Poison Ivy

[+KYcachingguy]

I apparently got into a patch of poison ivy or oak or sumac. There is a big spot on the back on my neck at the hairline. A big spot on the side of my neck and some on my face. Then somehow, I got it on my nether regions. This sucks! I have not had the best of luck with getting poison ivy this year. 

 

Currently I am slathering calamine lotion on the areas a couple times a time. Going to work with pink spots on my head is awesome. I also went out and found a bar of Fels Naptha soap to put on it. May have to go to the doctor if this doesn't start clearing up.

 

I try to be careful when I'm in the woods bushwacking around, but most of the time I just see green. I don't really know what to look for or be leery of when I'm focused on looking for a cache. 

 

How do you combat the poison trifecta when caching in the woods? I started wearing pants even though I still find a way to get it on my legs.

 

How do you pay attention to the plants while still focused on finding the cache?

 

What do you do if you get a bad patch of it?

 

I'm thinking maybe only doing urban and water caches and leaving the woods for the fall and winter. Although it's my understanding you can still get poison ivy when the leaves are gone.

 

Give me your tips please.

[+niraD]

20 minutes ago, KYcachingguy said:

How do you pay attention to the plants while still focused on finding the cache?

I grew up in California, and keeping an eye out for poison oak became second nature. Now that I'm in Tennessee, I have to watch out for poison ivy. I'm still working on that myself.

 

21 minutes ago, KYcachingguy said:

What do you do if you get a bad patch of it?

The last time I had poison oak, I found that topical Benadryl helped me the most.

 

My brother has been fighting the poison oak on his property for years. As soon as he comes in from working with it, he heads straight to the laundry in their garage, strips down and throws everything into the washing machine, and then slathers himself with Tecnu. He seems happy with that routine.

 

23 minutes ago, KYcachingguy said:

Although it's my understanding you can still get poison ivy when the leaves are gone.

Yep, the urushiol (the irritating oil) in the plants remains in the bare vines/branches. Plus, the leaves are no longer there to help you identify the plants.

[+igator210]

The other thing to remember is that the oil can stick to clothing and boots. You can still get a rash days after being in the woods if your clothing has the oil on it.

Carry wet wipes with you. If you think you touch the plant, you have a bit of time before you start to react to it. Wet wipes do a good job to get it off in time.

Side fact.... no one is immune to urushiol. Some people have a higher tolerance to it, but the more  you are exposed to it , the lower your resistance becomes. 

Edited August 22 by igator210

[+hzoi]

3 hours ago, KYcachingguy said:

Currently I am slathering calamine lotion on the areas a couple times a time.

 

I've found calamine isn't as effective as other remedies, such as hydrocortizone cream (which has the additional advantage of not leaving big pink blotches).

 

There are apparently  bentoquatam lotions/treatments that block urushiol from forming blisters in the first place, but I've never used them.

[+Wadcutter]

Ivy Dry.  Central IL every drug store, Walmart, etc carries it.  Might have to ask for it.  Don't know why but 1 drug store has it behind the counter.

Grandson got some kind of shot when he had it.  Don't know what it was.

Fels Naptha works if you shower with it and scrub the area soon after exposure.  Lava soap also works.  Those plants poison is sort of oily.  Need some kind of soap that cuts the oil.  

You have my sympathies.  I'll go years and avoid it.  Then get it.  No fun.  

[+fuzziebear3]

First -- learn to identify it.   At least then you know you have been exposed.   In Ohio here, poison ivy is prevalent.

Now, you still want to cache ... wear pants.   Tread lightly when passing through, trying not to contact the plants.

Know that you have anyway.   Be conscious of touching your face or anywhere else. 

I go home and take a shower with Dawn dishwashing detergent.  Tecnu would work, but I dont generally have it.

Clothes go straight into the laundry.   Dont even think of wearing them again until after laundry.

