Poison Oak

[+forman]

After 100+ finds and 15 hide I finely got it. On my 14th hide I was trying the dig a hole under a huge rock to hide a ammo box, I was there about 1 hour in the middle of a poison oak bush, the leaves dropped so I had no idea. Luckly???, I have it only on 1 arm, my wife has it on 30% of her body (she was not even on the trip, just doing the laundry) and not a happy camper. Anyway, a heads up that it does not need leaves to get you.

 

Question: should I leave it cause some people do not get it or relocate it? I am not going there to maintain it. I will go and move it.

Do

[+Alan2]

I hid a cache where people reported there were loads of poison ivy around it. I'm not sure if it was there when I hid the cache or the bushes grew in as the season progressed. Whatever. I didn't archive or move it but did add a note to the cache page in capitals to wear long pants and watch out for the PI.

 

Let's face it. where caches are placed are not the most friendly. Snakes, PI, PO, etc. My personal revulsion is ticks. Can't stand them!

 

Alan

[+LarsThorwald]

You might be doing a people a favor by moving it a bit...

 

Down here in L.A. we've got a lot of poison oak. It dies off, comes back, gets cut down while clearing brush, comes back. I planted a cache in a completely clean area - three months later it was covered!

 

Guess you're going to be doing your own laundry from now on, huh?

 

Charlie

"One should never begin a journey by heading in the wrong direction."

[+Green Achers]

I grew up around the stuff so I was well educated and covered in Poison Oak early on. The thing that amazes me is that so many people don't know what it looks like (with leaf, let alone without). Further more, they don't know what to do once they're exposed to minigate spreading it and reducing the exposure. About the only thing they know is how to treat it (which may be because they blow everything else).

 

Don't get me wrong. I'm real sorry to read the above report and I realize things happen to the informed too. I just want people to have the best chance they can to avoid needing treatment! (Sorry again this is too late for the past).

 

I live and cache in California (Central Valley Cachers). The first thing we need to be aware of is to recognize the type of area prone to PO.

 

PO grows best in warm/hot climates. It like indirect light so under tree cover or the North side of hills/mountains.

 

It grows in three distinctive stages. In spring, it grows new leafs which start light green and progress to Green. The shape is key... it has five round sections which is like no other. In mid summer, the leaf turns yellow, orange then red. Around fall, the leafs drop to the ground leaving only the vines.

 

It was fall that created the problem that poor Forman (whom lives in Poison Oak Land) fell victim to. The vines and even the leafs on the ground carry the oil that causes the reaction. Once the oil transfers to skin or cloth or fur (dog owners), it can then be re-transfered until the oil wears out or dries out. It's like having a ink pen leak in your pocket, then gets on your hands, then your face... then your business client tells you how stupid you look. Only, with PO, you can't see the oil... so your business client has to wait longer to say the same thing.

 

Soap and hot water cleans the PO oil from your skin, clothes, fur*. (*I know what you're thinking).

 

If you think or know that you've been exposed, you're actions can stop/minimize the reactions. The sooner the following is performed, the better the out come. Don't sweat. Open pores like oil! Wash your hands with soap and water (warm water doesn't open pores). Carefully remove your cloths and place directly into the washer or a plastic bag (tie the bag to remind yourself). Don't forget your shoes and their laces. Re-wash your hands. Wash fitto and if the mutt was in the car... there will be oil on the seats and floors. (I love my dogs at this point).

 

Your PO reaction will depends on how much oil you got and how long it remained on your skin. There is also a factor that some people just don't get PO... I've never been in PO with these rare people but I have been in it with may that claimed so. (Get the picture?) Oh, ya. The reaction appears over a period of a couple weeks. I understand this is directly due to the exposure concentration. Lighter exposed areas take longer to react.

 

Now the Question: ''should I leave it cause some people do not get it or relocate it? I am not going there to maintain it. I will go and move it.''

 

I wouldn't hunt a cache that's in Poison Oak. I wouldn't want people complaining that they got it because of me. I really wouldn't want anyone accusing me for doing it to cause them harm. That's my opinion. However, if you post it on the cache page (in bold), we can't say you didn't warn us! I'm sure you'll do fine.

 

Take care and I hope you recover quickly Forman. Please relay my sympathy to your wife (if she's still speaking to you). Now I'm itching, darn it.

 

Bill of Green Achers

 

"Happy Trails make Happy Tails."

