Poison Ivy n Firewood

[7sleeper]

@ FLHX Storm

So how do you feel today? I hope a little better.

7

 

[FLHX Storm]

Well, you can look at the dry leaves on the ground around the trees that you cut in winter months... even when they are dry the shapes will help ID the local trees around them. I see oak leaves there in the photos, and what could be cherry leaves, or similar leaf shapes. I grow a lot of cherry on my property here and that does not look like cherry to me. Cherry is uniform in color, both heart and sap wood. It also has thin bark (like paper birch) with rings banding around the upper branches less than about 8 inches in diameter.

Oooooohhh (Homer Simpson wiggly fingers), you added a photo of a nice clean 361... my favorite chainsaws. Looking good.

Actually, the picture is misleading. The picture is after I had hauled it over to my place so any leaves would not be from that tree.

I love my 361! I used it to buck up even the smaller diameter branches. Just piled em up n had at it. Of course I stopped cutting when I was a few inches from the ground, then pulled the partially cut ones to the top of the pile n finished em off. Then I went tot he other side of the house where I have my wood piles and did the same with a 4 foot wide by 4 feet in height pile if branches I had tied up n on top of 4x4's. Really, that saw does make me smile.

 

[FLHX Storm]

I bet you will never forget this. From now on get some Technu and wash it off ASAP. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tecnu

Got that right. I guess I was getting careless in my old age!

 

[FLHX Storm]

As far as prevention, I don't think there's much that can be done. Some people swear by eating a few leaves in the Spring, some say that if you get it one year you won't get it the next, and some say there are other things you can ingest to keep it away.
From my research about allergies, anyone can develop or lose a PI allergy at any time, and someone who used to roll around in it as a kid may develop an allergy later (and vice versa). The best prevention is to keep out of it as much as possible, and if not possible, then to wash asap and make sure you treat your clothes and tools as well.

I think anyone who would eat the PI are insane. Surely I would be dead in short order.

Over the past summer I had gotten into the PI on quite a few occasions when I would do the weedeater thing at my neighbors. But never a serious outbreak. This time around though, sheesh! I have since cleaned off anything that might have come in contact with the stuff and then some as a precautionary measure (once I was able to open my eyes wide enough)

 

[FLHX Storm]

Did you order it?

Yep, I ordered 4 one ounce containers of the stuff. Really I was hoping it would arrive today since I ordered it from the closest vendor I could find. Maybe it'll arrive tomorrow!

 

[FLHX Storm]

I used Oral Ivy for ages, but since going to long sleeves, I found I no longer needed it.

Remember, if you can wash (even just plain water from a hose) within 15 or 20 minutes after contact, that will ALWAY help. Using soap makes it even better.

Well, I'm hoping it works for me. I've read tons of reviews and most swear by it. I was wearing long sleeves as well as gloves. I think what I need to do is just avoid the stuff completely.

 

[MasterBlaster]

It will tell you to use 3 to 5 drops with a bit of water, daily. If you use too much, it will feel like you've got a mild case - just back off a drop. IIRC, I was using three drops every day.

 

[FLHX Storm]

@ FLHX Storm

So how do you feel today? I hope a little better.

7

Well, better than I was, that's for sure.

What I ended up with was poison ivy over most of my face, both eyes swollen, and one swollen shut. Had it on my neck but just hat the front, and both wrists as well as the top of my hands which also puffed up like bumpy balloons. I managed to get it under one breast, and a few splotches on the front of my legs. It took a while, but I found a package of benadryl in my stash of cold n flu remedies n the like. I've been taking the maximum dosage of that several times a day and treating it with rubbing alcohol and baking soda. Now that stuff STINGS! One eye I can see out of pretty much normally now and my left eye is only about a quarter of the way open. My face still has some swelling but I'm almost starting to look human again. My wrists and the top of my hands are still doing the swollen oozing itching thing but I think I'll survive.

Going to see a doctor really isn't an option for me. I absolutely HATE doctors and avoid them like the plague. Plus prednisone has a bad reaction with me. Think PMS x 100! Anyway, this PI thing kind of trashes any plans I may have had for the upcoming holiday because there is no way I am going anywhere until this thing has cleared. Really I look downright scary right now. I've got plenty to keep me busy around the house including stacking firewood so I'm sure I'll be okay.

 

[philoshop]

Best to prevent exposure outright. Spend some time learning to ID it w/o having to even get close. As much time as that learning takes.
When you have to get close, (like it's part of your job, etc) treat it like you would a rattlesnake or an alligator that's not quite dead, or a running chainsaw. Pay serious attention to avoiding it.
That said, thanks to everyone for the remedies. I'll be in it this winter for sure clearing a woodlot for my cousin. I told him no last year, but I need the work now.

