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Is it just me?


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Or has the poison ivy been especially bad this year? I've already had two major outbreaks and it's not even June. I even passed up a fairly simple cache today because the PI looked to be really bad. I'll come back in the Fall or some other time.

Edited by pamlicojack
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I'm 25 and never had PI in my LIFE! Until now! ;) I've had it for 3 weeks and its still spreading! It will not go away even though i'm using a prescription cream. I might end up having to go get a shot! YUCK!

 

Hah! You are a official geocacher now. Get used to it (BTW if you think you've been exposed Tecnu is worth every penny).

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I'll come back in the Fall or some other time.

If you rely on this statement, you are gonna be sorry all over again.

PI does go into a dormant state, but it still will provide you with the same reaction as it did in the summer. It's not just the leaves, it is the whole plant!

Worse yet, it is less recognizable when dormant.

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Could be because you two 'vics' are geocacing for your first summer, and are now out in the wild alot more that before.

 

Edited to sound less condesending.

 

Having worked for a surveyor for the past 12 years, I probably spend more time in the woods than the average cacher, hence that's why I've noticed it more this year.

 

 

Also edited to sound less condescending... ;)

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I wish I was immune. When I was about 25, I was in the U.S. and had my very first run-in with poison ivy. (we don't have it here in Australia)

I broke out into welts in places I don't care to discuss, and was nearly hospitalised because of the ...err.... swelling. ;)

 

Apparently your ankle can brush against poison ivy, and the poison travels through your system and breaks out to make it look like you've been rolling around naked in it. <shudder> And people think Australia has some nasties in the bush!

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If you rely on this statement, you are gonna be sorry all over again.

PI does go into a dormant state, but it still will provide you with the same reaction as it did in the summer. It's not just the leaves, it is the whole plant!

Ya beat me to the warning! I once got PI from my cat in December. Since we live in a rural area, she was allowed outside. She walked thru the PI, then rubbed up my legs later, and viola! I was at the doc's for Rx cream, and everyone thought I was crazy when I said I had Poison Ivy. :laughing:

 

Also... NEVER EVER BURN POISON IVY. My aunt and uncle live on a small farm. My uncle thought he'd solve all my aunt's PI problems and torched the bushes. Nope... the oils or whatever were in the smoke that wafted all over. She had it worse that fall than any other time in her life.

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Also... NEVER EVER BURN POISON IVY. My aunt and uncle live on a small farm. My uncle thought he'd solve all my aunt's PI problems and torched the bushes. Nope... the oils or whatever were in the smoke that wafted all over. She had it worse that fall than any other time in her life.

 

you can burn poison ivy.... the key is to not be anywhere near the smoke....

 

so drop the match and run. B)

 

i got poison ivy last week... on my ankles... even though i had long pants and tall boots on. maybe it happened when i stripped and rolled around in it. :laughing:

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Every time I go caching in the woods every, and I mean EVERY, plant I see has three leaves. It's difficult to tell whether it's PI or an imitator, but I avoid them all as much as I can as a precautionary measure, even when I'm sure it's not PI. One upside is that it's helped me get around the woods in a much more circumspect manner without disrupting any of the vegetation or wildlife. I'm getting better about recognizing them though, since being schooled on the differences (such as raspberry vines and how they differ from this vile weed), and looking for the fuzzy vines. So now I'm a little less paranoid.

 

The biggest problem for me is Sumac. I've seen a dozen pictures of them and I still don't think I'd be able to recognize one if my life depended on it. :laughing:

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Every time I go caching in the woods every, and I mean EVERY, plant I see has three leaves. It's difficult to tell whether it's PI or an imitator, but I avoid them all as much as I can as a precautionary measure, even when I'm sure it's not PI. One upside is that it's helped me get around the woods in a much more circumspect manner without disrupting any of the vegetation or wildlife. I'm getting better about recognizing them though, since being schooled on the differences (such as raspberry vines and how they differ from this vile weed), and looking for the fuzzy vines. So now I'm a little less paranoid.

 

The biggest problem for me is Sumac. I've seen a dozen pictures of them and I still don't think I'd be able to recognize one if my life depended on it. B)

The only way I can distinguish sumac from poison sumac is the berries.

If they are white, then don't wipe with the leaves. :laughing:

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"Oral Ivy" works. I have gotten PI in the winter in MO with snow on the ground. Then I took "Oral Ivy" or something like it for a couple of months. I haven't had it in some time now. Yes, it is worse this year in TX than I've ever seen it. We've had extra rain here so it is much worse!! I knew a guy in MO that burned a fence row that had a bunch of PI in it. He got it in his lungs and almost died. He was in ICU for weeks!!

Edited by kwhart
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Ah. I used to think that we had the bestest, grestest poison ivy here in New Jersey! Then I went geocaching in Fort Tryon Park, at the upper end of Manhattan. The poison ivy there puts ours to shame! Then I went geocaching in Goddard Park in Rhode Island. Absolutely the most magnificient poison ivy that I've ever seen! Free-standing plants over seven feet tall! They definitely know how to do it in Rhode Island!!!!!

No. I don't think this year is any worse than other years. I had some brush against my face yesterday, overthinking a cache. But I don't usually suffer from it unless I get some sap on my skin. (As opposed to my brother who breaks out if he's closer that twenty feet to a plant.)

Breaking out all over sounds like allergic dermatitis. I had that when exposed to poison ivy whilst recovering from Lyme. Very unpleasant.

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The PO in SF Bay Area has been real bad this year, IMO. Ticks have been bad as well. Seems like all the late rains has made for an extended growing season and the stuff is thriving. I have seen more trails overgrown this year than the past, but that can also be due to lower trail maintenance frequency.

 

My doc recommended Zanfal after I had a bad episode, and it seems to work well at preventing rashes when i use the scrub within 8 hours of exposure. The stuff is bloody expensive though!

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