[+Team Boogidy]

My son and I were out on a cache hunt one day in Corriganville, I was the first to find this particular cache. I was feeling good. Then my son ran straight into poison oak , (he's 2 and doesn't know from poison oak) having grown up in So Cal I can spot it very quickly. Well, got him home, stripped us in the garage, clothes into the washer, us straight into the shower. (this traumitized the heck out of the little guy) Anyway long story longer, this was a couple of weeks ago and we both seemed to have escaped . Of course now that I've written (bragged) about this I'm probably doomed to get it.

 

Visualize Whirled Peas

[+Green Achers]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Boogidy:

. Of course now that I've written (bragged) about this I'm probably doomed to get it.

 

Visualize Whirled Peas

---

 

Great reaction! I also have to agree, I'm doomed! ''Pride comes before a fall.'' Just a reminder that I've been humbled many times in life and poison oak is no strainger... I'm still itching from talking about it. (I haven't been out caching in weeks.)

 

''Whirled Peas'' is now stuck in my head and I'm going to church. Thanks, pal!

 

Bill of Green Achers

 

"Happy Trails make Happy Tails."

[+Team Boogidy]

it's Mom.

But thanks anyway

We are going out today to see if we can avoid some more! Wish us luck

 

Visualize Whirled Peas

[+Green Achers]

Don't know what I was a thinkin'. Moms are great like that. Good job ma'am. (tip hat)

 

Bill of Green Achers

 

"Happy Trails make Happy Tails."

[CoverMe92]

If the cache is left, perhaps filling it with many bottles of Tecnu (a soap which can be used with/without water, and is EXTREMELY helpful in washing off poison oak oils!!)?????

 

I have a bottle of Tecnu in my 'caching bag... a 4oz bottle costs a little less than $5, and is soooooooo worth it!! Actually, I was thinking of buying a case of the 4oz bottles and leaving it in a few "deserving" caches! :-)

 

As a seasonal firefighter in california (CDF), I also learned that the SMOKE from poison oak can cause poison oak "infection" (rash etc) *IN* the respiratory system. In fact, I think I'm starting to itch just THINKING about it!! :-(

[+forman]

Just an update, The small spots on my arms turned out to be a real good case of P.O., My arms look like Pop-Eye the sailorman's, that is some nasty stuff. Tough lesson. Got on the Prednisone to help clear it up. My wife was in bed for 3 days covered with P.O. And she was P O'ed at me!!! I posted in caps that the cache site had P.O. and still 2 people went and found it. I emailed them and they said leave it where it was that it was a great spot. And I sit here and itch......

 

Don

[+GeoCraig]

I am currently working on my second worse case of poison oak ever. I'm on oral steroids to help clear it up. I have no idea where I picked it up this time--perhaps I was in some of the bushes that had lost all their leaves. I can usually spot the stuff from a mile away and steer clear.

 

Poison oak immunity can come or go. I used to be immune--at least I never got it even when I knew I was exposed. Then I had a terrible break out and then have been very sensitive since.

 

Here is a great URL to a poison oak page: http://knoledge.org/oak/

[+Team Boogidy]

Thank you so much for the web-site. I really hope you feel better soon. Oral steroids alone can make you feel like heck I'm worried, Baby Boog and I went looking for a brand new cache today, and after decoding the hint I decided to bushwhack a little, wearing shorts...

Never did find that darn cache. Oh well...

 

Visualize Whirled Peas

[+fizzymagic]

If you've already got the rash, you might want to try this stuff. I have used it with fairly good success; it doesn't cure systemtic PO immediately (though it can help), but it really gets rid of rashes that are from topical exposure very well.

 

The down side is that it is quite expensive. Of course, for me, when the itching becomes unbearable, expense is not my major concern!

[+cache_us_if_you_can]

If you've already got the rash, you might want to try this stuff. I have used it with fairly good success; it doesn't cure systemtic PO immediately (though it can help), but it really gets rid of rashes that are from topical exposure very well.

 

The down side is that it is quite expensive. Of course, for me, when the itching becomes unbearable, expense is not my major concern!

You may also want to try this stuff. It works well and does not cost too much.

[+Kite and Hawkeye]

After a year and a half of blithe immunity -- nearly 400 caches in poison oak territory -- I have come down with a truly amazing rash. I was exposed 15 days ago, and I only just stopped getting NEW spots. (No, I can't figure out what I could have been touching that might still have had oil on it.) I had a blotch on my neck that made co-workers shy away from me, my arms and legs are covered in the stuff, I have puffy splotches down my side in places that never see the light of day... it's absolutely everywhere. The itching, dear God, it's driving me insane. I've tried benadryl, cortisone, lanacaine, calamine... nothing really helps. I was going to put one lotion on each limb and see which itched the least!

