Poison Ivy

[ponytug]

Is this an urban myth? I heard about people burning poison ivy and somehow breathing it into their lungs. Requires days in the hospital?

Not an urban legend. Depending on how bad the exposure is you, a) turn a uniform red all over from a uniform coating of PI, have your eyes swell shut, b) have trouble breathing, c) have a terminal issue with breathing.

a) happened to a camper and counselor at a summer camp that I worked at after the kids piled poison ivy vines on the campfire and the two of them sat down wind. Oral steroids for a week cured it, though the camper was bouncing off the walls with steroids on top of teenage hormones.

Not fun. Also a major issue for western fire fighters and poison oak smoke. I was just about to sign the papers to join our local volunteer fire department when I read the disclaimer on poison oak exposure and realized it wasn't a job for me....

All the best,

Peter

 

[blee03]

I get poison ivy and poison sumac all too often, I try to be careful but my property is loaded with PI. The PS is a little easier to avoid since it almost looks like a small tree with red flowers.

This is what I use to dry it out.
Spray it on the infected area over and over all day, let it air dry completely and do not let clothes run against it. If it’s really bad I’ll put band aids over it and then put my shirt on to go to work or the store. Also no sweating, that makes it 100x worse for me.

Ive used this and seen my skin actually turn so dry it was white and cracking, which seemed to really help in getting rid of the rash.

 

[ruffdog]

Maybe I have this poison plant "immunity". I've always been able to cut wood in thick woods without a issue even when other's were warning about certain plants. Now, if I bale hay for a week, I will break out all over.

 

[TractorGuy]

I consider myself an expert at poison ivy, mainly because I’ve had it so many times, maybe as much as 30 times. I was cutting firewood and there was a vine on the tree, the kind about as big around as a finger and I knew this was poison ivy. So I worked on two trees like this at two different times. A friend was working with me that is immune to it, he took the vines off but I knew I was exposed to it. I washed afterwards with the Technu Ivy Extreme Wash. I got a very minor case, not bad at all. Then a couple of weeks later I split some of this wood and then it got me. This wood had sat outside for a couple of weeks bucked up and had been rained on 3 times.

So a couple of thought/questions. The bad case I got is on my back and side, one area about the size of your hand or bigger. How the heck did I get it there? The doctor was worried it might be shingles but there is no pain and I’m almost sure it’s poison ivy. Second question, anybody have a miracle cure? They don’t want to give me prednisone because of the side affects and I’ve used it several times over the years. I do have a prescription strength ointment that helps some. I have tried about everything. The hot shower helps but only for awhile.

I consider myself an idiot at poison ivy, mainly because I don't give it a thought until I have it all over me. Got into it last week and have my whole right arm infected. I got that damn ravine cleaned out though.

 

[tim711]

Retired firefighter of 30 years on the westcoast and always in the poison oak. Sometimes I would get sever reactions and other times not. Over the years I’ve used all the topical creams, home remedies to steroid injections from my doc. Then got to the point of control the itch and it would clear over the coarse of a couple weeks.
Recently I’ve been working to eradicate the stuff on my property through winter and broke out with a rash on my forearms. Through a friend I found Zanfel (best price on eBay) gave it a try and was amazed at how quick it starts to works, per the directions it’s best to use ASAP but I used it about 4days later and had good results, it also has a long shelf life.
I haven’t been in the stuff and don’t plan to,lol, to see how well it works the second time around but it worked well for me and would say give it a go.
Good luck and stop scratching!!

 

[ning]

Is this an urban myth? I heard about people burning poison ivy and somehow breathing it into their lungs. Requires days in the hospital?

A little bit (like if you weighed it, maybe half a pound?) ended up in a burn pile back pre-tractor days when I had to toss crap on it by hand... I got a few lungfulls of smoke, had a cough for weeks; usually a bit of brush smoke doesn't faze me a bit.

I can imagine the part of my land that's covered with it (vines growing 15' up trees) burning and breathing that smoke could put you in the hospital.

 

[txndncowboy]

Retired firefighter of 30 years on the westcoast and always in the poison oak.

