Poison Ivy

[SaginawIan]

Watch out! This stuff is everwhere this year!!!!! I got it real bad detecting a simple little park. Has anyone else gotten it this year yet?

 

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[SaginawIan]

photos of this rotten plant.

 

[Spitfire Reddie]

i have but it always seems to dissappear after i few days lol maybe a family gene is a natural defense ? i dont have to put anything on it either.

 

[Farmercal]

I have always been immune to the stuff. Never had a break out in my life.

 

[Noodle]

Just remember it's the oil from the leaves that carries the potent stuff. If you're highly allergic to it like I am (only as an adult ), always wear long pants and high socks when you're walking through the woods. But watch out when you take your clothes off . The oil gets on the pants/jeans and is still highly active. Turn your jeans inside out if you have to so you won't touch the bottom of the pantlegs. Wash immediately in hot soapy water in the washing machine. It is an OIL and can even remain after washing and drying. Trust me.

They have some OTC meds now that can alleviate much of the blistering and itching, but it leaves you feeling like you've coated your arms (or whatever) in hair gel.

Noodle

 

[hollowpointred]

yup, i have it now as a matter of fact . there is a product called " ivy block", that works kid of like sunblock. you put it on like a lotion, and it prevents the oils that irritate you from penetrating your skin. it only lasts about 4 hours though so you have to keep applying it. and whenever you get somewhere you have to wash the oil off of you or you can transfer it to everything you touch! the oil can last up to 5 friggin years if you get it on something and dont wash it off! poison ivy is evil!

 

[PBK]

When it's too late to be careful, the best stuff I've found for relieving the maddening itch is Pramegel. Nothing but time is going to give you 100% relief, but at least this will help quell the urge to bear down on those patches of rash with a belt sander!

 

[stefen]

I think this is what killed Captain Hook

Or was it jock itch?

 

[Charles Miller]

I'm 46 and am still immune to poison ivy, poison oak, poison sumac... Something like 66% of the human population is allergic to this stuff, but 33% of us are not. This immunity landed me my first job as a teenager, working with a tree-cutting outfit. All the other guys in the crew were badly allergic to poison ivy and poison oak, and they had to bundle up with long pants, long sleeves, gloves, face masks, etc, when they worked around the stuff...often in 100 degree weather (down in Texas during the summer). So this was slowing them down and making them miserable in the sweltering heat.

I met these guys when I was 13, and when they found out that I wasn't allergic to poison ivy and such, they offered me a pretty high-paying job -- $10 an hour, just to go in and rip out all the poison ivy and poison oak around the base of the trees. No problem, I could do this bare-handed, clear out the whole working area so the guys could go in without all that heavy protective gear.

The only problem with being immune is that it's too easy to contaminate everything and everybody you encounter afterwards. I mean, I'd be covered in poison ivy and poison oak juice, never feeling a thing, and spread the stuff like a plague before I even realized it. Doorknobs, furniture, refrigerators, newspapers, money, you name it, if I touched it, it was contaminated. So, instead of enjoying my immunity with carefree abandon, I was on constant guard... I always had to ride in the back of the tree-cutting truck, strip down outside and wash off with a garden hose and soap, and wash my clothes separately from everyone else. It was a pain in the butt.

So, although I'm immune, I still have to avoid the stuff if I possibly can, just to keep from spreading it.

 

[warsawdaddy]

Use a product called 'Zanfel'.5 min out of the shower and no more itch or ivy.I discovered it 2yrs ago and it really works.It's about 30.00 for a 2oz tube,but you use very little in the shower so it last awhile.I had to drive 50mi to get it because everyone was sold out.They said all the linemen working the rural roads buy it up.But I think WalMart is now carrying it,in this area anyway.

 

[Rowdy]

There is a product out called technu that is a soap designed specifically for poison ivy and oak, it works! Next time you are near the drugstore, pick up a bottle and keep it on hand. If you have been anywhere that has poison ivy, wash with it as soon as possible.

It will even help some once the itching starts, but it's best to get the oil off before that!

