Poison Ivy

[+hummer dude]

How does everybody deal with poison ivy. I seem to find it every time we go caching. I am very allergic to it and break out every time out no matter how careful I am. We live is sugarland texas and ivy seems to be everywhere. Any ideas would of great help. This is getting old. It almost makes me not want to go into the woods and find the cool caches.

Auggie

[+TheAlabamaRambler]

I am not allergic and therefore don't get the rash, but friends of mine who do report good success with Sumactin.

Ed

[+NoLemon]

If you think you've been exposed wash with Tecnu.

 

If you do break out in a rash, use a product called Zanfel and follow the directions explicitly. Zanfel is a bit pricey but if you want to get rid of the rash it works and works well. For me, it is worth it!

 

Zanfel

 

Tecnu

Edited November 1, 2006 by NoLemon

[+briansnat]

I make sure I wash thoroughly as soon as possible after touching it. I mean really wash, like for about 15 minutes of soap, rinse, soap, rinse, soap, rinse..... Also use cool water. Hot water opens your pores and increases the chances of your absorbing the oil. As long as I can get to a shower within a few hours after exposure it works well. Doing this, I haven't had more than minor patch or two of skin break out in years.

 

There is also a product called Ivy Block that you apply like sunscreen. I haven't used it, but I know people who have and said it works great.

Edited November 1, 2006 by briansnat

[+jackrock]

I am highly allergic so I'm very careful. I watch every step, sometimes I wear slacks and make sure I don't touch them with my hands. Some caches I've put off searching for because there was no safe way in. I plan to go back this winter to search for them. But remember that you can still get a rash from exposure to poison ivy after it drops its leaves so you need to be able to identify it all year.

 

If I think I may have been exposed, I wash thoroughly. Some swear by Tecnu. I find that any soap works fine, I've used several (whatever is most handy). I've prevented rashes after exposure by washing with handsoap in the sink of a public bathroom when necessary. I lather my legs thoroughly and have "rinsed" them with soaked paper towels. This may be primitive and weird looking but it has saved me more than once.

[+Bad_CRC]

I'm allergic, I've had it worse than mayo clinic doctors had ever seen a couple of times.

 

I watch for the stuff, can usually see it a mile away, and I avoid it.

 

 

problem is that in winter and spring, there are no leaves on it, and the potent sap is still there, so at that point you are in trouble.

 

other than that, just shower with cool water and change clothes after every caching trip where you think ivy might have been around.

 

haven't gotten a bad case of it while caching... yet.

[+Travelinmatt76]

I'm one of the lucky ones that isn't really affected by poison ivy. If I get a rash it's usually small and doesn't itch. Though I still wear gloves and a long sleeve shirt when I cache.

[+Sherman T. Potter]

Prevention is the key....

 

If weather permits...cover the skin that is possibly exposed to the plant.

 

As a few have said, washing after possible exposure will decrease the possibility of developing a reactive rash....but you really only have 1 hour after exposure (contact) to wash your skin.

 

Learn to identify the plant and avoid at all cost...remember, other vectors can expose unknowingly...I got the worst case of poison oak from a friend's dog.....dog gets in the plant....you pet the dog....then you rub eyes or take a leak.....if the resin from the plant is on something/someone...it can get on you.

 

After exposure cares include oral antihistamines and in severe cases oral steroids to combat the rash.

[+hydnsek]

If I think I may have been exposed, I wash thoroughly. Some swear by Tecnu.

Yep, we orienteers swear by Tecnu, and practically bathe in the stuff after we run through poison oak or ivy. If you apply it within 6 hours of exposure, it nearly always prevents the rash. Ivy Block, by the same company, is great beforehand if you are super-sensitive (and need both), but for most folks i know, Tecnu does the trick.

[kimnbair]

I have to get a steroid shot everytime I get it and I just got some this weekend so I'll be calling the doctor this week! ARG!

[+cimawr]

 

I got the worst case of poison oak from a friend's dog.....dog gets in the plant....you pet the dog....then you rub eyes or take a leak.....if the resin from the plant is on something/someone...it can get on you.

