Poison Oak!!!

C

candlelight001

Joined
Jun 3, 2008
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Saw my folks up in southern Oregon over Christmas, went traipsing around in the woods with not a care in the world, only to discover that poison oak can strike even in the dead of winter, with nary a leaf to be found. Had a bad case of it when I met my girlfriends family for first time over New Years, eventually it went away and I thought I had learned my lesson.

Went back up to Oregon this weekend, made a point of touching nothing while I hiked, except one little twig I picked up and played with. Washed my hands when I got home, woke up today with eyes almost swollen shut, poison oak all over face and neck. Bummer!

Have never had poison oak or ivy prior to these incidents despite growing up hiking in Shenandoah mountains back East, and tons of Western hiking since. Always just noticed it, walked around it.

Freaking out now, thinking I'm super sensitive and screwed for future hikes up there.

So, here's my questions:

1) Anything I can do to prevent this/desensitize?

2) Seems like long pants and sleeves is an obvious solution for day hikes. However, on a backpacking trip, I'm gonna be taking them on and off, tying/untying contaminated shoes, etc, how in the world do I keep the stuff off me over the course of 7 days?

3) Any recomendations of good hot weather pants? I've hiked in shorts all my life, and hate pants, but may have to go there...:confused:
 
Jewelweed/Spotted Touch-Me-Not is about the best remedy.
Other than that, Technu makes a really good product that you rub on your arms within 2 hours (I believe, I could be wrong) of exposure and wash off with cold water.
 
There is no cure except to stay away. There are lotions you can use BEFORE you go to the woods. Another thing that works is using foundation for make up. Just use it on all the exposed parts. But you still want to wash everything at the end of the day. I do feel for you. The only thing that helps with the itch is VERY HOT water as hot as you can stand it, Till the skin is red.

Sasha
 
There's a lotion called Ivy Guard that is supposed to act as a barrier. You could try that.

The best option is to identify it and steer clear.

One tip for you. Never take your pants off and roll around in it, no matter how cute she is. Learned that one the hard way.
 
Oh and realy hot water can feel like having an the best sex ever lol.... So for all i know you just might want to roll in it *L*
 
Yeah, last time I tried the hot water cure after reading it on Andrew Weil's website. Was scalding myself three times a day, ended up with minor burns on top of the poison oak! Good temporary relief, but long term a bummer for me. YMMV...
 
sasha said:
The only thing that helps with the itch is VERY HOT water as hot as you can stand it, Till the skin is red.

Sasha
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No offense meant Sasha, but:

That is about the worst thing on Earth you can do for Poison Ivy or Oak.

It drives the oils deeper into the skin, because warm water opens pores; and it can cause the blisters (if there are any) to burst and spread the rash. If you make it too much worse it can get into your blood stream and then you're in for some real fun; the kind that involves hospitals, bags of steroid IV, Antibiotics, etc...

If you have to ease the itching, hold the affected area under COLD water and blot it dry gently with a paper towel or toilet paper. You can hold ice on a small patch, but don't do anything that can tear open the blisters and spread the oil around.

If you've been in the woods and think you've come into contact with the green monster the best thing to do is take a cool shower ASAP and wash your entire body with soap lathered in your hand. Don't use a rag and don't run the soap over your body. You could spread the oils around. Cool water shuts the pores and can stop them from absorbing more of the oils than they would if you were to take a warm shower. Take a shower so that you aren't sitting in a soup of PI/PO oils. On the trail wash the areas you think might have been exposed with cool water ASAP, it may not get ALL the oil, but it may minimize the affected area/dermatitis.

Like I said, if you know wild plants find some Spotted Touch-Me-Not, break the stalks and rub the juice over the affected areas. It's a KNOWN remedy for PI, PO, & Stinging Nettle. I fully intend on transplanting some of it from the area where I find it, to around my house so that it's more handy (my mother and cousin are severely allergic to PI and PO, to the point of needing steroid injection treatments).
 
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Friend of mine was cutting firewood one fall with no gloves on, took a break to relieve himself without washing his hands and wound up for a few days in the hospital. He got poison oak/ivy on his junk so bad it actually went up inside him.

I am pretty careful about wearing gloves and washing my hands after that happened. Chris
 
We have PO here in SO CALI all over the place. I get it atlist 3-5 times a year. Yes i know how it looks like but with all the geocaching i do i keep getting into it. The time before last it didnt effect me as bad and the last time it was only my face. I use the hot water on the third day or so when the itch gets bad... I do think my body getts used to it. The reason i say that is that before i used to get it much worse. KeMsat i know what you are saying but the hot water sure helps me..

Sasha
 
That is really strange that you got it without noticing any contact. You must be very allergic. It's the leaves that have the most oil that causes the rash. I heard you can get it from the vines, but is more difficult because the oil isn't always exposed like on the leaves. I've even cleared it in the winter without any precautions and didn't get it.

I have done the hot water thing myself and it helps with the itch quite a bit.

