Poison ivy -- the bane of summer

I went through forty years of life unscathed by poison ivy. Then, my current job took me to places and strains of the leafy tyrant that I couldn't withstand. I rashed and blistered and it seems now that I need only be in the same area as poison ivy, and I have a recurrence. Usually, people develop sensitivity to poison ivy only after several encounters with the plants, sometimes over many years. However, sensitivity can occur after only one exposure.

The following information taken from US Food and Drug Administration (www.fda.gov) Outsmarting Poison Ivy andIits relatives by Carol Ballentine.

The cause of the rash, blisters, and infamous itch is urushiol (pronounced oo-roo-shee-ohl), a chemical in the sap of poison ivy, oak and sumac plants. Because urushiol is inside the plant, brushing against an intact plant will not cause a reaction. But undamaged plants are rare.

Reactions, treatments and preventive measures are the same for all three poison plants. Avoiding direct contact with the plants reduces the risk but doesn't guarantee against a reaction. Urushiol can stick to pets, garden tools, balls, or anything it comes in contact with. If the urushiol isn't washed off those objects or animals, just touching them--for example, picking up a ball or petting a dog--could cause a reaction in a susceptible person. (Animals, except for a few higher primates, are not sensitive to urushiol.)

Urushiol that's rubbed off the plants onto other things can remain potent for years, depending on the environment. If the contaminated object is in a dry environment, the potency of the urushiol can last for decades. Even if the environment is warm and moist, urushiol can still cause a reaction a year later.

Almost all parts of the body are vulnerable to the sticky urushiol, producing the characteristic linear (in a line) rash. Because the urushiol must penetrate the skin to cause a reaction, places where the skin is thick, such as the soles of the feet and the palms of the hands, are less sensitive to the sap than areas where the skin is thinner. The severity of the reaction may also depend on how big a dose of urushiol the person got.

Quick action is needed to thwart poison ivy rash

Because urushiol can penetrate the skin within minutes, there's no time to waste if you know you've been exposed. "The earlier you cleanse the skin, the greater the chance that you can remove the urushiol before it gets attached to the skin," says Hon-Sum Ko, M.D., an allergist and immunologist with FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. Cleansing may not stop the initial outbreak of the rash if more than 10 minutes has elapsed, but it can help prevent further spread.

If you've been exposed to poison ivy, oak or sumac, if possible, stay outdoors until you complete the first two steps:

First, cleanse exposed skin with generous amounts of isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol. (Don't return to the woods or yard the same day. Alcohol removes your skin's protection along with the urushiol and any new contact will cause the urushiol to penetrate twice as fast.)

Second, wash skin with water. (Water temperature does not matter; if you're outside, it's likely only cold water will be available.)

Third, take a regular shower with soap and warm water. Do not use soap before this point because soap can pick up some of the urushiol from the surface of the skin and move it around.

Clothes, shoes, tools, and anything else that may have been in contact with the urushiol should be wiped off with alcohol and water. Be sure to wear gloves or otherwise cover your hands while doing this and then discard the hand covering.

- Mary Vaananen

-- Anonymous, June 23, 2002

Answers

My most prized y2k stockpile was a steroid cream, because I'm very allergic to poison ivy.

I had a very bad case last summer, because I can't recognize P.I. when it's disguised as a neighborhood dog. So, I couldn't wash it off because I didn't realize I was infected.

Turns out the steroid creams have very short half lives, and mine was way out of date (like a full year!). I have a prescription waiting until the next time I think I might need it, so it will be as fresh as possible.

-- Anonymous, June 24, 2002

I don't get a bad reaction, thank goodness, just the usual ozzy stuff. That Ivarest works REALLY well on the common reaction--very soothing. I do know that some people are so sensitive, they can get a reaction just by being near a plant. Ugh!

To kill the stuff, buy brushkiller. Using old newspaper bags, very handy things, put one over your hand and arm, grasp the offending plant and roll the bag over it. Cut off the stem, doesn't matter how much you leave standing long as it's about two inches or more. Have a small plastic container of the brush killer handy (e.g., margarine cup) and a paintbrush. Carefully paint the killer on the raw stem end. Then tie a knot in the end of the bag containing the plant and toss it in the trash, not the yard waste. Under no circs burn the plant--breathing the smoke can give you serious lung problems. You might haave to repeat once or twice to kill it off, it's stubborn.