 

 

Yup. I've gotten it several times from one of my dogs brushing against it, then brushing against me.

The WORST case I've ever had resulted from my Jack Russell swimming in a canal on a hot day, then running through the underbrush on the bank. Said underbrush, unknown to me, was full of PI; I was wearing shorts and a tank top, and she jumped up into my arms while she was still dripping wet.... which drips were, unfortunately, a mixture of canal water and PI oil, and got all over my arms AND my legs.

And since I didn't realize I'd been exposed, and was outdoors for the next 4 hours...

Edited November 1, 2006 by cimawr

[+Okiebryan]

Another vote for Technu Extreme. I am not badly allergic to it, I maybe might get a spot here or there on my forearms. My GF, however, swells up like she's been badly beaten. Technu has prevented this since we started using it. Just use it to wash all your skin that you suspect has been exposed. Carry bottled water in the vehicle, and Technu. A little goes a long way.

[+emurock]

How does everybody deal with poison ivy. I seem to find it every time we go caching. I am very allergic to it and break out every time out no matter how careful I am. We live is sugarland texas and ivy seems to be everywhere. Any ideas would of great help. This is getting old. It almost makes me not want to go into the woods and find the cool caches.

Auggie

It is times like this that makes me happy not to be allergic to poison ivy.

[+ThePropers]

How does everybody deal with poison ivy. I seem to find it every time we go caching. I am very allergic to it and break out every time out no matter how careful I am. We live is sugarland texas and ivy seems to be everywhere. Any ideas would of great help. This is getting old. It almost makes me not want to go into the woods and find the cool caches.

Auggie

It is times like this that makes me happy not to be allergic to poison ivy.

 

I've never had a reaction before this week....but it's just a small patch on the underside of my wrist, so I'm chalking it up to that skin being more sensitive.

 

How am I dealing with it? Scratching it furiously which is bound to leave a scar, of course. Chicks dig scars. I'll say it's from jumping in front of a bullet to save some starving orphans though, rather than a battle wound from retrieiving some tupperware from a hole in a tree.

Edited November 1, 2006 by ThePropers

[+cimawr]

 

It is times like this that makes me happy not to be allergic to poison ivy.

 

Just don't get too confident about that, because you can develop an allergy at any age; all it takes is a sensitizing dose.

[+Wile E. Dragonfly]

I also am VERY allergic to PI. The only thing that has ever worked for me is drugs. The first was the prescription drug zyrtec. I got the scrip from my dermatologist when I had a particularly nasty case of it. It is WONDERFUL!!!!!! (Really, there should be statures put up of that doctor!) As long as I take the pill before the bumps turn to blisters - the rash goes away. I know that I got into PI a couple of weeks ago while placing our latest cache... went home and took a pill (and washed well) and have had no problems. I've also used Allegra for the same purpose with the same results. Have not tried Claritin yet, but might in the future. As it is over the counter, it might be an easy thing to try.

 

In addition to that, we keep wet wipes in the car... no need to push my luck.

 

And, if you're not sure if you're allergic or think that you're not... think again. The vast majority of folks who think they're not really are, you just havn't been exposed enough to develope a clinical reaction yet.

 

OH... just an FYI... if you're very reactive to the PI, you might want to stay away from eating mangos. Peeled fruit in stuff is probably OK, but the whole fruit that you peel the skin off of it yourself may result in a PI-like rash around your mouth. Sounds strange perhaps, until you learn that PI and mangos are in the same plant family (Anacardiaceae) and have similiar oils in the leaves of PI and the fruit skin of mangos.

 

Ah... the fun of botany!