If you develop a rash ... I try hydrocortisone cream first.  If that is not working, I have a prescription steroid cream from a previous bout, and I use it.   If really bad and not getting better, the doctor will prescribe you steroids.

 

 

[fendmar]

Your pets can spread it to you if they have come into contact with the plants.

[+kunarion]

5 hours ago, KYcachingguy said:

How do you combat the poison trifecta when caching in the woods? I started wearing pants even though I still find a way to get it on my legs.

 

How do you pay attention to the plants while still focused on finding the cache?

 

What do you do if you get a bad patch of it?

 

I bought "CoreTex Ivy X Poison Ivy Wipes", the pre and post contact version, and carry them in my cache pack.  I also bought "Poison Ivy Soap", but if I realize I've brushed my hand against PI, I'm often nowhere near a place to wash it off in time.

 

While Geocaching, I get the urushiol on shoes and laces, pant cuffs (long pants for me!) and shirt sleeves.  Sometimes the poison gets transferred to a car seat belt, or to a cache pack.  Secondary transfer can cause a new rash later.  Once you get the rash, you're guaranteed to itch for days no matter what.  So if you touched any plants (even tree trunks), wash well as soon as possible, just in case.

 

One day, I decided to become good at noticing and avoiding poison ivy.  Look online for the poison ivy leaf shape and how it grows.  Then when outdoors, assess the area before touching plants.  Especially, look for "Leaves Of Three", typically shiny leaves.  You might become an expert in no time.  One of the few plants that look similar and could be confused with poison ivy is wild blackberries, which are good to avoid anyway due to thorns.

 

Edited August 22 by kunarion

[+cerberus1]

I don't get it much, the other 2/3rds gets it where her eyes swell/close and miserable...

She uses Buji Block now, to protect her JIC, and has learned the differences between ground/tree plants, grape and PI vines too in winter.

 

Edited August 22 by cerberus1
U not I...

[+Smitherington]

At one of my recent events a cacher who acted as camp nurse for some boy scouts said she has them lather twice with Dawn dish soap after contact. She claimed that it worked every time. Dawn cuts grease well so it should work on oils from plants too.

[+Jayeffel]

Tech Nu works good. If you think you got in any kind of poison washing with Clorox will help-- just be sure to wash quickly and rinse quickly and thoroughly, If is started to feel hot rinse if off. If you already have poison irritating you with a rash, you might not want use this approach-- does not stop me , but caution is  best.

[+The_Jumping_Pig]

I am *very* allergic to poison ivy. I've only been geocaching for just over a year and I've gotten it bad three times... and long story short one time I even ended up in the hospital for a few days. Here's my routine that now usually keeps me clear of poison ivy:

1. Wear long pants, long sleeves.*

2. After every single cache that involves bushwacking, whether it be one in a series of 50 or a random one out of the blue, I put hand sanitizer on my hands. Hand sanitizer is effective for poison ivy soon after you first touch it, but not in the long run.

3. Don't touch your face!

4. Once I'm done geocaching, take a shower with technu* (preferrably ASAP -- the longer you wait, the higher chance you get it). I make sure to wash my face too -- I've likely accidentally touched it. I made the mistake of skipping the face step which led to the latest bout... Recently, since I'm hyper-sensitive, I wash my entire body as well.

5. Wash clothes in a seperate load.

6. Hope you don't get it and get freaked out by everything that itches.

 

*Heck, you can even wear gloves! And a balaclava! haha

*Dawn can be a good alternative to technu

 

If you get it really bad, there is a prescribed medication you can take (especially if it is in your eyes or other sensitive areas). However, that's the medication that landed me in the hospital!! :DDD

 

--

 

Identifying it: Leaves of three, let it be. If it's a mitten, it ain't kiddin. If it's shiny, watch your hienie. (We invented the final two)

 

If you do know you've touched poison ivy, wash with soap and water, and if you have it, technu, ASAP.

[+JL_HSTRE]

Knowing to recognize and avoid it is key. It's usually a vine but sometimes it's a ankle high over a whole area - a field of three leaf clover from hell.

