Poison Ivy

[dgc1963]

carry alcohol with you and wash with it very liberal it brakes down the oil very well I do this all the time and dont get it much even after touching it by mistake ( rubbing Alcohol ) any other would be a waste
or you can dry it out and smoke it the first few times are REAL!! tough but with time you build a resistance to it
Ok the 2nd was a joke guys I dont want the liability for people smoking poison ivy lol

 

[Pucky Freak]

My grandma’s neighbor burned a pile of poison ivy she had removed from her property. She died.

When washing contaminated surfaces or articles try to use hot water if you can.

I bought a gallon of alcohol-based hand sanitizer for skin relief for my worst exposure.

 

[gouch]

Don't just wash after contacting. Scrub with dish soap! Like as if you are covered in axle grease. Change wash clothes and then Scrub 10 times harder. Now change wash clothes and do it again! Until your skin is raw.
It works and will be better then the rash.

I spent my whole adult life working in poison oak. Many hours cutting it then throwing it out of the way. I tried everything anybody ever told me would work. WASHING IT OFF is the only thing I found to work. I never used dish soap, just good old Ivory, but you have to use as hot of water as you can stand and scrub like your trying to take your skin off for at least five minutes. Also I learned to recognize that very first little itch. (usually starts at one or two in the morning) As soon as I feel that slight itch I jump in the shower turn the water on as hot as I can stand and start scrubbing. It almost always stops it right there and if not it will just be a small little rash. By the way, running hot water on the rash FEELS SO GOOD. I have heard it described as "ecstatic itching" Makes it almost worth getting poison oak.

Wash your clothes in a small load with hot water then wash them again but another tip I learned the hard way is, never, I mean NEVER, wash your clothes along with your wife's clothes! Never just throw your clothes into the hamper for you wife to wash later either. Bad idea. Never drive home covered in poison oak, clean up, then get back in the car with shorts on. Car seats as well as gloves and tools will always be contaminated. Boots and of course dogs are a good source for catching it too. If you have to cut poison oak a machete is the best tool and a chainsaw or weed eater is the worst.

 

[tarheel]

As Elkfever2 mentioned, never burn it! If the smoke and fumes are inhaled it can really screw you up and a bad enough case can kill you.

I used to be totally immune to it but somewhere in my 40's that all went away. Fortunately I don't have much reaction to it but I'm extra careful around it and have a generous patch of ivy at the back of my yard.

 

[D_Walt]

I’m very allergic to poison ivy, last year I was helping my buddy cut up a big oak tree that had fallen down at his place. It was winter and we didn’t think enough about the vine growing on it until it was too late. Problem was, I had taken my gloves off, handled some cut wood, then went and peed. Got home that night, my wife was quite happy to see me. Anyways, next morning 5am I woke up and went to the bathroom - “WHAT THE #?*%!!!!” Arms were rashy and there was swelling, lots of swelling but not in a good way. Wife ran in, saw my arms and said “that’s poison ivy”…then another lower glance and she realized the gravity of the situation. Luckily, she is not allergic to poison ivy. Anyhow, it’s never good when you get to the doc and he say’s “WOW! Never seen that!” with a mix of sympathy, humor and disgusted fascination. Anyways, prednisone cleared it up, I threw out my clothes from the weekend and got better. I avoid poison ivy like the plague now.

 

[Gellar]

I think I’ve told my poison story before, but long story short. I haven’t gotten it in ten years. I had it on my face and my eye wa swollen shut. I got a steroid shot and haven’t had it since. I don’t know why, but I hope you have the same luck.

before when I’d get it I used a product called tecnu. It was like a shower gel.

Amazon.com : Tecnu Original Outdoor Skin Cleanser : Facial Cleansing Products : Health & Household

Amazon.com : Tecnu Original Outdoor Skin Cleanser : Facial Cleansing Products : Health & Household

www.amazon.com

 

[JohnBud]

So I have been in Iowa over a year now and never really had any run ins with the stuff. The decade before that I was in CO so I never really gave it much thought. This past Sunday I got a major attitude adjustment while out setting tree stands. One hell of a rash and a shot of prednisone later I now have the utmost respect for poison ivy. The doctor told me with how severely allergic I am, I ought to just avoid it all together. So I promptly put my house up for sale and will be returning to Colorado.

I made that last sentence up, but I am looking for some tips, tricks, and ideas on how some of you guys deal with poison ivy and mitigate the hazards while out in the field.

