Itching powder is a
powder or powder-like substance that induces
itching when applied onto human
skin
Skin is the layer of usually soft, flexible outer tissue covering the body of a vertebrate animal, with three main functions: protection, regulation, and sensation.
Other cuticle, animal coverings, such as the arthropod exoskeleton, have diffe ...
. This is usually done as a
practical joke
A practical joke, or prank, is a mischievous trick played on someone, generally causing the victim to experience embarrassment, perplexity, confusion, or discomfort.Marsh, Moira. 2015. ''Practically Joking''. Logan: Utah State University Press. ...
or
prank to an unsuspecting victim.
Description and uses
The cause of the irritation can be mechanical, such as products containing ground
rose hips.
[Albert MR. Novelty shop "itching powder." ''Australasian J Dermatology''. 1998 Aug;39(3):188–89.] Another common ingredient is ''
Mucuna pruriens
''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, Yoko ...
'',
[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] a type of
legume
A legume () is a plant in the family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae), or the fruit or seed of such a plant. When used as a dry grain, the seed is also called a pulse. Legumes are grown agriculturally, primarily for human consumption, for livestock fo ...
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. ''Mucuna pruriens'' has been used to test the efficacy of
anti-itch drugs.
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 mask, 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, whereas the body (rather than the wing) of the
samara
Samara ( rus, Сама́ра, p=sɐˈmarə), known from 1935 to 1991 as Kuybyshev (; ), is the largest city and administrative centre of Samara Oblast. The city is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Samara rivers, with a population ...
of the
bigleaf maple is covered with spiny hairs that cause skin irritation and are used to make itching powder.
Itching powder was created from ''Mucuna pruriens'' in the early 19th century as a cure for lost feeling in the
epidermis
The epidermis is the outermost of the three layers that comprise the skin, the inner layers being the dermis and Subcutaneous tissue, hypodermis. The epidermis layer provides a barrier to infection from environmental pathogens and regulates the ...
. 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
Stimulants (also often referred to as psychostimulants or colloquially as uppers) is an overarching term that covers many drugs including those that increase activity of the central nervous system and the body, drugs that are pleasurable and inv ...
believed to treat the condition.
Gallery
See also
*
Sneezing powder
*
List of practical joke topics
References
Practical joke devices
Powders
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