 

When I've gotten a case of it as an adult Ivarest has worked really well.

 

Worst case I ever got was in middle school when clearing some dead vines off trees. Turned out the indistinct vines were ivy, and I got such a nasty outbreak on my arms I had to stay home from school for a week.

[+kunarion]

57 minutes ago, JL_HSTRE said:

Knowing to recognize and avoid it is key. It's usually a vine but sometimes it's a ankle high over a whole area - a field of three leaf clover from hell.

 

I found a field of the stuff, 2 feet tall in a shady area, with the ammo box in the center next to a wooden fence.  My plan was to take slow, high steps, pushing the plants straight down as I progressed, then gently grab the ammo box and bring it out of there to open it.  Turns out, the box was chained to the fence.

 

I've also encountered eye-level "tree branches" of poison ivy.

[+paleolith]

On 8/22/2024 at 6:50 AM, KYcachingguy said:

calamine

 

Calamine is tradditional but useless.

 

On 8/22/2024 at 7:18 AM, niraD said:

Tecnu

 

Make sure to get the Tecnu cleanser, sometimes called Oak & Ivy Cleanser but also another name. Tecnu also IIRC makes a pre-exposure product (no idea if it works) and something that says homeopathic on the label (hence useless).

 

On 8/22/2024 at 11:32 AM, fuzziebear3 said:

Dawn dishwashing detergent

 

The only thing magic about the Dawn brand is the magic amount of money that Proctor & Gamble has sunk into promoting the idea that Dawn is magic. If you don't have Tecnu, use any soap or detergent. (And some of us hate the scent of Dawn.)

 

On 8/22/2024 at 7:18 AM, niraD said:

the urushiol (the irritating oil) in the plants remains in the bare vines/branches

 

Yes, in fact most of the urushiol is in the stems rather than the leaves. The roots can be poisonous for years after the plant dies.

 

Poison oak and poison ivy have very similar leaves and differ mostly in habit -- PI is a vine but PO grows erect. Poison sumac is very different, with 7 to 13 leaflets per leaf rather than three. Very generally, PI is eastern, PO is western, and PS is upper midwest. Note that "sumac" is a very broad term, and most plants called sumac are not poison sumac.

Edited August 23 by paleolith

[+geodarts]

My family started using technu when our daughter was on a MTB team and it was the remedy of choice. Soon after I realized I was not as impervious to poison oak as I had believed so I started to use it too.  It’s still the only thing I use.

[+JL_HSTRE]

Also learn to recognize Virginia creeper, which looks kind of like ivy but is harmless. It is a vine with five leaves, although younger vines sometimes only start with three leaves.

 

There's also the poisonwood tree, a relative of sumac. That one is easier to spot because of the wet spots on the trunk and the "moldy" leaves.

 

[+KYcachingguy]

Thank you for all the suggestions, tips, and remedies. I've been slathering calamine twice a day on the now many locations on my body that have sprung up. Washing my bed sheets daily to help remove anything I might have left while sleeping. 

On 8/23/2024 at 1:37 PM, paleolith said:

Calamine is tradditional but useless.

I'm starting to agree with that statement. Doesn't seem to work as well on anything above a minor case.

 

Went to the doctor Friday and got a steroid shot and steroid prescription to hopefully help my body fight it quicker. 

I guess the big thing is to just take my time and identify the hazard before I plunge into it.

Going to stock up on the Tecnu stuff too.

[+paleolith]

On 8/25/2024 at 10:16 AM, KYcachingguy said:

hopefully help my body fight it quicker

 

Steroids won't make it heal faster, but can greatly reduce the symptoms in the mean time.

Yes, learning to ID is a priority. After you practice for a while, it'll jump out at you.

Make sure to read the directions on the Tecnu. It's important to use it ASAP after exposure. Use plenty, with NO water, and rub it around for three minutes (IIRC) before rinsing it off.