Caches In Poison Ivy

[+The Source]

Im just wondering if im a freak or am I just immune.

 

Ive noticed in many descriptions of caches to watch for the poison ivy. I may be cursing myself here BUT... does poison ivy bother many people ?

 

I know my father in law and his daughter gets hospitalized everytime they get poison ivy they are so allergic to it.

 

ME i never get poison ivy. I had a horrible case of poison ivy and poison oak when I was about 9 years old and I have never gotten poison ivy since. And its not like I try and avoid it. Ive been a Boy Scout my whole life and im still al Scout leader. I camp and hike and ride in the woods and now geo-cache.

 

Does anyone else just NOT GET poison ivy ever ?

 

J

[+Tsmola]

I don't think I've ever gotten poison ivy, I've walked right through it before without even giving it a second thought. My mom gets it though, she said she never used to get it either. It's really odd I wonder why this is some people seem to get it and some don't.

[+Jhwk]

stomp through the stuff about every weekend. I ID it, and make a point to not wallow in the stuff, but I don't react like folks that are sensitive to it.

[+Sue Gremlin]

Sensitivity to poison ivy is an allergic type response. The more you are exposed to it, the more sensitive you get, so don't be cavalier about it. Careful, kids!

I rarely get a rash, but I don't roll in it, either. Some people can't even look at it, and I don't want to become one of those people. It would sorely cut into my caching time!

[+clearpath]

I have read somewhere that some people have better immunity to the effects of the resin in PI. However, everytime you come in contact with PI you lessen your ability to fight the effects. Some people have little or no immunity to the resin. So, people that think they will never get a reaction are kidding themselves. It's really just a matter of time and the frenquency of the contact.

 

Ooops, Sue beat me to it ...

Edited October 24, 2005 by clearpath

[+Polgara]

To react to poison ivy, you have to be exposed to it at least TWICE. The first exposure is your body recognizing it to be foreign, and you make antibody to it. During this exposure, you notice nothing, no itching, no scratching, etc., NOTHING.

 

The second time you get it, you COULD have a reaction. You might get the itchies, with a rash, etc., but not everyone will. You may never get the rash and the itchies, or you may get a rash and itch everytime you're near it after that first exposure. You may also get a terrible rash on your second exposure, and never get that rash again with additional exposures. Allergies just work that way, they can come and go overnight. One day you can be allergic to something and the next day you aren't, and may not be ever again, or it could be several years till your next reaction. Same goes for any other type 1 allergies.

Edited October 24, 2005 by Polgara

[Trinity's Crew]

I'm 45 years old and no stranger to the woods. I haven't had a reaction to poison ivy... yet.

[+martinell]

According to the CDC - search cdc.gov

 

"Poison ivy:

Scratching poison ivy rash only spreads it if the plant oil still remains on the skin. No oil is in the blisters or in the rash. By scratching you can cause bacterial secondary infection which can get wider and more severe. Then you need a doctor and an antibiotic prescription. Poison ivy rash is not contagious. But the oil itself can be transmitted to others. " Source: CDC.GOV

 

This would be yet another case where washing the affected area is a very good thing. Excessive sweating would potentially help to wash it away, however would also have the effect of spreading the oils so is probably not the case here.

 

As a previous poster mentioned you can also experienced lowered resistence over time, however that is not true for all people.

 

In physiology class we learned that some people have a greater resistence to plant bourne topical illnesses due to the make-up of the oils on our skin which protect us from bacteria (and why you can kill houseplants through touch).

[+Thrak]

I haven't had Poison Oak in quite a while...... but I'm just now getting over a recent dose on both arms. I got all hot and sweaty looking for a cache and accidentally came into contact with it while my pores were nice and open. It really annoys me that I didn't immediately hit the creek a mere 50 feet or so away and wash my arms. I knew better but was so intent on finding the darn cache that I ignored my better judgement. Next time I won't be so stubborn. This stuff has been driving me CRAZY!!!!!

[+Isonzo Karst]

I was moderately sensitive to poison oak in my youth. Went through a long phase of little sensitivity to poison ivy as an adult. And just got a whopper case two weeks ago (replacing a missing cache stage). I've gotten careless, having had so little trouble for so many years. Obviously, I need to be avoiding it now. I can ID it readily, have just gotten out of the habit of paying attention. Doc Dean responded to a question about poison ivy. Aside from washing the oils off as soon as possible, topical steroids can reduce allergic response. OTC cortizone.