 

[FLHX Storm]

It will tell you to use 3 to 5 drops with a bit of water, daily. If you use too much, it will feel like you've got a mild case - just back off a drop. IIRC, I was using three drops every day.

Thanks! I'll start with the 5 n then back off if necessary. It's driving me nuts n trying not to itch where it itches!

 

[FLHX Storm]

Best to prevent exposure outright. Spend some time learning to ID it w/o having to even get close. As much time as that learning takes.
When you have to get close, (like it's part of your job, etc) treat it like you would a rattlesnake or an alligator that's not quite dead, or a running chainsaw. Pay serious attention to avoiding it.
That said, thanks to everyone for the remedies. I'll be in it this winter for sure clearing a woodlot for my cousin. I told him no last year, but I need the work now.

Yepp, ditto on the thanks for the remedies!

If I treat PI like I would a rattler or a gator, well, I'd be dead for sure cuz I find them right tastey! But I know what your saying.

 

[Saddle Mander]

1) For poison ivy (or its western cousin, poison oak), the stuff to get is Zanfel which removes urushiol from your skin, even after it has bonded with it. It is expensive, but it works.

2) The trick with PI or PO is to wash with laurel sulfate (cheap shampoo has a lot of it in it) before the urushiol bonds with your skin and causes the reaction.

3) Urushiol will be on the vines of PI and PO even when they are leafless and dormant, so you need to avoid contact with it at all times of the year. If it gets on your clothes (or your dog) and they come in contact with your skin you can get it by secondary contact the same as if you rub the plant directly on your skin.

.

1) Zanfel is stupid expensive (something like $35 for1/4 ounce), but I tell people to pay that with a smile because the stuff really works!

2) Gasoline will also wash the urushol off your skin, but only within 15 minutes of contact.

3) I learned this the hard way. A few years ago I picked up and played with a friendly neighborhood cat, then went inside to pee. The next day I realized that the cat must have just walked through a poison ivy patch before I picked him up!

 

[FLHX Storm]

I came across this on another site last evening and though I don't know if any of those work I figured someone might give them a try if the poison ivy infection isn't too severe.

Remedies for Poison Ivy and Poison Oak
By Tony Isaacs - 2007-09-23
Spring, summer and fall are the seasons for poison ivy, poison oak and other similar skin irritating plants. If you encounter such plants, here is a collection of home and natural remedies that have been used to stop the itching and clear up the irritation.

* Stop the itch of a poison ivy rash and prevent it from spreading with the following homemade paste:

Mix one tablespoon of salt and 1/8 teaspoon of peppermint essential oil (Mentha piperita) with 1 to 2 cup green clay, and add enough water to form a paste.

Apply the paste liberally to the rash and leave it on for 20 to 30 minutes.

Store leftover paste in a tightly sealed jar and reapply as needed.

The remedy soothes the itch by absorbing the irritating plant oils and drying the rash. It also works for poison oak.

* Hot water and a banana. Take as hot as shower as you can stand for as long as you can. It will feel good and help relieve the itching. Then take a banana peel and rub it on the infected area. The itch should be gone for eight to twelve hours.

* Watermelon. Take watermelon (the rind and the meat) and glide it over the rash. Let it dry naturally. Within a day, the condition should improve greatly.

* Baking soda and coffee. First put about a half a cup baking soda in a bowl and slowly add cool coffee to make a thick paste. Then apply the paste liberally to the affected area and allow to dry. The poison will flow out of the blisters like water.

* Turmeric and lime or lemon juice. Mix one tablespoon of turmeric spice with roughly equal parts of lime or lemon juice to form a thick paste. Carefully apply to the afflicted skin. This remedy stains, and stings ever so slightly, but works miraculously. For avoiding stains on clothes, furniture or carpet, use it in the bathtub, so the bright yellow stuff doesn't fall down and make a mess. Let it sit on your skin for fifteen minutes, then wipe off excess. Some stain will likely remain. By the next day you will be astonished at how it the ivy has dried up and nearly vanished.

* Vick's Vapor Rub. Clean the infected areas first and then rub Vick's on the areas twice a day to rid infection. Slightly burns at first. Dries up the infection in one to three days.

* Lead fishing sinker. An old country recipe sworn to by many. To prevent getting infected by poison ivy, beat a lead fishing sinker flat. Take a nail and punch a hole in the flat sinker, then put a string through it and wear it around your neck. One person who is very allergic to poison ivy reported that he had never been infected in over 30 years when wearing the sinker. Author's note: due to concerns about lead, it is probably advisable to give the sinker a good coating of epoxy enamel, although it is unknown whether coating the sinker might have an effect on this remedy.

* Poke salad root. Boil the root of a poke salad plant until it turns into a paste form. It will have a strong odor. Then, once it has cooled enough not to scald, rub it on the infected area until you can feel it "burn or sting". It should neutralize the poison ivy overnight.

