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Help! GPS'er fell on a poison ivy plant!


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So, after turning into the Creature from the Black Lagoon last month with a poison ivy rash that covered my face, arms and legs, I have been super careful when caching. Today, I found a cache with a good bit of poison ivy around GZ, but I jumped around and navigated around it successfully. But then, after logging the cache, on my way out, my GPS'er fell out of my pocket and bounced off a poison ivy plant! What can one do to clean off the unit without ruining the unit or getting a rash? I picked up the unit with a leaf and tucked it into my pocket, and then, as soon as I could find a bathroom, I very lightly washed the sides with warm water and soap and then slathered it several times with hand sanitizer. Then, I washed my hands with hot water and soap several times.

 

Is there a good way to remove urushiol from a GPS'er?

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Until somebody comes along with better advice, I will suggest something that I found on the interwebs:

 

How long will the poison ivy oils remain active on my clothes and garden tools?

Urushiol may be transmitted on outdoor equipment, golf clubs, garden tools and clothing. The oil can remain active on these items for up to five years. Wear protective gloves and wash affected tools thoroughly with soap and water. Clean contaminated clothing in a separate wash load.

 

Note that you do not want to use soap when washing it off of yourself, because it will only spread the oils (did you read that, BP? Soap==dispersant!) but you can use it (with rubber gloves on) to get the stuff off of objects, apparently.

 

If your GPSr is not a field style (handheld), such as a Nuvi, it may not be water-resistant enough... I'm really not sure. But almost all handheld models are.

 

Good luck!

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Tecnu. It breaks down the urushiol on people, pets, and things. Orienteers and other outdoor adventurers swear by it (including me). You can find it in drugstores, etc. or online. Rub some on the GPS and give it a few hours, then wash off (Tecnu is oily). You should be good to go!
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Tecnu. It breaks down the urushiol on people, pets, and things. Orienteers and other outdoor adventurers swear by it (including me). You can find it in drugstores, etc. or online. Rub some on the GPS and give it a few hours, then wash off (Tecnu is oily). You should be good to go!

 

How about rubbing alcohol?

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Tecnu. It breaks down the urushiol on people, pets, and things. Orienteers and other outdoor adventurers swear by it (including me). You can find it in drugstores, etc. or online. Rub some on the GPS and give it a few hours, then wash off (Tecnu is oily). You should be good to go!

 

X2 for Tecnu. I haven't had a major PI outbreak since I started using it after each cache run in the woods.

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I've always been told to use Dawn/Palmolive/whatever dish soap, because of the "grease fighter" ingredients. Gently washing your unit with the soapy water might help get rid of the oil.

 

Then again, I'm not allergic so I'm not sure if this actually works. Take all advice with a grain of salt. :)

 

The best advice when something like that happens is to simply send the GPS to me and go buy a new, better one.

 

Or there's that. B)

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I used the old-school Fels Naptha bar soap for years if I thought I was in contact with PI ( http://www.felsnaptha.com/ ) . They have some tips for getting PI off of your clothes on their site. You can usually find it in the laundry department of the grocery store. It's been used for PI prevention for over 100 years. Lately I've been trying some of the newer PI cures but the Fels always seemed to work.

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Tecnu. It breaks down the urushiol on people, pets, and things. Orienteers and other outdoor adventurers swear by it (including me). You can find it in drugstores, etc. or online. Rub some on the GPS and give it a few hours, then wash off (Tecnu is oily). You should be good to go!

 

Yep, I use Tecnu to clean up my gears, clothes and my skins. I always got them on hand any given time. You can buy them in 32oz bottle. B)

 

Oh, if you live in the Pacific Northwest, Bi-mart carry them.

Edited by SwineFlew
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So, how is the GPSr doing? Any signs of blistering yet?

 

So far, so good. And I've cached since. I checked the closest pharmacy and found no Tecnu, but I did scrub myself with Zanfel, and have no rash yet. I'll definitely get some Tecnu and carry it everywhere.

 

I suspect that hand sanitizer helped, as there is so much alcohol in it.

 

Thanks for all the tips! If I get one more major rash this year, I might end up all up in the lamp skirts! :)

 

And cejs, seriously, you don't want my little nuvi 255w. I keep meaning to upgrade, but have been too cheap!!! :(

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And cejs, seriously, you don't want my little nuvi 255w. I keep meaning to upgrade, but have been too cheap!!! :(

OMG! DO NOT get rid of your 255W! Upgrade to a handheld for the actual caching... you will be glad you did. But my 255W is priceless to me as a highway navigator and paperless device.
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Poison Ivy Story: Wore socks through heavy poison ivy, came home washed same , rolled into ball threw in drawer, wore them couple of weeks ago , came home washed same, threw in drawer. Poison Ivy developed on left foot, without making connection wore socks again and sure enough now have it on right foot. Threw socks in garbage., :(

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