[+Mr. 0]

When I was growing up my father always told me to take a shower and wash well with laundry soap. His theory is that it's stronger than regular soap so it breaks the oils down better. I've always followed this advice when I know that I've been exposed to PI, and I've rarely developed much more than a few bumps. A couple of years ago I was helping my folks clear some dead trees on their property and the area we were working in was very thick with PI. I was in shorts and a T-Shirt, so I know that between pulling the PI out by hand, and cutting through it with a chainsaw I was well exposed to it, but had no reaction after following that advice. I don't know that it actually works, or if I just don't react to PI much, but the idea makes sense in my mind.

[+Team Geotor]

I'm lucky that it doesn't bother me... but my wife will always make a trip to the Doc after she breaks out. Seems like she breaks out after looking at a picture of PI.

 

She has started washing with Dawn dishwashing soap whenever she thinks she has been close to PI. Since the ads say it breaks down grease and oil why not PI oil. So far, no break outs.

[+briansnat]

How does everybody deal with poison ivy. I seem to find it every time we go caching. I am very allergic to it and break out every time out no matter how careful I am. We live is sugarland texas and ivy seems to be everywhere. Any ideas would of great help. This is getting old. It almost makes me not want to go into the woods and find the cool caches.

Auggie

It is times like this that makes me happy not to be allergic to poison ivy.

 

Just you wait. I wasn't allergic until I was in my late 20s'. Then I confidently hid in a PI patch while playing paintball figuring nobody would look for me there. Nobody did, but 2 days later I came down with a nasty case of it.

[+viking66]

For what its worth, I was " immune" to the oil for the longest time. That was until my 28th year. An unreal reaction. i used to be able to pull it out of the ground by hand; my dad was able to too. Anyway, I had heard from a few sources ( hows that for reliable ) that the human bodies chemistry 'changes' every 7 years. What ever 'changes' may mean, I'll not soon know. I do know that magic multiple changed my mind about that scourge, and I avoid it. I also rant about its presence around caches if its obviously out of hand. I've seen ammo cans hidden in the root cavities of trees absolutely over run by PI; the caches were recently found too! Those poor devils must've worn Tyvek suits to get to their "prize".

Edited November 1, 2006 by viking66

[+fatboy52]

For what its worth, I was " immune" to the oil for the longest time. That was until my 28th year. An unreal reaction. i used to be able to pull it out of the ground by hand; my dad was able to too. Anyway, I had heard from a few sources ( hows that for reliable ) that the human bodies chemistry 'changes' every 7 years. What ever 'changes' may mean, I'll not soon know. I do know that magic multiple changed my mind about that scourge, and I avoid it. I also rant about its presence around caches if its obviously out of hand. I've seen ammo cans hidden in the root cavities of trees absolutely over run by PI; the caches were recently found too! Those poor devils must've worn Tyvek suits to get to their "prize".

I also thought i was immune until one caching episode and i got it real bad.now i wipe down with baby wipes i keep in my truck when i think iam exposed to it.its worked so far. Edited November 1, 2006 by fatboy52

[+ShutterBug98027]

Another vote for Tecnu.

I also have a dermatologist that is even more allergic to PI than I am (if it can be believed) He relates a story to me that he got it on the INSIDE of his eyelids... (Shudder).

 

He gave me a scrip for some pills and a cream. Between those, tecnu and lots of cool water, caching is not a fatal disease for me.

[+Harry Dolphin]

I've always had a minor allergy to poison ivy. An itch for a few days. Then it'd go away. Last year, however, while recovering from Lyme, I got a spectacular case of allergic dermatitis. It went from a minor itch near my wrist to giant blotches all over my body. Doc said I had allergic dermatitis. Duh. I had that figured out myself! She put me on Prednisone. The rash went away quickly. And I had such severe mood swings that I was quite dangerous for twelve days. Ain't nobody putting me on THAT again! So, if the cache looks like it's anywhere near poison ivy, I turn around. And this year has been a spectacularly glorious year for poison ivy! Oh, well. Not getting a smiley is better than killing someone while I'm on Prednisone!

[+EFDub]

I am suffering through a bout of PI caught while caching last Friday. It sucks. I have had some wicked reactions in the past (eyes swollen shut, huge nasty blisters, etc.), so I am usually on the look out. But I didn't see any PI and didn't wash up right away. I just got the steroids this afternoon. I hope it clears up soon, the itching is horrible.

