Poison Oak

C

c00per

Joined
May 13, 2007
Messages
391
Hey, what do you guys do for Poisen Oak? It's absolutly terrible stuff.

Since I've lived in America (about 5 or 6 years) I've been the the hospital numerous times for steroids, I've just let it run its course, I've tried off the shelf products.

I didn't like being on steroids, I found it harder to sleep, I lost/put on weight, generally made me feel bad.
Oatmeal baths are fun, but lets face it, they don't do a whole lot.:)
Technu in the past has sort of worked, its best for prevention though.
Xanfell worked stupendously well once, but its 40 bucks for a 2oz tube, and it didn't work all that great a second time.
Camomile lotion does squat.
I find extremely hot showers to stop the itching for about 4 hours, they also feel just amazing...orgasmic? no, but close! I'm tellin ya, next time you have the rash, do it, turn it as hot as you can stand, then turn it up a little more.

Right now I have it all over, its also in some...sensitive areas..again:eek:. The worst is when its on the face though. I'm giving technu another shot, more rigorous then before, 4 or 5 times a day. I also have Technu ultra scrub, or something, hopefully it works well. In conjunction with ultra hot showers, ignore anybody that says that hot showers spread the rash, it doesn't, nor is it contagious, or spread by scratching/oozing - just an annoying but popular myth that makes everybody around you treat you like you have leprosy.

About the only solace I find in poison oak is the hot showers, and the looks on peoples faces when you wipe the ooze on their arm after they say "dude, what the **** happened to your face?" or "don't you know what poison oak looks like?" or "what did you touch poison oak for"
 
c00per said:
ignore anybody that says that hot showers spread the rash, it doesn't, nor is it contagious, or spread by scratching/oozing - just an annoying but popular myth that makes everybody around you treat you like you have leprosy.
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Sorry to hear about your poison oak problem man, I know it's awful. It makes sense to me that the condition in not contagious because I've never passed mine on to anyone else, including those who cared for me when I was a kid. However, I did think it was spread by scratching. If that is not the case the spreading mechanism must be internal, i.e. via the blood or lymph systems. Got any more info on this point?
 
wow.. man... sorry to hear that cooper...:o poison oak is terrible stuff...:thumbdn: it is wild how some folks get it worse than others...

i have lived in the bay area my whole life, and have been exposed to it countless times... it's all over the place here where we live... the trails i mtn. bike on a weekly basis, are flooded with it... i think that the misses and i are fairly immune....:cool:

i think i have only gotten it twice, neither time was that bad either... it was gone in a few days... i have used rubbing alcohol and/or peroxide to clear ir up.. it just dries it out much faster... that has worked for me as well for us, as well as some of or friends....

like mosquito bites, i live by the theory of, "if you don't scratch it won't itch...
 
Highdesertwalker The ooze/puss/whatever is produced by your body and isn't the the substance Urusiol that we're allergic to. The oils are absorbed by our skin cells within 15-30 minutes of touching the plant but it can stay on our clothes for 5 years if we don't wash them:).
Basically the reason we think its contagious is because we get the oils from the plant on our clothes/fingers/arms, and, after a while we manage smear it all over ourselves, some places of our body get hit more then others, so it comes to a rash sooner and gives the appearance of spreading. Another way that it spreads if it goes systemic, into our blood stream, which is rarer, and and absolutly terrible experience:o.

mtnfolk mike Good luck with the immune thing:), I hear that nearly everybody is susceptible to poison oak. The more you get the rash, the worse your reaction gets, so people who think they're immune just haven't been around it enough yet.
I heard about rubbing alcohol/peroxide, I think the key there must be the dryness, the rash always seems to dry out before it goes away. I heard bleach baths are good too, but I don't have the courage to try one!! I'd imagine it would do a similar thing though.
I tried all last night not to scratch certain areas, I got hardly a wink of sleep...neither did my girlfriend with all my tossing and turning, poor girl has a job interview today aswell. I felt so bad I ended up just getting up and walking the dog for a few hours so she could sleep a little.:(

