Poison Ivy - A PSA

[KEHO]

Well, I managed to get into poison ivy for the first time. No big deal, just a swollen eye and some relatively minor discomfort.

It's how I got it and what I learned that I want to pass on. I'm sure this is old hat to many of you, but if you walk around in the woods with binoculars or a range finder around your neck - take care in what those items brush up against. Apparently my range finder got into some poison ivy and then I put it right up against my eye.

Lesson learned - keep track of where everything on my person is and what you're brushing up against. Even with long pants and long sleeves, I still managed to get into trouble.

This has been a PSA - now back to your regularly scheduled programming.

 

[eldirector]

OUCH! That sucks.

I got into a patch a week ago (wearing shorts), and it STILL itches. It never bothered me much as a kid, but it tears me up now.

 

[hooky]

OUCH! That sucks.

I got into a patch a week ago (wearing shorts), and it STILL itches. It never bothered me much as a kid, but it tears me up now.

I'm just the opposite. It tore me up as a kid, but now it's just localized discomfort.

Worst I ever got was when we were burning fence rows. It was all over my body and in my throat and lungs. Thought I was gonna die.

 

[Double T]

It's an allergic reaction, it generally takes more than one exposure to get it, and each time it gets worse unless you become desensitized to it.

Get some benadryl, or go to the doc for some medicine. My mom had it in her respiratory tract and it was awful...

 

[Woo]

If you go to the doc and he gives you steroids, pay CLOSE attention to the directions!! You won't sleep if you take a months worth of steroids in a week!!

 

[Rayne]

This is good to know. It makes sense because I can get it off my husbands clothes or the dog's fur if they've been in it. Never thought about something like binoculars or maybe even your gun stock.

 

[grunt soldier]

lol i get it horribly. i have to go to the doc and get the steroids usually in a shot then pills. but the best way i have found to stop it from spreading is take a butter knife and scratch the **** out of it, then take some bleach and dump on a wash cloth, then wipe it all over the busted open poison ivy and it usually dries it out in a day or so. it will burn like a son of a ***** but it's worth it to me.

lol op you can't take my advise just based on the location but still for anyone else lol

 

[Indy_Guy_77]

Once you've already blistered up from an exposure, it CANNOT spread.

The oils have already done their job, so to speak, and are gone from your skin.

However, the oils ARE pervasive and can stay in clothing / objects for YEARS.

You can transmit the oils from person to person...but again, once you're blistered, you can't "give" your poison ivy rash to another person.

-J-

 

[IndianaResident]

I'm just the opposite. It tore me up as a kid, but now it's just localized discomfort.

Me too....poison oak, on the other hand, will ruin me.

 

[Kcustom45]

Once you've already blistered up from an exposure, it CANNOT spread.

...

You can transmit the oils from person to person...but again, once you're blistered, you can't "give" your poison ivy rash to another person.

-J-

I tried telling my wife this last time I had poison ivy, but she wouldn't listen and I wasn't allowed to sleep in the bed with her.

 

[Harry2110]

I swear Ive walked thru it alot and not broken out luckily. I think we did ruin a chevy astro with it if you were sensitive to it the back rows were useless for a while.

 

[Lonnie]

i hate that stuff. i get it just looking in the direction of it

 

[hooky]

I saw the bleach remedy above. If you have it on your extremities, hot water works. Crank the water up as hot as you can stand it and run it over the area with the poison ivy (or whatever else is causing the reaction). It will itch like nothing has ever itched before for about 15 seconds +/-. Then it will stop. Dry it off and you'll have relief from the itching for somewhere between 4-10 hours. The hot water releases all of the histamines that your body has built up in the local area. Histamines are the cause of the itching and it's also why the itching is so intense as they're all released at once.

If it's all over your body, a hot shower will help for the same reasons.

HTH someone.

 

[Indy_Guy_77]

The hot water will help with histamines AND to help rinse off the oils that cause the irritation.

Hot water + detergent of some kind = fantastic combination...

Wash those clothes...2x if necessary!

I'm thankful that I don't really break out. I still react, but not at all like many people. Of course, it could be that I'm just careful to stay OUT of the poison ivy.

My mother's very sensitive to rashing, but not severely "need to go to the doctor" allergic. She'd get it from petting her cats who'd come in from being outside. I used to pet these same animals and I'd never break out. She'd rash up.

-J-

 

[Bunnykid68]

I am so lucky. I can wipe with it if I want and not get it.

 

[Indy_Guy_77]

I am so lucky. I can wipe with it if I want and not get it.

You say that now... Until that ONE time when your body says "ENOUGH!" and you end up in the hospital. hehe

Allergic reactions DO change over time, you know. Kids grow out of allergies... Adults grow into them...

 

[trailrider]

I never thought about the binoc thing. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[laf]

I think I got some poison ivy from the dog. It's all over my arm where I pick him up and on my leg where he stands to beg for treats. I'm usually careful about where I walk and what I touch but didn't think of the wiener dog crawling around in the woods and getting it on his fur. My skin looks like leprosy and itches like no other. Round-up is about to be dispatched!

 

[Zombiekilloftheweek]

I know how you feel, a few months ago i cut a bunch of trees down in the backyard and found out there was poison ivy all over. It took me three months to get rid of it.

 

[Indy_Guy_77]

I think I got some poison ivy from the dog. It's all over my arm where I pick him up and on my leg where he stands to beg for treats. I'm usually careful about where I walk and what I touch but didn't think of the wiener dog crawling around in the woods and getting it on his fur. My skin looks like leprosy and itches like no other. Round-up is about to be dispatched!

I think someone makes some wet-wipe type things that are supposed to help remove the urushoil so it won't transfer to your skin. I don't know how much they cost nor how effective they are.

I'm guessing that if your dog would stand it, then a hot & wet rag that had a little dish soap on it would work just as well. But then you gotta get the soap off...

-J-