I Hate Poison Ivy

[treeguy347]

Over the summer I was working on a hill covered in the stuff, and I ran out of my Tecnu brand soap (works very well) and couldn't find any at the store. My uncle showed me Fels naptha soap. I bathed in that for the rest of the week and had no problem. If you already have it, Ivarest works well to stop the itch and contain it.

 

[TREETX]

I thought I was "immune" until one day I wasn't. Same goes with cedar and oak allergies.

When you get the rash from nose to toes, the shot seems pretty cheap. Don't think it is fatal, I'm not dead, ......yet.

I have an eye for the stuff now. It will get you even when dormant.

I have found that most of the guys from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, etc ARE immune to the stuff. Now I bid the jobs with a little extra and then leave it them to complete them w/out using my climbing equipment.

.02 - Nate

 

[treespec]

PI

I'm allergic to PI like alot us are. I always carry over-the-counter rubbing alchol. As soon as I know I've come in contact with it, I pour it directly on the areas. It cuts the oil. Also, try spraying on anti-perspirant before you start working.

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

I got nailed pretty good with poison ivy, which seems strange because it's the middle of winter. I was running a clearing saw and cutting brush with a chainsaw, both spray chips around.
I was completely covered, but some got in my shirt, down the front, back and on my wrists.

For your enjoyment, I attached a picture of one spot, of about twenty that I have.

 

[jamie]

poison what

ok ive heard about poison ivy but never poison oak or sumac (what the feck is sumac)

what does it look like etc

pretty ???? sure taht we dont get it over here but just want to know

on another note i hate ivy in trees......grrrrrr


jamie

 

[Curtis James]

I know allot about it. A little surfing will tell you all this, but here it goes anyway.
Urushiol is the active oil that causes the dermatitis on the skin. The crazy part is it can get on your equipment and cause problems for up to five years or more. The only way to deactivate it is good old soap and water. That is no joke. If you are sensative enough to it you won't get rid of it till you wash all that has come into contact with it.
Only one nanogram( a billionth of a gram) is all that is needed to cause a rash.The average is about 100 nanograms for most. One forth of an ounce of urushiol is all it would take to infect everyone in the world.
Urushiol is derived from the Japanese name for lacquer, Urushi. I hope this helps. Another myth that is commonly mistaken is that a person with the dermatitis can pass it to another. That is of course not true. One has to come into contact with the urushiol. So if you have cleaned up after work and your significant other won't get near you, you can tell them this and still get lucky. This is how I found out so much about it. My wife wouldn't let me near her until she read all this herself. As far as the rash itself goes. I ripp it open by iching it with a butter knife usually than I put rubbing alchohol on it to dry it up. It will usually run its course in a week to ten days.

 

[geofore]

poison ivy

Curtis James, first you have to be allergic to it. It doesn't bother me and yet my wife will get it from my clothes when she does the laundry so I have to do the work clothes and shake them out before entering the house. If you know you'll be working in it, you might want to take a change of clothes to the job so you don't spread it all through the truck and get it later on when you brush up against the sawdust on the seat cover.

 

[treeslayer]

I climb thru jungles of the stuff some times. 4"-6" vines. I am not affected too bad, but I always charge extra and tell em why. $100 -$200 more to remove a tree covered in it.
no loss if they don't wanna pay.

 

[MidwestTree]

Try putting the juice from the leaves of a "hen and chicks" plant on it. This plant is great. This is good for poison ivy, burns, stings, bites, etc.

 

[TreeJunkie]

I did a super nasty silver maple this past fall, hollow, and covered w/ poison ivy. I never got anything from it, but all three of my groundies did, and so did my girlfriend. She got it from washing my clothes it took here over a month to get rid of that stuff, and two scrips of prendazone....Fun $hit

 

[MasterBlaster]

For the record, anyone that doesn't get a reaction from PI has a faulty autoimmune system.

The worse your reaction, the better your immune system is functioning.