I used to volunteer firefighting and was always worried I might inhale poison oak smoke since that stuff seems to be everywhere in California. And all I have to do is be near the stuff and I seem to get a rash so getting it my lungs seemed likely death to me. Maybe the adrenaline from fighting the fires or sweating so much helped or I just got luck. Probably just got lucky. Now back in Texas I avoid poison ivy but sometimes I'm in it before I realize it. So I strip and jump in our pool if it's summer. In cooler temps I take a cool shower with Fels-Naptha. I've never heard of Zanfel but have a question about it. Fels-Naptha and Zanfels both have "fels" in the name. Is this accidental or a working ingredient? I've never looked at the ingredients in Fels-Naptha, this question is just an observation one.

 

[dodge man]

I ordered some Zanfel, it is kind of pricey, for the next time I get in it. Mine is starting to dry up and feel better.

 

[ultrarunner]

I ordered some Zanfel, it is kind of pricey, for the next time I get in it. Mine is starting to dry up and feel better.

Just a small dab to make a paste for scrubbing...

Suggested it to a friend and said worst ointment ever...

It's a scrub... not ointment... he didn't read!

 

[ultrarunner]

This time of year it is everywhere!

 

[ponytug]

I used to volunteer firefighting and was always worried I might inhale poison oak smoke since that stuff seems to be everywhere in California. And all I have to do is be near the stuff and I seem to get a rash so getting it my lungs seemed likely death to me. Maybe the adrenaline from fighting the fires or sweating so much helped or I just got luck. Probably just got lucky. Now back in Texas I avoid poison ivy but sometimes I'm in it before I realize it. So I strip and jump in our pool if it's summer. In cooler temps I take a cool shower with Fels-Naptha. I've never heard of Zanfel but have a question about it. Fels-Naptha and Zanfels both have "fels" in the name. Is this accidental or a working ingredient? I've never looked at the ingredients in Fels-Naptha, this question is just an observation one.

The name seems coincidental; Zanfel is a mixture of a couple of detergents with an emulsifier (triethanolamine) and micro plastic scrubbing beads. Fels-naphtha soap used include naphtha (solvent) to help remove grease and oils, but it was removed due to concerns over cancer risk. I haven't used the new Fels-naphtha formulation for poison ivy / oak, but it is said to to work.

All the best,

Peter

 

[/pine]

Some more about Jewel weed...

...Jewelweed is anti-inflammatory, anti-histamine, and anti-fungal, and has been used for centuries as a remedy for poison ivy. It is often found growing right next to poison ivy. It also been used successfully to treat other skin ailments, including eczema, bug bites, nettle rashes, and fungal infections.

(source: Google)

...Along with other species of jewelweed, the juice of the leaves and stems is a traditional Native American remedy for skin rashes, including poison ivy.[10][11] The effectiveness of its use to prevent the development of a rash after short-term exposure to poison ivy has been supported by peer-reviewed study, and is likely due to the plant containing saponins.[12][13] These studies also found that some individuals have a sensitivity to jewelweed which can cause a more severe rash.

The stem juice has also been used to treat athlete's foot; its fungicidal qualities have been scientifically verified...

Impatiens capensis - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Loaderman22]

Shhh everyone, it can hear you talking about it right now...

Just kidding, I don't get poison ivy, never did, but I also avoid it now for the most part because my wife gets it. In fact she's not even here with me but might be starting to itch because I'm even talking about it!! I usually take a machete and sever the stems along a tree trunk and take out a 2" or more section, if you just cut it, it can grow back. This causes it to die in the tree and I just leave it, over time in rots and falls out of the tree in pieces. I see it along the stone walls, that's harder to get rid of since its usually a network of smaller vines. Around here a lot of people confuse it with Virginia Creeper, a harmless vine that looks vaguely similar.
When I'm done for the day, and I think I may have been near it, I put my clothes in the machine by themselves with Tide/Era/etc. I don't let my wife touch them. I then go wash with either Dawn or I find "Lava" soap works just as good, it takes all the oil off your skin.

