{{Short description|Powder-like substances that induce itching}} '''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.<ref name="albert">Albert MR. Novelty shop "itching powder." ''Australasian J Dermatology''. 1998 Aug;39(3):188–89.</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Itching powder prank affects dozens of Cobb County students |url=http://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/itching-powder-prank-affects-dozens-of-cobb-county-students |access-date=15 July 2018 |publisher=FOX5Atlanta.com}}</ref> Another common ingredient is ''Mucuna pruriens'',<ref name="joglekar">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</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web |title=Epidemiologic Notes and Reports Mucuna pruriens- Associated Pruritus – New Jersey |url=https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00000646.htm |website=Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) |publisher=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention |access-date=15 July 2018 |date=6 December 1985}}</ref> ''Mucuna pruriens'' has been used to test the efficacy of anti-itch drugs.<ref name="joglekar"/>
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,<ref>{{cite book |title=Phytopharmacy: An Evidence-Based Guide to Herbal Medicinal Products |date=27 April 2015 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=9781118543566 |pages=324 }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hebda |first1=R |title=Plant profile: Acer macrophyllum |url=http://www.npsbc.org/Newsletter/Menziesia03Summer.pdf |website=NPSBC, menziesia |publisher=Native Plant Society of British Columbia |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070126201226/http://www.npsbc.org/Newsletter/Menziesia03Summer.pdf |archivedate=26 January 2007 |pages=14 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Itching Powder |url=http://www.microlabgallery.com/gallery/ItchingPowder1.aspx |website=MicrolabNW Photomicrograph Gallery |access-date=15 July 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Maple Seed Hair |url=http://www.microlabgallery.com/gallery/PlantHairAcerSeed66705.aspx |website=MicrolabNW Photomicrograph Gallery |access-date=15 July 2018}}</ref>
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.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Blatin |first1=M |title=American Journal of Pharmacy and the Sciences Supporting Public Health, Volume 1; Volume 25 |date=1853 |publisher=Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science |page=471}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Grieve |first1=Maud |title=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 |date=1 Jun 1971 |publisher=Courier Corporation |isbn=9780486227986 |pages=229}}</ref>
== Gallery == {|style="margin-left: 0 auto;" | thumb|212x212px|A ''Mucuna pruriens'' seedpod. | thumb|212x212px|The inside of a rose hip. Prickly hairs surround the fruits. | thumb|212x212px|Bigleaf maple samara with spiny hairs. |}
== See also == * Sneezing powder * List of practical joke topics
== References == {{Reflist}}
Category:Practical joke devices Category:Powders
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