Yellow Dock, also known as sour dock, narrow dock curly dock, or garden patience. The Latin name Rumex Crispus literally means curly lance, and is derived form its narrow leaves that are often curly along the edges. This perennial flowering herb is a member of the buckwheat family and is native to Europe and Britain where it is well known as a common and sometimes troublesome weed. Found in fields, along roadsides, in ditches, and in other unlikely waste places like dumps. It is now found growing freely throughout the United States and southern Canada.

Historically, the Romans found Yellow Dock worked well for the relief of minor skin complaints. One of their writers Gerard said ‘it Purifieth the blood and makes young wenches look fair and cherry like.’ Later, Indians used this herb for its many special heath benefits and tried to keep it from the Europeans. Of course that didn’t last long, and when they did discover the herb, the Pioneers used it for nutritional support of the urinary system. Perhaps around the same time the Native Americans began to apply crushed leaves to boils and the pulverized roots to cuts.

The plant itself is fairly easy to point out. It’s tell tail leaves are normally a light green color, but when scraped reveal the same yellow color as the spindly roots which give the Yellow Dock it’s name. The slender steam has been known to grow up to 1 meter tall, and supports this plant as it blooms from June to July and then produces a pointed 3 angled, heart shaped nut. While it is known that many of the plants medicinal properties reside in the roots, the sour-sweet tasting leaves have been said to taste quite nice in a salad.

Some of the diseases and disorders that have been helped or cured by taking Yellow Dock are constipation, diarrhea, venereal diseases, nasal and lung congestion, rheumatism, bilious complaints, diseased of the blood, scurvy, scrofula, jaundice; where it is used as a tonic for the stomach and system generally, dysentery, cancer/necrosis; used as an alterative and tonic to enfeebled condition, diphtheria, and anemia; because of Yellow Docks high iron content.

Yellow Dock’s therapeutic use in relation to the skin is that it helps with chronic skin disorders, acne, minor skin wounds and hemorrhoids. It contains many tannins which have astringent properties that helps to soothe itchy skin when made into a compress; and stops itching, sores, swelling, and scabby eruptions when used as an ointment. Yellow dock has also been know to treat such chronic skin disorders as psoriasis; raised red patches of skin covered with white scales, Eczema; chronic, superficial inflammation of the skin, Urtrcaria; hives, pale red swellings of skin that occur in groups on any part of the skin, and Prurigo Nodularis; small itchy bumps resembling insect bites, later causing an intense “deep down itch”.

Dosage forms of Yellow dock very greatly. The leaves and the root can be crushed into a salve, or ointment to be applied directly to the rash, cut or scratch. The root can be boiled into a tea to be drank or to bath any skin afflictions. To do this simply bring a quart of water to boil before reducing the heat and adding 1 cup of freshly chopped or dried Yellow Dock root. Cover and allow this to simmer for 12 minutes. After that time, remove from the heat and allow the mixture to steep for another hour to hour and a half. Strain the root out, sweeten with honey and drink up to 4 cups a day, or simply bath the affected skin. The leaf, when steamed becomes a good soft poultice that is used for infectious skin problems such as acne, sores and eczema (inflammation of the upper layers of skin.) And of course, Yellow Dock is available to the consumer in the form of capsules from many different natural drug companies. One example of this is