-- Anonymous, June 27, 2002

I'm lucky in the fact that I'm not the least allergic to posion ivy or oak.

Last weekend, my son got a few bumps on his left foot which I wondered if they were posion ivy. Heck, I don't know, cause I've never broken out with it. It could also be some kind of bug bites, as they appear like some bug bites I have around my right ankle.

My question, is how the heck can I tell if that is exactly what he has or not? It hasn't spread at all, and he does itch it some.

apoc

-- Anonymous, June 27, 2002

"I'm lucky in the fact that I'm not the least allergic to posion ivy or oak."

That's because you're an alien.

Mine starts as bumps, and then assumes a larger area that is a flatter rash. VERY itchy, although somewhat intermittently. Did I say VERY itchy? If the oil is washed it, I don't think it is "spreading", rather it is just that the infected area may not have all erupted at the same time.

-- Anonymous, June 27, 2002

Alien? Nah, probably got too much bile in my system 'specially right now.

Those itchies sound like ant bites, apoc.

-- Anonymous, June 27, 2002

Silly Git, apoc is the alien amongst us...

-- Anonymous, June 27, 2002

Nanu Nanu

take me to your leader

Nanu Nanu

-- Anonymous, June 27, 2002

Oh, sorry. I always answer to "alien." Exept when illegal is in front of it.

-- Anonymous, June 27, 2002

I think you gave me PI just talking aroud it.

Seriously, I have this 2" x 2" patch on the inside of my left ankle, rectangular in shape that has bumps and itches, itches, itches. I've been putting cortizone on it. I'll switch to ivydry and see if it helps. That's the only spot. I was working in a neighbor's yard, and I believe she mentioned that she still have a branch of poison oak, but I don't remember seeing it.

Odd.

No, it's not insect bites -- there are too many rows.

-- Anonymous, June 28, 2002

Rows of them? Maybe it's an anal-retentive bug :)

Actually, I thought the bumps apoc was talking about might be ant bites. I get those a lot. Such a sweet person, I guess.

-- Anonymous, June 28, 2002

We have mosquitoes swarming around the cushions on our new patio set. I don't know why they like the cushions. They are polyfill, and tan in color with abstract art stains on them. the skeeters just hang around the cushions all the time. We have to light citronella torches and skeeter coils and then turn on the fan over the table to get rid of them.

After all the rain we have been having this month the county is going around spraying for skeeters. Gotta start now otherwise the skeeters'll take over.

I gete huge bumps when they bite me. probably get west nile soon. Did ya here we have a case of scarlet fever down here in Miami? some little girl here has been diagnosed with it.

-- Anonymous, June 29, 2002

Damn! I had scarlet fever when I was six. It was awful trauma--had to go to an isolation hospital, middle of the Yorkshire Moors, for six weeks. All my clothes and toys were incinerated. Only saw parents on Sundays through glass. Ugh! Poor kid.

'Course, I 'spect they don't use leeches anymore ;)

-- Anonymous, June 29, 2002

Update:

I tried the Ivy Dry on my rash, but it didn't stop the intense itching. After about 30 minutes, I washed off the Ivy Dry and applied over the counter extra strength (2% Diiphenhydramine Hydrochloride) Benadryl.

The itching stopped immediately, and the redness started to disappear. By the second application, there were just a few small bumps. This morning, the area appears normal.

So, I dunno. Maybe whatever it was would've gone away without any further treatment. One of the guys thought that it was nettles rather than poison oak. I do remember pulling out several clusters of nettles, but I don't remember getting that close to them.

It's all better now. (:

-- Anonymous, June 29, 2002

If it was nettles, you would have felt the effects immediately. If they're like English nettles, that is. Just brushing against them, you feel a sting and then a rash erupts. Dock leaves rubbed on the area are an antidote. In England, you find dock leaves growing right next to nettles. Maybe the ancients planted the docks near nettle patches. . .

-- Anonymous, June 30, 2002