I should note, I don't really smear my ooze on people, its just something I really feel like doing after some comments you get!:D
 
[/QUOTE] mtnfolk mike Good luck with the immune thing:), I hear that nearly everybody is susceptible to poison oak. The more you get the rash, the worse your reaction gets, so people who think they're immune just haven't been around it enough yet.
I heard about rubbing alcohol/peroxide, I think the key there must be the dryness, the rash always seems to dry out before it goes away. I heard bleach baths are good too, but I don't have the courage to try one!! I'd imagine it would do a similar thing though.[/QUOTE]





like i said, i have been exposed to p.o. my whole life... i have definately been around it plenty.... it's all over the place here in santa cruz..same thing with my wife.... she works outside everyday, doing vegetation restoration, all through out santa clara county.... she is exposed to it more than anyone i know... she even weed whacks the stuff and doesn't get it...

as for the bleach.. i hear it works well... but i don't recommend a bleach bath.. i would focus on the more concentrated areas and dab them with a bleach soaked towel or cotton ball...
 
I have been dealing with poison ivy and oak all my life, the only thing that saves my butt from the break out and spreading is a brown laundry soap called Fels-naptha. Wash with this soap as soon as possible when you come in contact and you won't have to put up with the itches. Most local pharmacies should have it, just ask.
 
Yeah, you and your wife probably are less reactive to poison oak, I'm totally jealous! I was just sayin, most people build a reaction to it over time. I believe some lucky ones are completely immune though, maybe your wife is, I wouldn't bank on it though, because if she does ever become reactive to it she'll wish she was more careful around it before :). Restoration sounds like a fun job, I have to find an internship in that field before I can finish my degree at SF state.

I remember a park ranger friend of mine was telling me about a time he met a coworker who was bragging about how immune he was to poison oak, so they made him prove it and rub a leaf on the back of his hand before he went home on Friday. When he came in on Monday he was covered from head to toe in the stuff :D.

Thanks for not egging me on with the bleach, I always come close to trying it, I feel like I'm at my wits end sometimes with poison oak! All of the old timey guys where I used to live in Colfax used to swear by it. I'm always happy I never took a bleach bath after the rash has gone though, something about it sounds awful to me! As I have it in so many areas at the moment, I'm just going to stick it out with Technu this time.

I may try rubbing alcohol on one patch, peroxide on another, Technu on another patch, and bleach on another...could be a good experiment.
 
DaveinNY said:
I have been dealing with poison ivy and oak all my life, the only thing that saves my butt from the break out and spreading is a brown laundry soap called Fels-naptha. Wash with this soap as soon as possible when you come in contact and you won't have to put up with the itches. Most local pharmacies should have it, just ask.
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I'll definitely check that out, thanks. It sounds like it gives a similar result to Technu, only its probably cheaper! Trouble is, at this time of year I had no idea I was in contact with the stuff, all the leaves have dropped off and it just looks like some pointy sticks comingout of the ground. I've gotten a lot better at identifying the sticks though!
 
c00per said:
but it can stay on our clothes for 5 years if we don't wash them:).
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I've read reports about some people getting it from 100 year old herbarium samples!! :eek:


c00per said:
mtnfolk mike Good luck with the immune thing:), I hear that nearly everybody is susceptible to poison oak. The more you get the rash, the worse your reaction gets, so people who think they're immune just haven't been around it enough yet.
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This is also my understanding. The more you're exposed, the more likely you are to develop a hypersensitivity. Conversely, the more it's avoided, the chances are that your sensitivity will decrease.

As far as removing the Urushiol from the skin after exposure (forgive me for using my old hike notes, it's just easier than retyping it all - the letters and numbers in brackets are reference notes).

From my hike notes:

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!