 

[abrakdabra]

I have a solution, being not allergic to the stuff. I came up with this myself. I don't know if it's
effective but theoretically it should be. I get some short support stockings for women, but out/cut out the
toes and wear them on my forearms since I wear short sleeve shirts. Up to the elbow. Have work/
digging gloves on which meet the stocking at the cuff. After leaving the woods I peel them off and
carefully pitch them. Snake gaiters, women's stockings on forearms, a formidable sight!

 

[LadyDigger]

Poison Ivy and I have been the best of enemies ever since we moved into this house (1999). I never knew I was allergic to it until we moved in this house.

We are on a creek and not even knowning what it looked like....found out later, the creek bank was covered with it...with vines up the old tree and white berries!!!

I found out I was allergic cleaning up our back yard down by the creek. We have a chain link fence up and I was cleaning up the leaves along the fence and pulling off the English Ivy on our fence (dislike that stuff).

I showered after being in the dirt and all and started itching like crazy. Came to find out it was poison ivy (among the English Ivy)...UGH.

Well, hubby did not take it serious that I was allergic to it and I was concerned about my kids. I finally realized it was all over the creek bank .... large, tall bushes and vines on the trees. I asked hubby to remove it...HE IS NOT AFFECTED BY THIS NASTY STUFF!!!!

Well, I got tired of waiting and waiting and waiting...we moved in this house 1999...it was 2000 when I gave up on him (the following Spring)....so I covered myself in plastic bags...taped all together. Not a part was exposed, except my face.

We...as you can see by this pic I posted, it's not only the oils that get you...but the powder or dust, as some locals here told me. It got on my face. I could barely see...this was an emergency room visit. And it was my birthday!!! That sucked!!! LOL

So, even when you are careful, or you think you are...it will still attack!!! And even though you may mow over the stuff or don't get it pulled up from the ground all the way, even the roots, two years later, still produce oils that if you touch, you will get it.

I have learned alot about this nasty plant.....and constantly teach my boys and remind them, as we found out, they too are allergic to it!!! I can spot this baby a mile away (LOL).

"LEAVES OF THREE......LEAVE THEM BE!!!"

Be Careful.....it's out there and it's looking for us allergic ppl.....

HH...Ann

PS: after this happened, hubby takes it serious. First sight of Spring, I go out in the yard with blue spray paint and spray all the little sprigs and hubby comes along and pulls them, roots and all!!!!...OH, forgot to add, I was told to NEVER BURN Poison Ivy.....ppl can still get it!!!!

 

[Noodle]

Ohhhh, Ann, that hurts to look at. Yeah, you're right. Don't burn the stuff unless you have a stiff wind headed downwind from you. The smoke can do to your throat and lungs what it did to your face. :P :P Serious stuff, really!

 

[Luke34]

My pre-teen daughters once used poison ivy leaves as toilet paper. The outcome was not very pleasant! And, once was enough.

 

[Noodle]

 

[Luke34]

Hi Noodle--They don't make smiley (frowney) faces woeful enough to adequately express my daughters' feelings about the matter!

Cheers--Luke

 

[EDDE]

ignorance is bliss ive been walking threw this stuff for a while and never gott the itch

 

[Noodle]

Luke, you're absolutely right!!! But I'm curious as all getout. Did they decide to do that on their own, or did something like this happen: "Dad, hey, Dad! Sissy and I need some TP. Can you bring us some??"

(Dad, relaxing on the creek bank, head on hands, hat on face, fishin' pole between his feet): "Girls, we're out in nature now, roughing it like the settlers did. What do you think they did They didn't have TP! You girls get inventive now and look around. Bound to be some leaves there that'll getcha by."

... Several minutes pass.

"Mommmmm!!!!! ... Daddy told us to!!!!"

 

[Gypsy Heart]

Sorry that you got it so bad. Poison ivy can also be caught through the air. My daughter got a severe case when she wasnt in it, but near it and her pediatrician said it can be air born. Also I cut and raked it onto a burn pile . Bad move.