally dry, red, itchy, and cracked. It tends to occur more often during the winter and in dry conditions.
Sneezing powder is a group of powders or powder-like substances that induce sneezing when someone is exposed to them. This is usually done as a practical joke or prank to an unsuspecting victim.
Personal care products are consumer products which are applied on various external parts of the body such as skin, hair, nails, lips, external genital and anal areas, as well as teeth and mucous membrane of the oral cavity, in order to make them clean, protect them from harmful germs and keep them in good condition. They promote personal hygiene and overall health, well-being and appearance of those body parts. Toiletries form a narrower category of personal care products which are used for basic hygiene and cleanliness as a part of a daily routine. Cosmetic products, in contrast, are used for personal grooming and beautification. Pharmaceutical products are not considered personal care products.
Shampoo is a hair care product, typically in the form of a viscous liquid, that is used for cleaning hair. Less commonly, shampoo is available in solid bar format. Shampoo is used by applying it to wet hair, massaging the product into the scalp, and then rinsing it out. Some users may follow a shampooing with the use of hair conditioner.
Galium aparine, with common names including cleavers, clivers, catchweed, robin-run-the-hedge, goosegrass and sticky willy, is an annual, herbaceous plant of the family Rubiaceae.
Dry shampoo otherwise known as hybrid shampoo is a type of shampoo which reduces hair greasiness without the need for water. It is in powder form and is typically administered from an aerosol can. Dry shampoo is often based on corn starch or rice starch. In addition to cleansing hair, it can also be used as a tool for hair-styling as it can create volume, help tease hair, keep bobby pins in place, and be used in place of mousse in wet hair. Dry shampoo proponents attest that daily wash-and-rinse with detergent shampoo can strip away natural oils from hair. However, others attest that spraying dry shampoo every day will lead to a build-up of product that can dull hair color and irritate the scalp, arguing that the scalp needs regular cleansing and exfoliating to get rid of bacteria, remove dead skin cells, and stay healthy.
Irritant folliculitis is an inflammation of the hair follicle. It characteristically presents with small red bumps in the skin at sites of occlusion, pressure, friction, or hair removal; typically around the beard area in males, pubic area and lower legs of females, or generally the inner thighs and bottom. An associated itch may or may not be present. Pseudofolliculitis barbae is a type of irritant folliculitis in the beard area.
A stinging plant or a plant with stinging hairs is a plant with hairs (trichomes) on its leaves or stems that are capable of injecting substances that cause pain or irritation.
Gulal or abir or abhir is the traditional name given to the coloured powders used for some Hindu rituals, in particular for the Holi festival or Dol Purnima. During Holi, which celebrates love and equality, people throw these powder solutions at each other while singing and dancing.
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