[+emurock]

How does everybody deal with poison ivy. I seem to find it every time we go caching. I am very allergic to it and break out every time out no matter how careful I am. We live is sugarland texas and ivy seems to be everywhere. Any ideas would of great help. This is getting old. It almost makes me not want to go into the woods and find the cool caches.

Auggie

It is times like this that makes me happy not to be allergic to poison ivy.

Just you wait. I wasn't allergic until I was in my late 20s'. Then I confidently hid in a PI patch while playing paintball figuring nobody would look for me there. Nobody did, but 2 days later I came down with a nasty case of it.

My dad use not to be allergic to poison ivy then in his 30s' he got allergic to poison ivy. So I think I will wait for myself to become allergic to poison ivy, but in the mean time I am going to injoy it yowl it last.

[+two left feet]

Secondary exposure can be a problem. As most guys do, I sometimes "relieve" myself when out hiking. If your hands have been exposed to PI anything they touch gets exposed. Believe me!!

 

As for what I do; I have been wiping everything down with rubbing alcohol on paper towels. I wipe down my hiking stick, GPS, PDA and anything else I might have touched. I keep it in the SUV with my gear. Much easier to use than soap and water out in the woods. Seems to work fine.

 

Another source of exposure is your pant legs and boots. If you have walked through some low growing PI the oil will be all over. I pull my pant legs up, turning them inside out and then remove my boots and pants. Then go wash with soap and water to get rid of any oil that got on my hands and arms. The oil on your boots stays active for a long time. So when I put my boots on for the next outing I wash my hands after tying the laces.

[+ghost640]

Poison ivy is an antibody-antigen reaction, meaning that you don't react to poison ivy on your first exposures, but your body starts building up antibodies to it. The rash is actually a reaction between your antibodies and the active ingredient in PI (Urishiol).

 

A strong oxidizing compound will denature the oils - I've used a 50:50 bleach water solution, just until your skin gets slippery, then rinse it off (not the greatest thing for your skin, but it beats the rash!). I bet Dawn would work well too, I use it for stripping the wax off my car, it's also good for killing off army worms. Useful stuff!

[+cimawr]

 

Doc said I had allergic dermatitis. Duh. I had that figured out myself! She put me on Prednisone. The rash went away quickly. And I had such severe mood swings that I was quite dangerous for twelve days. Ain't nobody putting me on THAT again!

 

Heh. I'm glad to hear that I made the right decision when I chose NOT to fill the scrip for Pred that my doctor gave me after the dripping-JRT episode.

 

Which was also prescribed due to a secondary allergic reaction, aka allergic dermatitis; two days after the initial exposure broke me out all over my legs and arm, I started breaking out on my stomach, chest, and face, as well. I filled the antihistamine scrip, but decided to give the steriods a pass - I've seen some nasty reactions to that in both people and dogs.

[+cimawr]

Secondary exposure can be a problem. As most guys do, I sometimes "relieve" myself when out hiking. If your hands have been exposed to PI anything they touch gets exposed. Believe me!!

 

Hrm. Guys ain't the only ones who need to pee out of doors, which brings to mind the suggestion to female hikers (cachers or not) that it's wise to A. be careful of the spot you pick and B. carry tissues or wipes.

And in a pinch (hope I don't gross anybody out, but this is actually important health info!) - one should either drip-dry - urine is sterile unless you have an existing infection - or use a shirttail or the like.

 

Many years ago, a friend of mine ducked into the woods to pee at an outdoor festival, because there were insanely long lines at the portajohns; it was dark, and she grabbed some nearby vegetation in lieu of TP. The result was extremely nasty, because said leaves were poison oak.

Not to mention that bacteria from dead leaves or other vegetation can result in nasty UTIs, which can be life-threatening if the bacteria is virulent enough to travel up to the kidneys.