I just cant ever think of a time I ever had a reaction to it, and I used to grab it with my bare hands and pull it out of trees and not wash for hours afterwards, never an issue. A coworker and her family would get it bad, and easily. One year we were talking about it and she described this dead tree in the yard that poison ivy had choked out the top of the tree. The tree died and the poison ivy kept using the this tree, more like a topless trunk, to start spreading out to other trees. They kept a 20 foot radius clear of the tree in fear that they would get it. It looked like a fuzzy caterpillar standing on end it was so covered with PI. I went there on a Saturday, cut the tree down, cut into rounds, loaded it into the pickup, and unloaded at the local transfer station. The attendant had me unload it in a different pile than the rest of the brush. I went home a couple hours later, showered with Lava soap and never got anything. Monday I saw her, and she said her mind had her feeling itchy all weekend!!

But I also don't usually get a reaction from mosquito bites. If I get any lump or redness it's gone within an hour. Deer fly bites usually itch for a little bit then go away. Ant bites & bee/wasp stings usually hurt then itch for a couple days, ice helps the swelling. Speaking of which I don't think I'd try ice on poison ivy, it may help the immediate itch, but I could see the water diluting and spreading the oils making it eventually worse.

 

[NorTracNY]

I almost forgot. Please make sure you let your skin breathe where there is poison ivy. I had a bad case on my inner thigh one time. It was oozing and I had a business meeting. I didn't want to have it oozing through my dress pants as I gave a presentation so I wrapped my thigh. When I got done, my thigh was HUGE! It took weeks for it to return to normal. Keep things dry!

 

[ning]

If you suspect exposure, briefly wet yourself with cool water - not warm which will open pores - and soap up good everywhere. Then, rinse, still with cool water, and repeat a couple times (cool water isn't the greatest at cleaning, and you do need to be thorough).

My family have found dawn dish detergent to be as effective if not more so than technu, and considerably cheaper (like, you can buy a gallon of Dawn for the price of a small bottle of Technu, and then you're more willing to go crazy with it).
The irritant is an oil but takes some time to soak in and it can definitely be removed with soap.

If you've likely been exposed and are sensitive, immediately take antihistamines such as benadryl - do not wait for the inflammatory response. If you're very sensitive, take benadryl regularly for a few (3) days, even if you're not showing a reaction.

Between getting rid of the irritant and stopping your body from reacting to it, you can short-circuit the inflammation and potentially get out scot-free.

Note that there's nothing in poison oak/ivy/sumac blisters which will "spread" the inflammation. If you've washed yourself and your clothes and have no further contact with the irritant, your body can still experience "spread", but this is because it's an immune reaction and your body is causing the inflammation to occur at other sites of irritation even if they're completely devoid of uroshiol (if you want to experiment, get a nasty rash going, and then use something clean to scritch up your skin somewhere else on your body, enough to get a bit of a welt; you'll probably get a rash there!). Various treatments can help heal the blistering/rash, but they won't really change the overall course of the inflammation - you either hit it before it gets going (quickly), or you try to temper it along the way (slower), or you wait for your body to get off the histamine cycle naturally (longest).

IMO once you've got a rash, the very best way you can treat is is 1) use benadryl pill form 2) hydrocortisone topical (unless it's all over your body, then you need to NOT use the benadryl pill and see your doctor for a shot) 3) run as hot of water as you can stand over the rash as this will overload your nerves and stop the itching for a good long while and you won't scratch (until 3am).

 

[dodge man]

Here it’s just starting to turn green, not anywhere near that far along.

 

[dodge man]

The hot shower thing does work. I have used Benadryl before it helps. This time the doc gave me a strong steroid cream and some kind of prescription strength antihistamine.

 

[AnotherBueller]

Boy Scout leaders in my area have been using Benadyrl GEL for lots of years (30+). It MUST BE the GEL none of the others work. It’s got an antihistamine to reduce the reaction to the poison ivy and something to dry out the blisters. DON’T get it on a cut.

We get to summer camp on Sunday, a boy shows big blisters on Monday. They are told to apply the Benadyrl when ever it itches, or after getting out of the lake (3 or 4 times a day) or the shower. (Like young boys take a shower). When parents night comes up on Thursday there’s no blisters and most of the time not even any red spots.

If a kid tells me that he's been exposed I tell him to wash with Dawn dish soap.

 

[Frankenkubota]

While it probably should not, Dawn can be used as a flea shampoo.

Handy around oil spills too.