Poison Oak Treatment

culpritish

culpritish

Joined
Mar 19, 2006
Messages
544
As I am puting together my B.O.B., and the first-aid supplies therein, I realized that I don't have anything for poison oak rash, an affliction that I can get just looking at that infernal plant. I know about the Technu and CalaGel products,and will try to find travel-sized versions of those, but my real question is this; is there a way to treat the urishol-induced rash naturally, that is, with plants and such found in nature. I've heard that most poisonous plants have an "antidote" plant usually growing nearby, but I can't seem to find this info.
Anyone know of any information on this subject?
 
Poison Ivy is my downfall :grumpy: Ivy Dry ( sp ) is the only thing that helps for me . Are the two ( Ivy and Oak ) similar toxins ?

Phil
 
1894 said:
Poison Ivy is my downfall :grumpy: Ivy Dry ( sp ) is the only thing that helps for me . Are the two ( Ivy and Oak ) similar toxins ?

Phil
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As I understand it, technically the culprit is an allergen called urushiol and it is the same in Poison Ivy, Poison Oak, and Poison Sumac.

These are a few excerpts that may be useful:

"This is the Jewelweed plant and it is the yang to Poison Ivy's ying. Traditionally, Jewelweed has been the natural treatment for Poison Ivy. Sources say that if you accidentally touch Poison Ivy and apply Jewelweed juice to the affected area as soon as possible, you probably won't get the rash. (WM74) More recently, I read that the active ingredient in Jewelweed is a chemical called lawsone and this substance binds to the same molecular sites on the skin as urushiol. If applied quickly after contact with a Poison Ivy plant, lawsone beats the urushiol to these sites, in effect, locking it out. The simple result is that you don't get the rash. The greatest concentrations of lawsone are not necessarily found in Jewelweed leaves. Although the leaves have some lawsone, there may be more in the reddish protuberances that resemble little prop roots extending out from the lower stem near ground level. Apply the juice from the crushed red knobs and you'll probably get better protection. (GJ359) OF COURSE, NONE OF THIS TAKES THE PLACE OF SEEING YOUR DOCTOR".

(Sources:
WM- Identifying & Harvesting Edible & Medicinal Plants in Wild ( and not so wild) Places, 'Wildman' Steve Brill / Evelyn Dean, Hearst Books, 1994, ISBN# 0-688-11425-3

GJ- The Green Pharmacy, James A. Duke, Rodale, 1997, ISBN# 1-57954-124-0

The numbers following the letter designations are the page numbers.)

Doc
 
Hey Guys...

Fortunately I get neither..

Never had poison ivy in my life...

I've touched it before,, walk through it All the time,, however I don't tempt fate..I wash my hands if I can,, and I avoid it pretty much...

The fellow next door however gets it if he looks at pictures of it in a book...

His treatment which he swears by is simple ordinary off the shelf Visine eye drops...

He squirts it on a cotton ball and wipe it on the effected area and lets it dry...

He says it works....

ttyle

Eric
O/ST
 
You guys are going to think I'm pulling your leg, but seriously, my Aunt said that an old folk remedy was to put urine on the affected area. (At least I'm not saying to pee on your shirt and wrap it around your head.) :)
 
Troop said:
You guys are going to think I'm pulling your leg, but seriously, my Aunt said that an old folk remedy was to put urine on the affected area. (At least I'm not saying to pee on your shirt and wrap it around your head.) :)
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That is..well...interesting.
Though, I have heard of urinating on your feet out in the boonies periodically to help kill foot fungus, but I haven't tried it.

By the way Nomark; about one in four people is immune to the poison oak/ivy/sumac rash. You should consider yourself lucky, especially if you like to run around in the wilderness where this stuff is prevelent. I got the rash one time, it turned into what my doctor refered to as a "secondary infection" and my right arm swelled up to monsterous proportions; my arm diameter was so large that I couln't put on a long sleeve flannel shirt, it was too tight, and my fingers were,literaly, the size of sausages. Looked like I was waring a baseball glove!
 
bowieman said:
By the way Normark; about one in four people is immune to the poison oak/ivy/sumac rash.
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And, apparently, that can change at any time. I had an aunt that was completely immune to it up until her 60's, then she got it, and this was repeated quite often after that point. There is a theory about that says that people that have allergies do not get poison ivy. I've been checking this out for the last few years, and with one or two possible exceptions, this seems to be the case. Normark, do you have allergies?

Doc
 
DOC-CANADA said:
And, apparently, that can change at any time. I had an aunt that was completely immune to it up until her 60's, then she got it, and this was repeated quite often after that point. There is a theory about that says that people that have allergies do not get poison ivy. I've been checking this out for the last few years, and with one or two possible exceptions, this seems to be the case. Normark, do you have allergies?

Doc
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Make that 3 exceptions ;) Nothing major , just enough for a runny nose most months out of the year . And that penicillin thing too . I live in upstate NY . 117 " snow average / year. one January thaw , guess who got the itch. :mad:

Phil
 
Hey Guys..

1894....