I have read that the oils pretty much bond within 30 minutes to your skin and that the rash is not contagious, including the fluid in the blisters. It is just the bodies allergic reaction and the fluid doesn't contain the oil. If the rash seams to spread, it is just the oil from the initial contact that can continue breaking out for the first few days.

Remember to wash your clothes, shoes and pets. It's better to shower after coming in contact because the oil floats and can spread in a bath.

Just my 2 cents.
 
This is probably the last thing you want to hear, but I'm one of the lucky few who isn't allergic to either poison oak or poison ivy. I could rub it all over myself every day with no ill effects.

I've watched plenty of you guys suffer through it, though, and it doesn't look like any fun at all. You have my sympathy.
 
I get poison oak alot because of how much I walk through it. I dont get it as bad as I used too but still get it in tiny patches. What I do after Ive walked through it a bunch is take an rubbing alcohol wipe that I keep in my truck or pack and wipe any skin that was exposed. I have found that doing that and then taking a shower that night will 99% of the time get rid of any oils on me and I wont get it. Be sure to wash your clothes too. Rubbing alcohol also works when you have it to speed up the drying out process. I just got over a bad case of getting it in my eye. Walking through PO while sweating is not good. And yes just because there are no leaves doesnt mean you wont get it.
 
I believe I read something about a vinegar concoction that helps, but Google is failing me...anyone heard of this?
 
Samael you do understand that now everyone going to hate you lol. You are one lucky guy..
 
Man, I never have had problems with the hot water method too. It seems for every cure, there is something to say that it doesn't work. Take Belt-sanding the blisters off. My girlfriend says not to but I swear it works in the long run! As far as showers go, I've always taken a comfortably hot one and been A OK after Rolling in the stuff. The stuff you say does make sense though. I'll test it out next bad outbreak.
On a more serious note, I've got it bad in the dead of winter too. Moving brush, setting up camp next to trees at night, where you don't see the old vines. Hell I've even got it diggin up an inert nest one time, from the roots
 
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Samael said:
This is probably the last thing you want to hear, but I'm one of the lucky few who isn't allergic to either poison oak or poison ivy. I could rub it all over myself every day with no ill effects.

I've watched plenty of you guys suffer through it, though, and it doesn't look like any fun at all. You have my sympathy.
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Same way bro :thumbup::D I literally rolled around in it to prove a point. Still, people say that one time it's going to catch up to me.

I made up an excuse of missing school once because I was trying to prove such a feat and actually reacted and my face swelled up and I had to go to the hospital. :foot:

But seriously, the alcohol/shower method seems to be quite effective for my family that isn't quite as lucky as me. I wish you speedy healing :thumbup:
 
runningboar said:
Friend of mine was cutting firewood one fall with no gloves on, took a break to relieve himself without washing his hands and wound up for a few days in the hospital. He got poison oak/ivy on his junk so bad it actually went up inside him.

I am pretty careful about wearing gloves and washing my hands after that happened. Chris
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Yes....I too have been there. If I am gonna be out a lot I take poison ivy pills, which won't make you immune, but will make it a bit less severe. A buddy of mine's farmer dad turned me onto them. Where to get them I dunno, and as far as poison oak I wouldn't know if it would be effective.
 
bladz said:
.....the rash is not contagious, including the fluid in the blisters. It is just the bodies allergic reaction and the fluid doesn't contain the oil. If the rash seams to spread, it is just the oil from the initial contact that can continue breaking out for the first few days.

Remember to wash your clothes, shoes and pets. It's better to shower after coming in contact because the oil floats and can spread in a bath.

Just my 2 cents.
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Your 2 cents is right on the money :rolleyes:. The fluid in the blister is not urushiol, the poison ivy/oak allergen and does not spread the allergic reaction.

Samael said:
This is probably the last thing you want to hear, but I'm one of the lucky few who isn't allergic to either poison oak or poison ivy. I could rub it all over myself every day with no ill effects.

I've watched plenty of you guys suffer through it, though, and it doesn't look like any fun at all. You have my sympathy.
Click to expand...

Like you, I have never had Poison Ivy, although I've been exposed to it many times, however, conventional wisdom holds that the more often you are exposed, the more likely you are to become hypersensitive, so my advice to you (and I follow this as well) is to avoid it whenever possible.

Doc
 
Poison Oak SUCKS!!

I feel for you. Here are some things that help:

Hot showers - they feel absolutely awesome and relieve the itching for hours. 3-4 showers a day is good.

Xanfel seemed to clear up the rash very fast one time, others it didn't, and at 15 dollars an ounce, I'm not really willing to keep trying the stuff. Steroids work well, but I feel like crap when I'm taking them. Other then that there is no real treatment that I've found to work in the slightest.

I haven't found anything to work as a prevention except washing with Technu right after being exposed to it. The trouble with poisen ivy pills is there is no real way of knowing how much urishiol you are ingesting, and it most likely does absolutely nothing for your immunity.

In the winter, learn what it looks like without the leaves so you can avoid it better.

Doc's right with everything he said. It's most definitely not contagious but you will have to put up with people treating you like a leper all the same.
 
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