Sorry that happened to you. I am also highly sensitive to poison ivy so I can empathize with your plight. Here in Wisconsin poison ivy is everywhere and my coping mechanism is to be very good at looking for poison ivy and avoiding exposure. You will get very good at these skills as well. There is a lot of good info presented on this post that should be helpful to you.

 

[nontyp]

So I have been in Iowa over a year now and never really had any run ins with the stuff. The decade before that I was in CO so I never really gave it much thought. This past Sunday I got a major attitude adjustment while out setting tree stands. One hell of a rash and a shot of prednisone later I now have the utmost respect for poison ivy. The doctor told me with how severely allergic I am, I ought to just avoid it all together. So I promptly put my house up for sale and will be returning to Colorado.

I made that last sentence up, but I am looking for some tips, tricks, and ideas on how some of you guys deal with poison ivy and mitigate the hazards while out in the field.

I get it terrible. I grew up in Iowa but now live in KS. I pretty much don’t go in the timber from May-October. Thats the best solution I’ve found. Spring is the worst when it’s first putting on leaves. Ivarest is a great itch cream.

 

[EKYHunter]

It eats me up as well. ID and avoidance is the key. Lots of good advice in this thread.

 

[David58]

Grew up in TN, poison ivy was part of life. Moved to CA, then OR, and discovered poison oak. Makes poison ivy look like a little league kid trying to play MLB.

TechNu is the after-exposure savior. And simply plan to treat every day in the woods like you got exposed - wash up well with it, and treat your clothes as tho they are poison ivy, too. And your dog will get ya, faithful friend as he is...

 

[LuketheDog]

I’m one of the fortunate ones who doesn’t get it. It seems that none of the males on my dad’s side of the family do. I’ve seen what it can do to a person and it’s ugly. Hope you start feeling better soon.

Me too, I grew up with poison oak, my brothers and friends had it constantly but I wasn't allergic-praise the good Lord!!!! But, I did learn it is possible to develop the allergy so i still don't go dancing through any of that stuff...

 

[mdhunter]

Poison ivy is bad stuff in my book. I agree, lots of good advice on this thread. Know what poison ivy looks like and try to avoid it.

 

[CJnGA]

Now that I am educated to not use a weedwacker, that might be an option. Thanks

Yeah.. That's bad juju. All that does is takes the oil from inside the plant and slings it everywhere - so now you don't want to touch anything in the area because it's likely covered in the oil from the poison ivy as well.

In high school, my cousin and I clear-cut an overgrown area behind our church with WeedEaters. Being indestructible, we wore shorts and may have had sunglasses on for 'protection'. The day after, I was pretty much a solid rash on the front of my legs from the top of my sock to the bottom of my shorts leg and a little bit on my face. Luckily, I don't/didn't react too bad to it and it was mostly just an annoyance than any big health issue. Now I only treat poison ivy with a liquid WeedEater -- glyphosate.

 

[David58]

Yeah.. That's bad juju. All that does is takes the oil from inside the plant and slings it everywhere - so now you don't want to touch anything in the area because it's likely covered in the oil from the poison ivy as well.

In high school, my cousin and I clear-cut an overgrown area behind our church with WeedEaters. Being indestructible, we wore shorts and may have had sunglasses on for 'protection'. The day after, I was pretty much a solid rash on the front of my legs from the top of my sock to the bottom of my shorts leg and a little bit on my face. Luckily, I don't/didn't react too bad to it and it was mostly just an annoyance than any big health issue. Now I only treat poison ivy with a liquid WeedEater -- glyphosate.

Ouch - you bring back memories. I did the weedwacker at a muzzle loader shoot to knock down "weeds" in the line of sight a one range position. Off to see the doc for a cortisone shot...

 

[HighDesertSage]

Day 5 of my self inflicted misery continues. At this point the rash seems to be subsiding, somewhat. But I am still getting small patches of new flare ups all over my body. I cannot explain this. I have scrubbed the hell outta my body,threw away the clothes I was wearing, washed/scrubbed every thing I can think of that was part of my outing, and every day I keep getting new spots.

A few things I have learned the past few days:

- I never want to do this again. If this happens again, me listing my house for sale and leaving will no longer be a joke.
- Although hot water gives an almost euphoric itch relief, it can inflame the rash. I have had better luck with cold or luke warm water.
- The best itch relief I have found is showering 2-3 times a day and scrubbing. This usually gives several hours of relief.
- The expensive soaps don't do much for me, for a case this severe.
- Poison Ivy is an unholy plant from hell that will drain the life from you. It is literally the succubus of Midwestern flora.
- Women will view a poison ivy rash as repulsive as any other kind of rash.