Forgot to add this:

Most references, I consulted, recommended the immediate washing of the exposed area with soap and water, although the AMA Handbook of Poisonous and Injurious Plants suggests that the use of soap is discouraged because it removes protective skin oils and may increase penetration of the allergen. (PI189)

FWIW, if I got it, I would do as DaveinNY does.

Doc
 
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Definitely cheaper, I think a bar of this soap runs around a dollar and will last all summer. I have a bar of this soap at every sink in the house. The brown laundry soap is a holdover from the past when people made their own soaps. Not sure of it's contents, but Dial soap manufactures it. Just don't get it in your eyes.
 
I thought poison IVY, oak, and Sumac, had the same urisoil in it. If thats the case, why can one become immune to poison ivy and not to poison oak?
 
DOC-CANADA said:
I'm not aware they can. Do you have any info about this?

GP
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When I was a kid I use to have severe reactions to poison uvy. I'd swell up like to the point that you couldn't recognize me. I got it twice a year sometimes 3 times for about 4 years. Now when I come in contact with it, I get a small rash where it contacted me, but it is gone in 2-4 days. It barely even itches.

I believe there are people who eat the baby leaves every spring and continue to eat a leaf every few weeks or so to build an immunity.

I have seen Marty Simon take a poison ivy leaf and rub it on his face, arm, etc and nothing.

So yes, I would say there are people immune to poison ivy.
 
Poison Oak Sucks!! I got it right now, and I get it every year while hunting. I seem to get it just by looking at it. I know what the stuff looks like, but I get it after the leaves are gone. The Zanfell stuff does seem to work for a while with the itching, but at $40 an oz. it gets expensive.

Last year I got it and I thought that I would just let it run its course and it got so bad on the back of my leg that I could barley walk. I have to be put on prednisone every time I get it. The Steroids make me feel like a soggy dog turd to boot.
 
Ouch, yeah you don't just need the leaves to get it. That oil is in the stem, roots, and all.
 
I just bought a bunch of Fels naptha from Lehman's for hand washing clothes, if anyone needs it. I have poison oak rash flaring up right now that i got from clearing brush in the Bay Area in 1986. I've not found anything yet to clear it up.
 
tonym said:
When I was a kid I use to have severe reactions to poison uvy. I'd swell up like to the point that you couldn't recognize me. I got it twice a year sometimes 3 times for about 4 years. Now when I come in contact with it, I get a small rash where it contacted me, but it is gone in 2-4 days. It barely even itches.

I believe there are people who eat the baby leaves every spring and continue to eat a leaf every few weeks or so to build an immunity.

I have seen Marty Simon take a poison ivy leaf and rub it on his face, arm, etc and nothing.

So yes, I would say there are people immune to poison ivy.
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Sorry, GS, you misunderstood. I'm immune to poison ivy up to now, anyway. What I was asking is do you have information that suggests some people are allergic to one but not the other (Poison Ivy and Poison Oak)?

As far as eating baby leaves, this has been hashed out here before. Do what you like, but I wouldn't recommend it.

GP
 
I cant stop laughing every time i hear some one else gets it.... Atlist i know im not the only one.. And yes the hot shower is the best part about it.... Almost and makes it worth getting the PO lol.... I get it so much that im sort of getting used to it. Besides looking as a sick Zombie. The last time i got it, wasnt so bad for some reason not that im complaining or anything. I wonder if you can get immune to it after you get it ALOT and i mean i get it alot as im always in it.... Just smile and take it like a man. Besides you can always take a hot shower to feel like a man again..


Sasha
 
sasha said:
I wonder if you can get immune to it after you get it ALOT and i mean i get it alot as im always in it...
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Hey, I was talking to my mum about it ones, shes a nurse, and said that it wont ever get better, the more you're in it the more allergic you'll get, apparently to the point of having to carry shots with you.

I'm pretty sure you're right Doc, its the Urushiol thats in sumac, ivy, and oak, and you can not be allergic to one and not the other.

Tim Galyean, looks like we're in the same boat:(.
 
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