[+Teamhawaii1981 & blueicyrose]

Maybe there should be another star rating? D/T/PI?

 

I would be pretty mean to have a cache like this:

 

D: *

T: *

PI: *****

 

I'd go for it.

[+edscott]

I am another of the lucky ones that seldom gets it. Every year or so I may get a little bit.. but not often for someone that lives in the woods.

[+mrmnjewel]

I don't react to poison ivy. I tromp through it all the time. Knock on wood, no reaction. Julia, on the other hand, breaks out if she looks at the stuff.

[+Bandit & Magna]

I found out the hard way I was not only allergic - but deathly allergic. Was helping a reletive clear out a little ditch.... Woke up in the hospital.

 

If someone is mowing and they mow poisin ivy and I am too near - I will have a reaction.

 

I have to be careful not to get it on my clothes and I have to be very careful with Cliff's clothes when he is in the weeds.

 

The doctor says I will always be this way.

 

That said, I am a minority so sometimes I just miss out on the fun. Or we put them off until winter when it's easier to avoid the leaves. I still have to be careful - but it is easier.

[+Moose Mob]

People in my area do not put caches in poion ivy, so it really isn't an issue.

 

Now cactus... that's a different story. I don't know anyone that is immune to cactus.

[+Faith the Aquariaqueen]

I wait for winter, just in case.....

[+The NEOGeodogs]

I never used to be allergic, I was constantly exploring the woods as a kid, I actually hid in some while playing paintball! Then one day it happened... I had become allergic. Broke out with a horrific rash. Went to the Dr. and received a referral to a dermatologist, who gave me a shot and a warning, each subsequent exposure could be worse than the last.

 

Since then I've had a few more reactions, and yep it seems as though I'm more sensitive. So be thankful your not allergic, just don't go looking for trouble! If you do find yourself with an itchy case of Poison Ivy I recommend Zanfel, expensive, but it has worked well for me. YMMV.

[+Harry Dolphin]

Usually, I avoid poison ivy. Generally, I get a small rash to goes away in a few days.

Last time, however, I guess my immune system was weak from Lyme Disease. I ended up with allergic dermatitis which spread all over. Doc put me on Prednisone. Cured the problem, but I wanted to kill everyone for a week. Nasty stuff, that prednisone! Ladies at work told me that now I know what it's like to be pregnant.

[+Silny Jako Bek]

I wait for winter, just in case.....

 

Actually, waiting until winter won't really help if you are sensitive to poison ivy/oak. Even dead or dormant vines still contain the oil that causes the allergic reaction.

[+wildearth2001]

I have never had a reation, but I dont think I have ever encountered the stuff before (but then again I caint be sure because I dont really know what it looks like)

 

I dont know if it is true but I have heard of people rubbing little bits of it on them so they build up an immunity- andbody able to clarify

[+Faith the Aquariaqueen]

Actually, waiting until winter won't really help if you are sensitive to poison ivy/oak. Even dead or dormant vines still contain the oil that causes the allergic reaction.

 

That may be so, but in the winter, I am not wearing shorts and a tank top!!!

[vagabond]

Up until I turned 55 I never had a poison oak reaction the last 10 years I've had reactions about 4 times . So you might consider yourself lucky so far

[+GRANPA ALEX]

Up until I turned 55 I never had a poison oak reaction the last 10 years I've had reactions about 4 times . So you might consider yourself lucky so far

Unfortunately, I must agree . . . it can be age related, as one gets older, immunities/antibodies change.

 

At 59, I recently got my very first reaction after playing in/around it since childhood. The doc says it will react more each time, now. SO, don't age.

[+BadAndy]

I don't recall ever being affected by PI. I could probably wipe with the stuff in a pinch...but I won't tempt disaster on that one.

[darwinmay]

If someone hid a cache in PI, I wouldn't seek it. I'm usually rashy without the effects of urushiol due to eczema, so I'm fairly certain I'd have a reaction to PI.

[+edscott]

I wait for winter, just in case.....

If waiting for winter works for you then you are not really that allergic to it. It has the same resins year round.... Next summer just keep on cachin'....