 

Now, I knew there was poison oak around that cache we did, but I was fairly careful -- I only remember brushing a plant once. I showered when we got home, but it must have been too late. So many times in the past I've waded hip-deep in three-leaved plants and lived to tell the tale. I'm not sure what could possibly tempt me into doing another creekside cache anytime soon.

[+Nurse Dave]

On my 14th hide I was trying the dig a hole under a huge rock to hide a ammo box

Ummmmmm.

[+The Dillon Gang]

Now, I knew there was poison oak around that cache we did, but I was fairly careful -- I only remember brushing a plant once. I showered when we got home, but it must have been too late. So many times in the past I've waded hip-deep in three-leaved plants and lived to tell the tale. I'm not sure what could possibly tempt me into doing another creekside cache anytime soon.

Did yout wash the clothes you were wearing? When i came home from Tecolote Toybox i turned my clothes inside out when i took them off and put them in the washing machine by themselves.

[+Marky]

Now, I knew there was poison oak around that cache we did, but I was fairly careful -- I only remember brushing a plant once.  I showered when we got home, but it must have been too late.  So many times in the past I've waded hip-deep in three-leaved plants and lived to tell the tale.  I'm not sure what could possibly tempt me into doing another creekside cache anytime soon.

Did yout wash the clothes you were wearing? When i came home from Tecolote Toybox i turned my clothes inside out when i took them off and put them in the washing machine by themselves.

When washing a load of poison oak contaminated clothes, you'll have better results of you put in some Technu with the regular laundry soap.

 

--Marky

[+The Dillon Gang]

When washing a load of poison oak contaminated clothes, you'll have better results of you put in some Technu with the regular laundry soap.

 

--Marky

Will have to buy some of this Technu if i want to attempt the "Fear Factor" of Marion Bear Canyon.

[+Kite and Hawkeye]

Will have to buy some of this Technu if i want to attempt the "Fear Factor" of Marion Bear Canyon.

Indeed. That's where I got it. On March 20th. Scratch, scratch. I even left some Ivy Wipes in the final cache, because I thought *I* wouldn't be needing them!

 

It's a great cache, though. I'd say it's one of the top five most memorable in the 380 we've done. In fact, I can't (scratch) forget about it.

[Parsa]

I bought a kit when I saw that I might ocasionally be exposed. It contains a fairly large bottle of Tecnu with a small bottle of CalaGel. They're both "Oak-n-Ivy" brand by Tec Labs. Once, in Blue Sky preserve I think, I was exposed and I washed thoroughly with Tecnu. I then used some water in the truck. Finally I applied the CalaGel just in case. Fortunately I got no rash.

 

You actually have to damage the plant a little to expose the oils. It often doesn't take much. However I found that if I try to avoid the plants by a "walking through a minefield" method of travel, I can avoid the smaller plants. If I see large dense stands, forget it, I'm not going that way. I'll go way out of the way to avoid even small plants. One area that was particularly bad was at a new cache up in the Vista/San Marcos area called "Rock on." Check out my log.

 

If you are exposed you must wash it off within 20 minutes or it will chemically bond with your skin. That's why it's good to carry Tecnu with you to wash the stuff right after exposure.

 

I'm often amazed at the variety in this one species. The leaves can have a lot of different shapes, and the plant can be a dense tree, a sparse sapling, or a vine that engulfs shrubs and trees. There are also a few related species from the sumac family that can fool you, but it's better to be safe than sorry.

 

Parsa

[+Maverix]

So, Forman, its been a while, is the cache still in the PO?

 

BTW, I always wash away PO with cold water...I'm allergic and it seems to work.

 

Some interesting PO lore I've heard:

 

1) Kids under 6 won't get a rash (lucky lil' devils!)

 

2) Indians used it to remove warts (I think I stick with Compound W!)

 

3) It takes several exposures to build up the allergy (might be true, I got my first allergic rash when I was 15)

 

4) Given enough exposures everyone will get the allergy eventually (your friends who say they are immune will get their due someday!)

 

5) Untreated, the rash will last two weeks, but with treatment, it'll go away within 14 days (seems like a lot longer than that!)

[+Wacka]

I got poison ivy when I was 7 -2nd grade (there was no poison oak around where I grew up).

Is poison oak more irritating than poison ivy? I remember my mother using calamine lotion and the itching and rash went away in a day or two.

Edited April 23, 2004 by Wacka

[+GeoCrickets]

5) Untreated, the rash will last two weeks, but with treatment, it'll go away within 14 days (seems like a lot longer than that!)

Is't 2 weeks and 14 days the same?

[+forman]

I did relocate the cache some time ago, close to the first place but no P.O. this time.

