Poison Oak

DOC-CANADA said:
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
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I guess we misunderstood eachother GP:o

No I was confused because someone said that it was impossible to build an immunity to poison oak and if they use the same urishoil in them, then that would mean it is also impossible to build an immunity to poison ivy.

But obviously it is possible.
 
I have lived in the bay area for more than 10 years now. poison oak is pretty bad every where here. I usually get some bleach and put it on a towel and wipe the infected area. it dries it out quick, or just go to the ocean and swim around for awhile. the salt water will dry it out also. mtnfolk mike is right when he says he doesn't get it. I hike the same trails he does and I always get it. he never does. As far as it being in your clothing I would toss what ever it was you were wearing if you got it head to toe. good luck! don't itch it you can get pretty scared up from itching.
 
Scared from itching?:p

Yeah I totally heard about the salt water, the drying seems to be a key part of most treatments. Technu did that to me at least, and I can use it in the washing machines to make sure all the oils are removed from my clothing.

I'll confess now though, i had another mostly sleepless night so I went into urgent care this morning and - after showing some parts of my body that normally only get seen by my girlfriend :eek:, to my doctor - I was prescribed some Prednisone. After one pill I've gotten a lot better, the rash has reduced and my slight fever appears to have disappeared completely.
 
One post mentions using tecnu to get rid of the itch. Tecnu only removes the oil from the skin or shoes before the rash comes out. Once you get poison ivy , only shots or pills get rid of it fast. Going in the ocean seems to dry it out, and going into a swimming pool after chlorene is added seems to dry it up too. I used to get it years ago, but I had it a few years ago, but went to the emergency room and asked the doctor for a shot. She said yes you can. A few days later it was gone.
 
My wife and I have been clearing brush from the back of our property. She has gotten poison ivy 4 times, I got it once. Hers was everywhere, mine consisted of a few bumps on my forearms. Guess I am lucky LOL.

The last time I got a bad case I was in th Army. I waited until after doing dishes in KP and then hit that 100 degree bleach water. Felt like heaven and cleared it up quickly as well.
 
rick43t3 said:
One post mentions using tecnu to get rid of the itch. Tecnu only removes the oil from the skin or shoes before the rash comes out.
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There is a new Technu scrub out now that is medicated for the itch too :thumbup:.
I was talking to the doctor about the differences between the shots and the pills and he said that he usually doesn't administer a shot just for poison oak, he said that some doctors do (evidently, because you hear about it all the time...) but the shots are such high doses that they can cause other problems. The pills usually work just fine anyway.
 
TecNu works pretty well. I don't know of anything short of amputation that "CURES" it once you have it. :eek:

TecNu works best if you treat right after exposure. But, in cases wear you don't know you have it, and the rash starts, TecNu is like Cold medicine, in that it relieves the severity and the length of time you have the rash. Bendryl can also help as a supplement.

I have gotten a lot of Poison ivy/Oak here in the Mid-Atlantic region (and still get it) and TecNu is my go to snake-oil. You have to read the directions for use, regarding rubbing and the use of hot or cold water, and follow them specifically, it does make a difference.

for After Rash treatment I use Hot water, as Hot as I can stand. Then I use Isopropyl alchohol for it's drying dessicating effect, then coat with Caladryl lotion. It turns it from out-of-your mind itchy, to bearable. I think it also help your skin recover more quickly, and the rash subsides faster.

I support what Doc is saying. My buddy is immune, or pratically immune, he can roll in it and pull it off of trees and barely get an itch from it.
I have some allergies to other stuff, like pollen in the springtime, and think that is a sign of why I barely have to be near it to get a rash from it. Some folks are more sensitive than others.

They say the oils are tough to get rid of. I have read that they can cling to clothing, through a wash cycle, and still affect your skin the next time you wear the clothes. Bath towels are notorious for spreading 2nd-hand Posion ivy. Your dogs fur can transmit it too.

The older I get the more I try to use a sensable approach to it.
If cutting firewood near poison ivy I try to do so when it's cooler out, winter being the best time. Cover your skin, and whatever you do, don't be perspiring and be around the leaves and vines. if you know you have been exposed, hit the TecNu fast, that's when it does the best magic and you can bypass a lot of the misery.

I once read where some scientists found some fossilized poison ivy leaves, millions of years old. They handled the fossils and got a poison ivy rash.
Go figure.

The last animal left on earth may be the cockroach, but the last plant will be the ivy/oak/sumac vine.
 
Gespenst said:
My wife and I have been clearing brush from the back of our property. She has gotten poison ivy 4 times, I got it once. Hers was everywhere, mine consisted of a few bumps on my forearms. Guess I am lucky LOL.

The last time I got a bad case I was in th Army. I waited until after doing dishes in KP and then hit that 100 degree bleach water. Felt like heaven and cleared it up quickly as well.
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OK, maybe I'm somewhat dim, but how does your wife getting Poison Ivy everywhere make you lucky?????

Doc :D
 
SkunkWerX said:
I have some allergies to other stuff, like pollen in the springtime, and think that is a sign of why I barely have to be near it to get a rash from it. Some folks are more sensitive than others.
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Skunk you are an anomaly. There is a theory that if you have other allergies, you won't get Poison Ivy (Poison Ivy/Oak/Sumac is just a hypersensitive reaction to an allergen). I've been doing a straw poll over the last few years, and with only one exception, people with allergies don't seem to get Poison Ivy. This is not my original theory, but something I read somewhere. I, too, have allergies, but I don't (up to now, PTL) get Poison Ivy.

You're right about some folks being more sensitive than others. Apparently, one billionth of a gram is enough to affect some people.

Doc
 
Perhaps "everywhere" was a bit of an overstatement. Lets say "almost everywhere". That said, I still didn't get "lucky" during that time but then again, I was ok with that trade-off at the time :p


DOC-CANADA said:
OK, maybe I'm somewhat dim, but how does your wife getting Poison Ivy everywhere make you lucky?????

Doc :D
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