[+jacobsen1]

I have had it a few times, but recently I've either been lucky, or I'm less prone to getting it. My wife gets it, not bad, but she does get it. My Dad was hospitalized as a kid (his neighbors were burining it) and if he looks at it he gets it... Anyway a few pointers.

 

DOGS OILY FURR CARRY THE OIL....

 

If your Dog walks through a patch and your touch him or pet him, you can get it that way!!! Also there is soap called Technu and it's at the pharmacy. When we used to have to clear up brush, my Dad who is very alergic would wash with this after being in PI and he would not get it... If you have problems, get some of this stuff... Here in RI there is PI everywhere we cache so we avoid it when possible and wear pants and long t-shirts in all but the hottest weather to avoid contact. Whenever we have touched it my wife uses technu and is fine. I don't bother and have been fine.

 

Ben

[+jacobsen1]

I wait for winter, just in case.....

If waiting for winter works for you then you are not really that allergic to it. It has the same resins year round.... Next summer just keep on cachin'....

Yep, the first time I ever got it was in the winter sledding... The hill we were on is COVERED with the stuff in the sumer... We had no idea, and the snow wore down after a whole day playing in it, and I got a rash where your plumber crack would be... Had no idea what it was until my I told my Mom and she said it looked just like a PI rash, but everyone was surprised you could get it in winter... We went to where I had been in the snow and saw it there...

[+krazymtbr & QT]

I get poison ivy really bad. It seems like all I have to do is look at it and I get it. This was my first summer geocaching but I've been a mountain biker for years now and it seems like every summer I get it at least once. This summer was no exception but I only got one little spot on my arm. I started carrying around tubs of those moist wipes, which I leave in the car, and when I'm done, wheather its mountain biking or geocaching, I wipe down my arms and legs fairly well. Yes I still got that one little spot but that was nothing compared to what I usually get, so that seemed to help. Just because I get poison ivy I don't want that to stop me from enjoying my hobbies.

 

Krazymtbr

[+Team LightningBugs]

Maybe I'm in the minority, but my senstivity has lessened over time. I remember having several cases of PI as a kid. But just this summer, I wound up exposed to the stuff at least 3 times and never broke out. Like somebody said, hypersensitivity reactions in an individual can change over time - either getting worse or getting better. I'm just waiting for the day mine comes roaring back....

[+dner & the conman]

I'm one of those that have never had a problem with poison ivy and I've spent lots of time in the woods over the years. My fiance and father can look at the stuff and break out. I did pick up something caching in Florida back in September on my wrist that was like little bumps under the skin. It itched very little but lasted about three weeks. Don't know what it was, but nobody thought it was poison ivy.

[+fishingfools]

i get it and get it bad. Technu is your friend, and yep dog wil transfer the oil to you.

 

/itchy and scrachy

[+yumitori]

I expect that in the great majority of cases the poison ivy wasn't present or recognized when the cache was hidden, and the owner updated the page to warn folks after searchers reported the problem. There's no doubt a few folks who think it adds to the challenge, but I don't think that's typical.

 

In some areas it's nearly impossible to avoid poison ivy if you want to go into the woods, so perhaps the best option is to make friends with one of those strange immune people and make them retrieve the container. (I think that's the real reason some folks hang out with me after all...)

[OGBO]

PO/PI/PS sensitivity changes with time and circumstances, both increase and decrease. Until I was in my 50s, I never reacted to any of the 3. I had encountered all 3 at various times as I travelled and lived in various parts of the continent. I would do trail work (building, clearing, maintenance) and handle it with my bare hands. But one day, we had a trail project in the back part of Castle Rock State Park (SFBay Area). We took our vehicles down the muddy road (drizzly, foggy day). Next day, I cleaned the mud from under the car and wheel wells. Turned out the "mud" was decayed PO leaves. About a week later I got this weird rash all over my body, especially a tracery that turned out to be tracing my lymph circulation system. Not ever having had such a rash before, and not knowing what it was, I went to my doctor. "What is this stuff?" "Poison oak" "But I never react to poison oak!" "You do now!" And ever since, I have been quite sensitive to it. The lymph system reaction happens when I get scratched with the branches.

 

But, since I orienteer a lot and thus encounter it a lot (I run advanced courses, so a lot of off-trail), I find that I can build an immunity if I encounter it once a week for a couple months. If I skip 2 or 3 months, the reaction builds up again.