 

[kansasdad]

After a couple of bad cases, I have adopted some fairly rigid protocols for myself regarding poison ivy prevention and treatment.

Pre-exposure:
Apply Tecnu on hands, neck/face before going into the woods

Be very good at vine, bushes and leaves ID and leave wide gaps as I move through the woods

Make sure that all other skin is covered. Long sleeves, longer socks, pants with ties to prevent riding up, or in extremely heavily infested ivy spots, I will wear my breathable chest waders

Post exposure:

Getting back to the car, the first thing I do is get the hands, neck and face slathered with Tecnu. Apply, rub in well, let it set for 60 seconds, and wipe off. I then re-apply to skin surfaces and get to loading up the SUV for the trip home. If I know that there was an probable exposure, I will do another one or two 60 second applications of Tecnu.

Arriving at home:
Clothing worn immediately goes into washing machine for two cycles, with only that clothing in the machine. I then immediately head for the shower. Hot water with bodywash and vigorously applied washcloth. Points of emphasis again is face/neck, hands, and "Mr Happy" if I've had to water the woods. After doing the poison ivy washcloth with liquid soap, after turning off the water, I then apply the last dose of Tecnu to hands, face/neck before I towel off. And just to cement the fact that I'm overdoing it, that towel will go into the wash.

It sounds like it is overkill, but since going to this system, I've not suffered one rash. #WORTHIT

 

[CJnGA]

Day 5 of my self inflicted misery continues. At this point the rash seems to be subsiding, somewhat. But I am still getting small patches of new flare ups all over my body. I cannot explain this. I have scrubbed the hell outta my body,threw away the clothes I was wearing, washed/scrubbed every thing I can think of that was part of my outing, and every day I keep getting new spots.

A few things I have learned the past few days:

- I never want to do this again. If this happens again, me listing my house for sale and leaving will no longer be a joke.
- Although hot water gives an almost euphoric itch relief, it can inflame the rash. I have had better luck with cold or luke warm water.
- The best itch relief I have found is showering 2-3 times a day and scrubbing. This usually gives several hours of relief.
- The expensive soaps don't do much for me, for a case this severe.
- Poison Ivy is an unholy plant from hell that will drain the life from you. It is literally the succubus of Midwestern flora.
- Women will view a poison ivy rash as repulsive as any other kind of rash.

I know, preaching to the choir here, but if you're getting new spots then you've got that oil residue on something somewhere - maybe the bar of soap in the shower or a wash rag or bedding, or maybe you washed a load of clothes with some contaminated stuff before you we nuclear on getting rid of clothes, maybe shoestrings that you touch to tie every day, under fingernails, etc.? As far as I know, this stuff doesn't translocate through bloodstream - it's only on contact.

 

[Kitecop]

Clear nailpolish over the area will prevent speading

 

[Pucky Freak]

On Saturday I had secondary contact on my arms, leaving a large rash. Within 8 hours I scoured it with a stiff nylon brush and dawn. 3 days later I was down to two small red dots on one arm. However, I now have a small rash on the back of both legs. No clue how it spread there.

Re: possible re-contamination culprits for @HighDesertSage - involuntary itching when you’re asleep (moving oil from the blisters), truck: gas gap, gas cap cover, door handle, arm rest, etc., any chair you sat in at your house, the edge of the toilet, shower loofa. When I had my worst exposure I would itch at night and contaminate my clothes and sheets, and then when washing clothes and sheets it would spread to everything else. Finally I had had enough and took every cloth article I owned to the laundromat and washed everything in small loads in hot water. Six weeks after the initial exposure I was finally free of it.

 

[HighDesertSage]

On Saturday I had secondary contact on my arms, leaving a large rash. Within 8 hours I scoured it with a stiff nylon brush and dawn. 3 days later I was down to two small red dots on one arm. However, I now have a small rash on the back of both legs. No clue how it spread there.

Re: possible re-contamination culprits for @HighDesertSage - involuntary itching when you’re asleep (moving oil from the blisters), truck: gas gap, gas cap cover, door handle, arm rest, etc., any chair you sat in at your house, the edge of the toilet, shower loofa. When I had my worst exposure I would itch at night and contaminate my clothes and sheets, and then when washing clothes and sheets it would spread to everything else. Finally I had had enough and took every cloth article I owned to the laundromat and washed everything in small loads in hot water. Six weeks after the initial exposure I was finally free of it.

Yeah it's really no joke. I had to go through and scrub everything before I stopped getting new rashes. What a PIA.