* Dishwashing liquid. Rub dishwashing liquid onto skin area and within 15 to 20 minutes the itch should disappear. Do not wash off until the next morning and then reapply. Within a couple of days the skin area should clear. This is also good for mosquito bites.

* Burdock roots. Make a strong tea with burdock roots and apply to the skin. Let it dry and re-apply as often as needed. It relieves the itching immediately.

* Hemorrhoid ointment or liquid Blistex. Smear it on the areas affected to relieve itching and clear up within 24 hours or so.

* Potato. Blend a potato in blender until it becomes a rough pasty blob. Put it on some plastic wrap and wrap it around affected area. Plastic wrap works better than towels. If you are treating your face poke two holes for nostrils so you can breathe. Leave it on for an hour or so, and the next day the bubbles should be gone and the skin should turn yellowish and start flaking off. It will probably still itch but should itch much less, and the itching should soon go away. Rub the affected areas to remove excess, but do not rub too hard or pick at the affected areas. Use vitamin E or lotion to help the new skin look and feel better.

* Peachtree leaves. Get some leaves from a peach tree, boil them and then let the water cool. Take a cotton ball and apply the liquid to the affected areas. Works almost overnight and should be almost completely clear within two-three days.

* Oatmeal. Run a warm bath and fill an old sock with oatmeal. While soaking in the tub, take the sock of oatmeal and gently rub it all over the affected areas.

* Clear fingernail polish. Can be used to coat the affected areas to prevent spreading and lessen itching.

 

[naturelover]

Heard straight bleach worked on it.....

Ouch.

Never tried that again....

Probably told before, but one time I got brave and tackled some vines in the winter as someone told me you couldn't get it in the winter when the sap was down (wrong). I didn't really believe that, and it was cold, so I thought I would cover up and try it. I had on a full set of coveralls, gloves, boots, a toboggan and full-face chemical goggles.

Looked like something out of a space movie.

Danged if I still didn't get it.

Guess I shoulda taped my gloves to my coveralls...

 

[Bob95065]

My wife went to the University of California in Santa Cruz. She had a roommate that was a little on the "granola" side fom what I was told. She got poison oak bad. Her mother, who I was told was a lot on the hippie side, told her to eat some PO leaves. The girl ate a red and green salad. She wound up in the ER and had a long stay in the hospital.

Lowell Webb of Webb's Chainsaws in Soquel, CA told me he cuts a poison oak leaf the size of his pinky fingernail and puts it on a small piece of cheese. He folds the cheese over so no part if the leaf is exposed and he swallows it. He said he does this once a month and as never had poison oak. I have never personally witnessed him do this. When he first told me about this and suggested I try it the thought of swallowing PO was terrifying.

Shortly after Lowell told me about his remedy I had my yearly checkup with my allergy doctor. I get shots weekly to desensitize my body to all things green. First chance I got I brought up poison oak. He said there was nothing he could do other than give me a bunch of prednisone (which he did). I was really hoping he could put something in the weekly shots for PO but I guess when it comes to things green and red I'm on my own.

I brought up the swallowing PO in cheese method that Lowell told me about to the allergy doctor. He said it might work but he warned me that the skin where the sun don't shine is the same as the skin where the sun does shine only it's more sensitive. He also reminded me that what goes in must come out. He said I should think about these things before I make a decision about the eating poison oak in cheese method of desensitization. Needless to say I have never had the guts (bad pun partially intended) to try the eating PO in cheese thing myself.

Bob

 

[MasterBlaster]

Frig all that drama... just use Oral Ivy. Same principal, and way easier!

 

[Bob95065]

I used Oral Ivy per the instructions for months and still got PO. It may have helped the severity but it is hard to say.

 

[MasterBlaster]

At the very least, it helps with the severity.

 

[Bob95065]

Again, it's hard to say.

I went out hunting boar and I was determined to not get PO. I made sure to tuck in my shirt and that there was no exposed skin except my hands and face. I stayed clear of PO while I was out and washed with Tecnu when I got home. I got PO on the belt line of my waist. If I look at that stuff funny I get it.

 

[GrassGuerilla]

Glad to hear your feeling a little better. PO & PI can be pretty bad. Couple years back a group of carpenters were picketing a jobsite in the coldest part of winter. One of them brought in a pickup load of brush to burn in a barrel to keep warm. Apparently none of them recognized the vines without the leaves. Whole group of them stood right over a barrel of burning PI. Several were hospitalized for "respiratory issues". Scary stuff.

When I was younger I never got the stuff. Actually rubbed it on my arms to see, nothing happened. About half a dozen years ago, I started reacting. Now if I even see it I back away.

If I know I've exposed myself, I wash with Val's Naptha soap ASAP. Seems to work. Best to just stay away if at all possible.