 

I'll add, since we're on the subject, that male OR female, if you find yourself "caught short" with the need to do more than pee, PLEASE remember that proper woods etiquette is to dig a hole and cover. Few things are more disgusting when hiking than encountering the leavings of someone ignorant of this common courtesy.

[+sbell111]

I've never been affected by the stuff, so I generally don't pay any attention to it. I'm also several years older than those in this thread who became allergic to it in their twenties and thirties, so I'm not that concerned about developing a reaction to it.

[TEAM NICKELBACKERS]

What we all need to do is get to the root of the problem. PI thrives on the carbon dioxide rich environment that we all contribute to every day. So if we all breathe less and ride our bikes to find caches, we can all help to slow down the growth of it. Luckily, I am not affected to PI. So I will wave to you as I drive by, looking for that next cache.

[+sbell111]

What we all need to do is get to the root of the problem. PI thrives on the carbon dioxide rich environment that we all contribute to every day. So if we all breathe less and ride our bikes to find caches, we can all help to slow down the growth of it. Luckily, I am not affected to PI. So I will wave to you as I drive by, looking for that next cache.

If I rode my bike to all caches that I go after, I'd either be breathing a whole lot more or not at all.

[+sunrise searcher]

My mother-in-law swears by Ivy Block. I swear by hiking boots, long pants and long sleeves. I watch carefully, and if I even THINK I got into poison ivy I shuck the clothes and wash them in hot water with extra soap as soon as I get home.

 

If I get the rash, it ALWAYS gets really bad and I end up on antibiotics and steroids -- yuck! So, I am very careful.

 

Whatever you do, wash the clothes you were wearing ASAP -- the oils stay in the clothes forever otherwise. Wash any skin you think was exposed very thoroughly with a grease-cutting soap (to cut the oil) as soon as you can. Don't rub your eyes, your nose, or any other mucous membrane before washing your hands.

 

Take Benadryl to help control the itching and swelling if you get the rash.

[+Huntnlady]

You are probably not going to believe this...

 

I am very allergic to poison oak, but for about the past dozen years I found that I can go into it with complete abandon. It is all because I've started eating it whenever I get near it.

 

I first heard about this from my grandmother who said the Indians didn't get poison oak because they were always working with it (the roots make black rows for their baskets) and eating the berries. She talked about the half-whites that were suseptible to it and how they'd avoid getting the rash by eating it from when the leaves first appeared in spring, until it went leafless in the winter.

 

It was many years until I worked up the courage to try it, but after a particularly bad bout of the rash and going to the emergency room with face so swollen that my eyes were shut, I resolved to try it. When I got over the rash, I went out of the woods, nervously pinched a small leaf off, put it on my tongue and swallowed it with some water. I went out to the woods almost every day for a month and repeated the procedure. I never got the rash, and my immunity lasted for the year.

 

That was 12 years ago. Now I just eat it whenever I go out in the woods. I was involved in a student project in a poison oak infested area this spring, and I was the only student on the project not to get a rash. The other students saw me eating the leaves and they were horrified, but I couldn't get anyone else to try it even after I was the only one with clear skin.

 

This summer I was on a ranch clearing roads of vegetation and making brush piles for small game. I had many times when I would bring down a branch covered with poison oak and it would scratch across my sweat-covered arms or brush down my face. No rash happened.

 

This fall, the best blind position I could find for bowhunting was right in a patch of poison oak beside a deer trail. It didn't matter to me, I just nibbled on the nearest leaf once or twice a day.

 

It works.

[+Wile E. Dragonfly]

I have heard of some native american remedy using a solution of PI.... hubby wanted me to try it after a particularly bad bout of it, but I never did. I still rely on allegra as it works for me.

 

I did find an interesting article on it... http://waynesword.palomar.edu/ww0802.htm give a nice summary of what is known of the plant and related plants.

[+jackrock]

Prevention is the key....

 

...I got the worst case of poison oak from a friend's dog.....dog gets in the plant....you pet the dog....then you rub eyes or take a leak.....if the resin from the plant is on something/someone...it can get on you.

