Hardships on the Homestead: Poison Ivy Part Deux
Urisherol: poison ivy’s wicked oil.
After seeing the gruesome pictures, and hearing the horrifying stories in part 1 who’s ready for some solutions? (If you haven’t read part 1, click here).
But first, let’s do a little Fact or Fiction to dispel myths and let a little light in on the subject. There’s a lot of different thoughts and assumptions about poison ivy, and it’s a painful mistake to be mistakenly mistaken-en.
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Poison IVY is “contagious”
Fiction… The rash cannot spread from person to person, but Urushiol oil can if left on the skin.
Some people may not be allergic to poison ivy
Fact… Some people may have absolutely no reaction to the nasty oil—how fortunate for them. But, watch out, people’s sensitivity to Urushiol can change over time.
Scratching poison ivy blisters will spread the rash
Fiction… The fluid in the blisters is not urushiol. You only spread the rash by scratching at the unwashed place of contact.
Dead and dried poison ivy plants are no longer toxic
Fiction… I wish this were true, but it’s not. The oil stays active on dead poison ivy, along with any surface it touches, for 5 years or longer--what?! Yes, that includes boots, camping equipment, forestry tools, even pet fur.
You can prevent getting the poison ivy rash, even if you touched the plant directly
Fact…This is good news. It takes water, soap and excessive scrubbing no more than 2-8 hrs. after contact. Check out the link below found by @reedracer to learn more about how to prevent this. @reedracer didn't create the video, but he did reply to my Part 1 post with this helpful video, so I wanted to give him his props.
Leaves of three, let them be. Avoid the leaves of three and you’ll be okay.
Fiction…and Fact Poison ivy does have 3 leaves, but you also have to watch out for poison oak with 3-5 leaves, and poison sumac with 7 to 13 leaves. Both these plants contain Urushoil, the wicked oil in Poison Ivy. But as far as Poison Ivy is concerned, the catchy little rhyme is true. All Poison Ivy comes in leaves of 3. So, please, please, let em' be!
Source for facts: http://www.ivyblock.com/myths.php
Tips for how to treat skin and objects exposed to poison ivy
The number one tip I can give you comes from the video posted above. You have to remember that what you are trying to get off is like invisible, toxic vehicle grease. To get grease off your skin, you need a lot friction or scrubbing.
Apply rubbing alcohol or dish soap (like Dawn) to your skin to help dissolve the oils. I now prefer Fast Orange or an equivalent. Nothing gets grease off like good old automotive grease remover.
Be sure to rinse with cool water since warm or hot water will open your pores and allow more toxins in.
Put your drying towel and any exposed clothes separately in the wash. (If you love your husband,wife, man-servant or maid-servant, you might want to warn them to don plastic gloves before handling laundry...just sayin’).
Too late? Ideas to help the itch
Don’t scratch. I’m horrible at this as my wife can attest. It feels so good to itch it, however infection is a risk. Open wounds are grounds for all kind of nasty parasites and bacteria to enter in.
Apply a cold compress or a very very hot shower (after you’re sure you’ve already removed the oil of course). I really love to hate the boiling hot shower. It hurts so good. Once your nerve endings are seared, Ta-Da, the itch goes away!
Classic calamine lotion is a winner. Some say Capsaicin cream, labeled for arthritis pain, can suppress the itch for hours.
Antihistamines internally, before bedtime, to give you some rest.
Use a baking soda paste to pull the fluid out of the blisters. Allow to dry and flake off.
Source for facts: http://www.wikihow.com/Treat-Poison-Ivy-and-Poison-Oak
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Other natural remedies for itching include: aloe vera, apple cider vinegar, cold coffee, chilled fruit rinds, chamomile tea bath, buttermilk or yogurt, acorn or oatmeal baths and so on.
That’s a lot of weird stuff, but if you’ve got the ITCH, you’ll try just about anything to get relief. Trust me.
Do you have any tips or ideas to share? I’d love to hear them.
Thanks for Reading!
As Always,
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That video changed my life a few months ago!
Also, If all else fails and the itching gets too intense.
I bought it once when my son got a systemic reaction to poison oak. I'm on my second ever tube and I use it as a last resort
and his normal face
I've heard of that. I haven't had to use it yet, and now that I know to what I know, hopefully I never will.
Last time I needed it was because I was kneeling while fencing. It's now my habit to scrub hands, arms, face (thanks to vid) but this was like the first hot day and didn't think to scrub knees and legs lol
Zanfel is not something to keep on hand. It's one of those "I'm so freaking miserable" I need to go to walmart/CVS etc. to end the suffering
Ha, truth!
You definitely covered the subject well. Scrub, scrub, scrub! I tend to get it between fingers and under my watch where you don't concentrate scrubbing as much. This year I've been doing better. No rash yet!
Wish i could say the same. Only after much pain and suffering do I do the necessary research to avoid further pain.
Excellent article @bluerthangreen - great content and great presentation. I am so glad we don't have poison ivy over my way.
I'd be surprised if you didn't have it. I didn't see it at all my whole life up in Wisconsin, yet I know it is there.
Hi @bluethangreen, I'm over in Wales in the UK. Luckily poison ivy is not in the UK as far as I know.
We have a few other nasties here but nothing as bad as poison ivy :
Then you are very fortunate.
Just a quick story about poison ivy. Back in my younger years I had a friend who for her honey moon was being taken on a camping trip to the wild woods in the north. She had never been camping before but had been reading up and was feeling pretty confident when they started off.
On the way to the camp site, my friend heard the call and so they pulled off to the side of the road so she could do her business. She squatted, did her business and looked around for some leaves to clean up. She found some pretty green ones on a vine close to her.
Needless to say come evening at the camp things were becoming a little interesting. Long story short they ended up cancelling the rest of the trip.
Coming soon:
Part 3: How to Avoid Poison Ivy:
Stay Inside Forever.
Then you'd never get anything useful done. You'd just be posting on Steemit all day.
You underestimate the number of interesting things that can be done indoors.
I definitely wouldn't call "Dawn Dishwashing Liquid" soap. Nor would it generally be associated with cleaning a person's hands. It is a detergent with a lot of surfactants, fragrances, and a blue dye.
Regardless, it breaks up oils pretty well.
@@ -23,17 +23,16 @@
till Tec
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nu, foll
superb Article like it. keep it up !!!
Great post! In NJ poison ivy was everywhere. Kids got that stuff all the time even after having been admonished to avoid it at all costs. Unfortunately, a child's memory can fade on such admonitions when in the midst of playing. So, we'd go home wearing the proof of our encounter, preparing to be gooped up with calamine lotion like we'd earned it; I don't remember the reprimands. I do remember, though, that my father could roll in the stuff and not be affected, at least as my mother told it. I guess it didn't carry down genetically.
Not everyone is as fortunate. My oldest, @alittlebluer is immune to the stuff. She definitely didn't get that from me.
We swear by tecnu for poison ivy! It really works- just use it like body wash and it only takes a few minutes to breakdown the urushiol. Check it out- we always have some in the house just in case.
I will check it out. Thanks.
Thanks for the post. Been lucky so far this year. The oil is difficult to wash off if you wait too late. 🐓🐓