Umm,, Yes I've got slight allergies.. nothing Really serious,, but I do get them..Espcially when cutting or weed whacking the grass...

I probably take about 6 allergy pills a year when it gets Really bad...

The guy next door gets it if his dog walks through it and he pets here...

I'm just happy I haven't experienced it...

Yet!!

ttyle

Eric
O/ST
 
i dont really know which ones, but there are also many plants that have anti-histaminica in them.

so eating those, or drinking a tea from those might also help combat allergy related troubles.
 
DOC-CANADA said:
And, apparently, that can change at any time. I had an aunt that was completely immune to it up until her 60's, then she got it, and this was repeated quite often after that point. There is a theory about that says that people that have allergies do not get poison ivy. I've been checking this out for the last few years, and with one or two possible exceptions, this seems to be the case. Normark, do you have allergies?

Doc
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This is what I was told by a doctor when I was 19 or so and got the worse case of ivy/oak rash in my life.

Never in my life up until that time was I ever allergic to poison ivy or poison oak and yes I was raised in the east Texas piney woods and in it my entire childhood.

Doc said the rash is a "virus" and all folks are born with a natural immunity to poison oak and ivy. UP TO A POINT!

When your immune system has reached it's toxic "LIMIT" that's it; from that day forward like me you will get it - and when I happen to say to him I thought that sounded abit strange he reiterated "strange or not that's how it works".


SOOOO, if you don't get it be happy, be glad and have a beer to celebrate, just remember - Just because ya don't get it today, it don't mean ya might not have something to worry about tommorrow.

mike

ps - in my case because I got such a serious exposure (picking muscadine grapes out of willows along the Colorado river all day - while willows were covered in poison oak and ivy wearing nothing but a pair of bluejeans sans shirt) I am highly susceptible and sensitive to it, and as I spent alot of time in the wilds have just had to learn to deal with it; but Pascalite powder and Florasome cream which I use for my eczema among other things works too for the poison oak or ivy.
 
If global warming is real, your time outdoors won't get any better...

In the case of plants, it's not just that they grow faster and shed pollen earlier as the world warms. The carbon-enriched air also alters their physiology. In a six-year study at a pine forest managed by Duke University, where pipes and fans adjust the CO2concentration of the air, scientists found that elevated CO2increases the growth rate of poison ivy. More surprising, by increasing the air's ratio of carbon to nitrogen, elevated CO2also increases the toxicity of urushiol, the rash-causing oil. "Poison ivy will become not just more abundant in the future," says Ziska. "It will also be more toxic."
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Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18881800/site/newsweek/
 
I work for Parks Canada and maintain the trails all spring, summer and fall. I am exposed to so much poison ivy, oak, sumac and stinging nettle that if i sneezed on you... you'd break out in a rash. The ONLY thing i found that works are the natural remedies. (and they are usually found close to the cause) Jewelweed/touch-me-nots, and sweetfern have become good friends of mine. I put a bunch of em in a blender... strain them out freeze most of it in icecube trays and keep the rest in a spray bottle on my pack. I spray down before I get into the thick stuff.

I've seen poison ivy grow as ground cover, as a shrub, and as vines (some as big around as my arm)... they can totally replace the foliage on dead trees and often times mimick the surrounding leaves... and some leaves i've come across have been as big as my two hands... believe it! If your not sure that a plant is indeed poison ivy, oak, or sumac... there is a reliable test. Take a clipping from the plant (be careful not to touch) and put it in a clear, plastic bag. Let it sit in the sun for a couple hours. With a normal plant water vapour will condense in the bag... while the nasties will secrete a sticky oil along with water. Try it.
Rick

I have drank tea carefully made from poison ivy with no ill effects. BUT I DO NOT ADVISE THIS TO ANYONE.. an expert in wild medicinal edibles prepared it for me... and I still made him drink first... Ha!
 
I get it BADDDDD. I've tried all the different types of lotion, but once I get it, it pretty much just has to run it's course. I have found some wipes that you wipe down with if you've been in it, and it does seem to work. Can't think of the brand off hand, I'll have to check when I get home. I wear shorts a lot, so if I even think I've been near poison oak, I'll wipe down my legs and boots.

Also I've seen people eat the leaves to build a tolerance to it. I am way too scared to try it. I've also heard the doctor can give you shots to build an immunity as well.
 
Magnussen said:
I have drank tea carefully made from poison ivy with no ill effects. BUT I DO NOT ADVISE THIS TO ANYONE.. an expert in wild medicinal edibles prepared it for me... and I still made him drink first... Ha!
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I would have made him drink it first, observed him for about 48 hours, and then still refused to drink it. :D
 
I would laugh, Guyon... but my mouth is still scabed over from the intense rash and boils from the tea! Ha!
Rick
 
i guess that poison ivy must have some totally different "evil" stuff in it than stinging nettles, stinging nettle soup is very good and healthy stuff!
nettlesoup.jpg

look at the damage in that table ->knifenut alert! :D
DSCN1258.jpg

DSCN1265.jpg

see the stingers on this one
DSCN1269.jpg
 
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