 

[Greg]

I've got it right now, it $ucks!! I got in to it last Thursday, friday morning my left eye was pretty much swollen shut. I had a little line of bumps on the skin under my eye, and on my chin. I took benadryl, and worked the day. The next day my eye was worse, but after ice packs and benadryl the swelling was down enough to work. On Saturday my eye was almost completely closed --I went to the Dr. She gave me a shot in the butt with a steroid, and then gave me a RX for more steroids, an antihystimine, and cream. Today is the last day for the steroids, my face looks pretty clear, but I'm still itching like he!!, -the antihystimine makes me too sleepy to take during the day.
Greg

Looks like winter is over for us down here, the phone is ringing again and I am pretty busy. Slow time is winding down, time to start humping!

 

[DadF]

I'm surprised so far nobaody has said anything about pet dog or cats that go out side. If there is PI where your pets roam they can also bring the oils back in on their coats and easily give it to the first unsuspecting person that pets them.
I've been very allergic when I was young but seem to have got some immunity to it as I get older but I still get it. The worst time was while I was boot camp and somehow must have done my #1 duty in a patch of poison oak(we don't have it here that I've seen). Needless to say EVERYTHING down there swelled up-medics had me overdosing on Benedryl and cold showers every four hours. It wasn't a pretty sight .

 

[ArborView]

I've had it more times than I care to remember. I've found there are tons of creams, lotions, etc. but haven't had much luck with any of them.
Here's what works for me. If I know I'm going to be in or near it, I put IvyBlock on my hands, arms, and face. I wear long sleeves, gloves, etc. As soon as I'm done working in it I change all my clothes and wash with lots of cold water. You need to do this soon, within an hour or so. I've found dish detergent works well because it cuts through the oil. Don't use regular hand soap, this will just spread it around.
If the rash gets bad and you have swelling, try taking Allegra during the day to relieve it. It doesn't make you sleepy like other antihistamines. Allegra is pretty expensive I think, but I had a bunch of free samples the Dr. gave me. I only take Benadryl at night because it makes me too tired.
Here's another trick I found. I've had it so bad I was up all night because the itching was so intense. There's a hot water trick I read about and tried and it worked for me, but the Dr's probably wouldn't recommend it. Take a shower with the hottest water your body can possibly stand. The hot water releases all of the histamines (which is what makes you itch) at once. This will cause the worst itch you've ever experienced for about 1 or 2 minutes. Let me tell you, it's intense and you'll probably want a wash cloth to bite down on. But after this brief intense itching period, you won't itch for several hours until the histamines in your body build up again. It works good at night so you can get some sleep. It worked for me anyway.
Don't use bleach or anything stupid like that. You're just risking an infection.

 

[MasterBlaster]

You can create a barrier by applying stick deodorant to your exposed skin. It works great and lasts until you sweat it off. Then, re-apply.

 

[M.D. Vaden]

Other than a few stinging nettles in some damp areas like near creeks or the coast, Oregon mainly deals with poison oak.

It grows as a groundcover, shrub, or a vine that can go up 60 feet or more into the conifers here.

The tri-foliate leaf is an important feature, more than the color, since is can appear reddish and other hues.

 

[topnotchtree]

This past summer Asplundh started supplying us with A Technu product that was to prevent p.i. Most guys that used said it worked. You just rub your exposed parts with the stuff before you got into the ivy. Then washed off with the Technu soap afterwards. That seemed to work well.I am a firm believer in the Fels Naptha soap, It worked well for me. Fyi, I had p.i. for over 2 weeks a few years ago. I really got an a$$ chewing from the Dr. when I finally went to him for help. He told me the oils will get into your bloodstream over time, and that was serious.

 

[Lumberjack]

Also burning posion ivy and inhaling the smoke can get your lungs. I am not normally allergic to PI, and that is a good thing in my book.

 

[ptar]

POed

I run trails a lot and poison oak is
everywhere around here .

I wasn't allergic when I first moved to CA but
became sensitive within a couple years.

I try to avoid PO, and I avoid touching unidentified
twigs and vines. If I touch it, I rinse with water as
quickly as possible. I get POed once in a while
and I've found that the hot water trick gets rid of
the itching the best and gives me ~6hrs of relief.

If you think you've touched it, don't touch your
face and more importantly, don't scratch your
balls.