 

Great point! The first rash I ever got was from a dog -- secondary exposure! I hike & cache with dogs so I'm very careful because they run through it all the time. They also swim a lot which seems to help wash the oils off them.

 

Another concern is secondary infection. I got a really nasty case of poison ivy rash during the cleanup after the hurricane last year. That was bad enough but on top of that I got a nasty infection that took 5 months to clear up. The infection got in through the open oozing lesions. So the rash cleared up but skin lesions from the bacterial infection were popping up and oozing all over for the next several months. I am even more careful now.

Edited November 4, 2006 by jackrock

[+jojojousa]

I learned the hard way not to go caching in flip flops! Got some caught under my toes and I am very very allergic! Since then I make sure all skin is covered. I watch and avoid it...walk around it - if you know you have touched it wash it as soon as possible! I read that shoe strings are a big culprit of spreading the oils so disposable medical gloves are handy to keep around. AND I bought a bar of good old Napha soap. Removes the oils very good. I almost died once from some neighbors that where burning PI and I had inhaled the fumes...so be cautious about that also!

[+hummer dude]

I learned the hard way not to go caching in flip flops! Got some caught under my toes and I am very very allergic! Since then I make sure all skin is covered. I watch and avoid it...walk around it - if you know you have touched it wash it as soon as possible! I read that shoe strings are a big culprit of spreading the oils so disposable medical gloves are handy to keep around. AND I bought a bar of good old Napha soap. Removes the oils very good. I almost died once from some neighbors that where burning PI and I had inhaled the fumes...so be cautious about that also!

Thanks for all the hepl

The Zanfel is working great.

[mloser]

I am very allergic to poison oak, but for about the past dozen years I found that I can go into it with complete abandon. It is all because I've started eating it whenever I get near it.

 

I partipated in a clinical study that involved exactly this approximately 20 years ago--we were tested for our reaction prior to the study, we took pills with diluted urushiol in them for 30 days, and tested afterwards. The result was promising enough to take the study to the next level, which was at a different hospital and was a true "blind" study (we were the alpha test. We knew what was happening and expected some sort of results). However, after the blind study was over the results were not significant enough to claim that taking urushiol internally helped. The drug was never made commercially available. One thing that a couple of us noted after the study was that, although taking the pills did not make us immune to PI, it DID seem to reduce the severity and the length of time the rash remained. Just based on that I would have purchased the medication had it become available!

 

Like others here I swear by Tecnu. I have tried most of the other remedies, with the exception of the "wire brush/bleach" one, which seemed just too nasty. I tried Zanfel with no results, but its effectiveness depends on the individual. I have also kept wipes in the car, but have trouble finding ones without lanolin or other moisturizers, which I feel would just add to the problem by smearing the urushiol more. Now I just get home and wash, or shower, with Tecnu. I have gotten small bits of rashes, but never anything major.

 

Someone mentioned mangos earlier. Other things to stay away from, if you already have a rash are cashews and japanese lacquered items. Both have the oil in them. Eating cashews while you have PI will reportedly make the rash flare up. I have not tested this. I DID rub my arm against a japanese black lacquer desk once and got a small rash. That was a deliberate test.

[+JSWilson64]

When my son got it pretty bad last year, our doc recommended Domeboro astringent compresses. It works very well to dry it up while the rash is "weeping." We just tear an old towel into strips, soak in the solution, and apply to the rash areas. Topical prescription steroid cream works well to stop the itching, too.

 

Best remedy is prevention - scrub with soap and water as soon as you return from the woods. Not later that evening - when you walk in the door. Get the sap/oil off as soon as you can to mitigate the effects. The rash typically lasts 2 weeks, so it's best to stop it or reduce your exposure before it starts.

 

And don't "miss" anywhere, or you'll be sorry. Like if it's on your knee, and you forget to scrub the back of the knee, it can be painful for 7-10 days, and the inflammation can drain down to your ankle and make it hurt, too. Don't ask me how I know that...