 

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_detai...54-9222ec7b11aa

 

Don

[+Kite and Hawkeye]

5)  Untreated, the rash will last two weeks, but with treatment, it'll go away within 14 days (seems like a lot longer than that!)

Fourteen days, my a**. I could have endured this for fourteen days! I'm still itching a full month after the rash appeared (and five weeks since I went anywhere near a poison oak plant). I heard that after a while the dry skin is the main problem, so I've been slathering on every moisturizer and lotion I've got, to no avail. The visible rash is restricted to a small spot on my side now, but my arms still itch like crazy anyway. When I scratch, little bumps pop up -- they're very subtle when I avoid scraching them though. I wonder if I am having some freaky abnormal reaction. Still thinking of swearing off everything but 1/1 urban micros.

[+fizzymagic]

Zanfel. Works great as long as the PO is on the surface of the skin. In scratches, you're SOL.

[+forman]

I went to the doctor and got predazone. That made it so I was not itching all the time. I think I got rid of it in a few weeks. I really know what it looks like now. On some of the hiking caches, it is like the Twilight Zone & stay in the middle of the path and if there is P.O. just pass or real careful.

 

Don

[+Maverix]

Look for the black sap. If you see black sap on the PO leaves, somebody or something brushed up against the leaves or branches on the side of the trail.

[+The Dillon Gang]

I heard that after a while the dry skin is the main problem, so I've been slathering on every moisturizer and lotion I've got, to no avail.  The visible rash is restricted to a small spot on my side now, but my arms still itch like crazy anyway.  When I scratch, little bumps pop up -- they're very subtle when I avoid scraching them though.  I wonder if I am having some freaky abnormal reaction. 

Might have be a systemic reaction rather that the common rash most people get. that is what i got. takes about a month and a half on predizone from the doctor plus some lotion once the scabs/crust is gone. even after all nasty was gone, i had a red spot there for about 2 more weeks.

[+Miles678]

I *used* to be able to walk through poison ivy / poison oak and not get it. I tried not to push my luck. Three years ago my luck ran out and I got a nice case of it while out caching. Like all things, I began to get more careless as time passed.

 

Early in March of this year I paid the price for the lesson yet again. While caching in Carroll Canyon I actually got a splinter of poison oak in my wrist. Needless to say, I did not react to well to injecting myself with urushiol. For two weeks my wrist was in bad shape (weeping, itching, etc.)

 

Now I try to be extremely careful. I have walked away from caches that had poison oak in the immediate vicinity. It is still hard to resist when I am in an overzealous caching mode though!

 

Miles678

[+WalruZ]

Ha.

 

My first and still worst case was on Pleasanton Ridge. I decided to take a 'shortcut' to a cache that was downhill - only .2 miles away, right? All downhill, right?

 

After a few hundred feet of clear area I got hung up in a huge thicket of closely intertwined thin grey branches. I kept brushing them out of the way, looking for easy ways through. Finally I just bulled my way downhill, pushing the branches away, breaking them if need be, sometimes throwing myself up and over the branches as if I were in a mosh pit.

 

I didn't know from Poison Oak. (some people say I still don't). My arms were red up to the t-shirt sleeves. Not as bad as Marky's last bout, but still a pretty even and complete exposure. Luckily the oil didn't penetrate my lymph system. (when it does that, it can show up anywhere)

 

Zanfel stopped the itching. At least for me it didn't do anything for redness, in fact it seemed to make my arms redder, but you rub it in hard and leave it on longer than they say to, and you'll stop itching, and the sooner the better too. If it doesn't work for you it's time for steroids.

[+pqcachers]

About 10 days ago, I did the following caches in Escondido:

 

Patriots Ever Mighty

 

Reidy Creek

 

Orton's Folly

 

Cache #2

 

I don't know which one of the areas I caught it from (probably NOT Orton's Folly) but I now have a raging case of poison oak all over my legs and it's spreading.

 

PLEASE be cautious if you're going into these areas!

Edited May 14, 2004 by pqcachers

[+norbu]

Hi Pqcachers, not Orton's, and not Reidy Creek either. Most likely (EDITED)Patriots Ever Mighty. my husband mentions seeing poison oak around that one.

 

It doesn't spread, it just takes longer for it to erupt in some areas, so it seems to spread. Once the oils are gone (after you wash the first day) you are OK, unless it is still on clothes or shoes somewhere!!!

 

edited to correct my facts....

