Home Remedies with Touch-Me-Not / Lajjalu

In my childhood days, I was fascinated by that tiny plant called Touch-Me-Not. The way its leaves curled up the moment I touched them intrigued me. 

I used to search for them around in my garden and other open spaces just to make them shrink. It was a sort of playful activity for me in those days. 

Even now it continues to enamour me by making me feel nostalgic, reminding me of those fun-filled, care-free days, when seemingly simple activities gave me so much pleasure! 

Besides getting to know the reasons behind its peculiar behaviour to external stimuli, I have come to appreciate other aspects of this plant as well - it's amazing healing qualities.

The Touch-Me-Not plant is also called as 'Lajjalu', the blushing one. It's botanical name Mimosa pudica almost has a poetic ring to it! True to its name, this sensitive plant chooses to grow in vacant sites, wastelands and fields. 

This bashful, blushing beauty nestles secretively amidst a cover of other wild plants as if choosing obscurity. 

This plant has tiny balls of fuzzy violet flowers and its names are Lajwanti / Chhui-Mui (Hindi), Thottavaad (Malayalam), Laajak (Bengali), Lazak (Marathi), Muttidare muni / Nachike mullu (Kannada )and Thotta-siningi (Tamil).

Touch-Me-Not plant nestles secretively amidst a cover of other wild plants as if choosing obscurity.

Home Remedies with Touch Me Not or Mimosa Pudica

For minor cuts and wounds

If you get a minor cut or wound, or crush your finger in a minor mishap, just extract the juice of a few leaves of touch-me-not and apply it over your wound. The pain will quickly subside.

For excessive bleeding during menses (menorrhagia)

For excessive bleeding during menstruation, take 6 tsp of freshly extracted juice three times  day with honey.

For Piles

Prepare a juice from the whole plant (except the flowers) , mix rice kanji / Congee in this juice and eat it. Take this for three days continuously.

For stubborn wounds

For stubborn wounds that don't heal easily, apply the juice of the plant on the wound and bandage it. Continue this for a few days.

For Productive cough & Bronchial Asthma

Lajjalu is useful to treat bronchial asthma and productive cough. Make fresh juice 120 gms of its leaves, and take it internally with coconut water. The dosage for children is 5 ml and for adults 5-15 ml.

For itching and skin diseases

Make a paste from 120 gms of the entire plant and apply it on the affected area. You can also mix turmeric in this paste to enhance its potency.

For Herpes Zoster / Shingles

Pound the leaves and apply as a poultice over the affected area.

The leaf juice is used to dress fistular sores and abscesses and a paste of its leaves is used to soothe testicular and glandular swellings.

For bleeding piles and haematurea.

For treating bleeding piles and haematurea, it is recommended that you should take 120 grams of the whole plant and prepare a decoction with milk and have this twice a day on an empty stomach. For children, 20 ml and for adults 60 ml.

For Insomnia / Sleeplessness

This plant can help treat insomnia. Boil 30 to 60 grams of the dried plant in 600 ml of water. Decoct to 100 ml. Drink the decoction in 2 doses (50 ml each) daily.

For chronic bronchitis

Boil 60 grams of the fresh roots in 600 ml of water. Decoct to 100 ml over low heat. Administer this decoction in two divided doses, 50 ml each daily for 10 days (as three courses).
 Caution: Remember that in large doses, the root is poisonous. So stick to specified dosage.

For Uterine Prolapse

As per this study, when Lajjalu Kashayam (plant decoction) was given 3 times a day for 10 days together withe the external application of the swarasa (paste), there was marked improvement in the condition of the patient with stage 3 uterine prolapse. She could even avoid hysterectomy.

Tip: Collect the touch me not plant only from clean sanitary places.

Disclaimer: The information provided in the post is for educational purpose only. It is not meant to diagnose, treat or prescribe treatment for any condition. Please consult your Ayurvedic physician before trying out any of the home-remedies mentioned above, especially for chronic diseases.
Images: Public Domain