 

Some personal experience and published facts - worst time is spring, when the leaves are dark green and shiney (from the urushiol - the oil that causes the reaction). There is NO time when you will get zero oil - it is on the bare twigs and branches, even in the dead of winter when there are no leaves at all (learn to recognize the leafless plants!). Burning the plants gets the oils into the air, and potentially into your lungs (something that Calif Div of Forestry takes precautions for when fighting brush fires around here - causes serious airway reactions and potentially death). Once the oil is removed, you cannot spread the reaction by touching the outbreak. But, you can get it from oils on clothes, shoes, pack, water bottle/Camelbak, your pet's fur, your hiking stick, and anything else where contact was made, including brushing your GPSR against the plants. Wash everything thoroughly (alcohol, such as alcohol wipes, will also remove the oil).

 

To reduce the reaction, or even eliminate it, I do the following -

 

1. before going out into the bushes, I slather on Tecnu. I used to use Ivy Armor, but that got way too expensive. This goes on every part of my body that is not exposed by cycling shorts (you can contact the oils from your clothes when taking them off).

 

2. after getting back from a run (like the orienteering course or a hike), I remove all outer clothes and wash with Tecnu and COLD water (hot water opens the pores and helps your skin absorb the urushiol - read the Tecnu directions!). All the clothes, including my orienteering shoes, go into plastic bags. The compass and map bags get wiped down with alcohol.

 

3. It is an allergic reaction, so I take an antihistamine, such as Benadryl or a generic version thereof.

 

4. when getting home, I slather on a dishwashing liquid that does a good job of dissolving grease and oil (Dawn is a Big Name brand, but store brands work well, if they are designed for grease removal). This goes all over my body before getting into the shower and is given a few minutes to dissolve the oils. Then I rinse off with a cool shower, followed by 2 repeats of the soap and cool rinse. Grandma's lye soap, the ancient remedy, or any good soap that is minimally perfumed will also work, but lather it up rather than rubbing the bar on your skin (and hence rubbing the oils in).

 

5. if I feel itching after drying off, I coat the area with an antihistamine cream or gel. But, be careful about using a benadryl-type cream or gel along with a benadryl-type pill. Read the directions! Avoid overdosing. The benadryl-type creams and gels reduce the outbreak and will prevent or minimize the "weeping" of the rash.

 

Some people find cortisone creams or even injections necessary.

 

A big caution - if you are out in the woods where there is PI/PO/PS and need to relieve yourself, you should clean your hands thoroughly BEFORE unzipping or dropping your pants. Getting the oils on your sensitive parts will cause a major reaction. I know a woman who used what turned out to be a PO leaf to wipe off (unknowingly) and was miserable for days. I also know a man who did not realize he had the oils on his hands. He says the swelling would have put all those magic products touted in e-spam to shame.

[+jacobsen1]

I wonder if I don't get it any more since I take benadryl everyday now due to a different alergy? Maybe it work as a preventative to PI also?

Ben

[hide & seekers]

I got a bad case of poison ivy in June while searching for a cache. I had to get a steroid shot and take oral steroids for 15 days after the stuff just kept getting worse and worse and worse. I have permanent scars from it.

 

I stay away from any cache that notes that poison ivy is nearby. I'm waiting until the vegetation dies down, there's good hard frost and preferably snow, to go find a couple. I know the PI is still there, but figure my chances will greatly reduced in coming in contact with it.

 

Coincidentally or not, now in my mid-30s I started seeing an allergist this year spring because of seasonal allergies. She warned that unless I tried to reduce my contact with certain allergens, my body could simply decide to be allergic to everything one day. Evidently I'm one of those people who get worse as they get older.

[+Old Bet]

I think it is bad form to intentionally hide a cache in a patch of poison ivy.

 

Last spring, I found a cache that was in the midst of some teeney-tiny just sprouting poison ivy. The little leaflets-three were small, but definitely identifiable.

 

But I doubt if that was the hider's intent: the cache had been placed during the winter. when the poison ivy was dormant. Beyond that, poison ivy spreads widely, so the fact that a cache is found amid poison ivy does not mean that the hider intended it to be that way.

 

I also have to think that hiding a cache amidst poisonous plants must violate a gc.com rule, althugh I did not check.