Edited May 15, 2004 by norbu

[+Kite and Hawkeye]

Burn your shoes. And your backpack. And all your clothing. (No, not seriously -- if there's any oil on them, burning it could be bad!) Intellectually I know poison oak doesn't spread, but that didn't mollify me when I was getting new rashes for three weeks and unable to tell what I could possibly be picking up more oil from. I recently touched the backpack we were using the day we did "Up the Rat Hole" -- reluctantly, with great care -- and now the faded rash on my side is flaring up again. I have no idea how I did it (again) but I won't be happy until that backpack is beheaded and buried with a stake in its heart.

[+devhead]

This has been a very interesting thread with lots of good information and humor. I've decided to start carrying a bottle of tecnu with me while caching. This last weekend I was in Penesquitos with Dillon Gang. We noticed lots of PO growing quite a ways from the stream. Up high on boulders even! I know I walked through lots of it, I'm hoping the next 24 hours remain itch free.

 

Anyhow, I found technu being sold at Osco and Rite Aid at nearly $7 for a 4oz bottle. I bought a bottle for now but was wondering where the least expensive source for this product is?

[+Lazyboy & Mitey Mite]

move her

[+Phone guy]

I'll be 40 in a few days . I went all this time with out it until the event in Redding Ca on 5/23/04. Crawling through the thick stuff for an event cache I picked it up. Both arms only the out side of my forearms (pushing it out of the way I guess) I found the cache, still lost the contest but I thank the Lord I have been blessed this long without.

[+Marky]

I'll be 40 in a few days . I went all this time with out it until the event in Redding Ca on 5/23/04. Crawling through the thick stuff for an event cache I picked it up. Both arms only the out side of my forearms (pushing it out of the way I guess) I found the cache, still lost the contest but I thank the Lord I have been blessed this long without.

All this talk of poison oak and fender benders makes me glad we hung back and chatted at the picnic site while all that craziness was going on.

 

--Marky

[+Maverix]

Burn your shoes.  And your backpack.  And all your clothing.  (No, not seriously -- if there's any oil on them, burning it could be bad!) 

As a result of doing Mars' Cache GCHJYH, I already threw out my Levi's, washed 'em 3 times and still I get I a rash after wearing them. Also I get a rash now when I wear my hiking boots too. I knew I was getting into P.O. but I just couldn't resist the allure of the cache. It's funny, I was able to get rid of the rash every time in about 2 days, I just washed with Tecnu, it never turned into one of those full blown cases where you have to get a perscription for prednisone (been there, done that).

[+Mr Smiles]

Here is a quote from Stephen Wright on this subject you might enjoy.

 

"My girlfriend had poison oak on the brain and the only way she could

relieve the itching was to think about sandpaper"

[+Mr Smiles]

I'm an expert on the poison oak topic.

TechNu makes three products. Pre-exposure Lotion, Post Exposure Soap, and Post Infection Lotion. Use them all and follow the instruction on the label faithfully and enjoy your outings.

 

As further precaution, wash face, hands, and arms with Fels Naptha soap as soon as you get out of the woods.

 

Take baby wipes with you in your pack. Use these on all exposed skin areas if you are going to be away from washroom/water for more than an hour. Be sure to reapply the TechNu Pre-exposure Lotion that you have wiped off.

 

If you have gotten poison oak rash and are in the deep misery mode, get into the shower and begin to turn up the heat little by little until you cant stand it any more, then turn it up a little more. In about 20 minutes the body quits producing the histamines that cause the itching. You can get as much as 8 hours relief this way. Then, take the hot water torture again...for another 8 hours of relief and so on.

 

Then, keep on posting those smileys!

[+15Orners]

I thought I would add some of my gained wisdom from the many rounds I have fought against PO. I have suffered through months on end with extreme PO. Due to a job that forced me to be in unavoidable contact with the stuff I have tried everything from Tecnu to weekly shots of prednisone, and the old wives tails of bleach and flour mixture. While I can't really complain about the effectiveness of prednisone, it is sure a pain to sit in the corner clinic awaiting a doctor, and it's probably not practical for the occasional minor infection seen by most Geocachers. (Unless you really mess up) Any how the product I came to love and not be without is BENADRYL® Itch Stopping Gel it was a life saver and allowed me to sleep on nights when I really didn't think i'd get to. Good Luck & " leaves of three let them be"

[rogheff]

On my 14th hide I was trying the dig a hole under a huge rock to hide a ammo box.<BR><BR>Question: should I leave it cause some people do not get it or relocate it? I am not going there to maintain it. I will go and move it.<BR>

 

Am iI the only one that see a problems here?

 

Dig a hole to place a cache? That's naughty.

 

Place a cache in the middle of poison ivy - on purpose? Why in the world would you do that? That's also naughty.