scary sight made me ITCH

[pennwalk]

I was headed back to the house the other day when I came across a scary sight. There was a guy on the bank beside the road knee deep in poison ivy with a weedwacker. He was having at it and it was like he was standing in a green cloud. Watching him actually made me itch. I was so glad when the light changed and I could get away from there. Now I am wondering is that guy in the hospital? Are there many people who don't get poison ivy? Man just thinking about that guy is making me itch again.

Chris

 

[fenneran]

When I was a kid, I would jump into the poisen ivy patches when kids were chasing me. I never have had it. Now, whether my allergic sensitivities have changed in the last 30-40 years, I'm not willing to test

 

[Ductape]

Aaaahhhhhh........ this brings back memories. As a kid..... i ran through the woods, rolled in brush, and never knew the pains of poison ivy. Apparently, as i've aged, so has my sensativity toward it. Well..... a few summers ago i decided to weedwack the edge of the road i lived on.... well, at least the part i could see from my front door. Wouldn't ya know it...... there was loads of poison ivy in it ! Uuughh !!! I was covered in it !!! Guys..... never weedwack in shorts !!! Take it from me !! Just using my weedwacker on my front yard still gives me the hebee jebees. Aaaahhhh .... memories !

 

[jwstewar]

I used to get Poison Ivy terrible as a kid. I remember more than once having to get a steriod shot to get over it and to get it out of my eyes and off of my....hmmmmm..... well you know. But as I've gotten older I don't get it. Or I should say I haven't gotten since I was about 18/19 years old. Got it really bad then and had to get the shots. Haven't had it since, don't know if I developed an immunity to it since that time or if I just haven't gotten it. I know I've been around it because I've cleaned some of it out. Either way, I hope it continues.

 

[MDM]

I couldn't get a reation to it if I tried when I was a kid. I was putting up a tree stand a couple of years ago in a tree that was covered in it. Well, I got it pretty bad then and have gotten it periodically since then. Kind of ticks me off. I'm still using the same tree though. It's a good spot. I just stay out of the tree until all the foilage has fallen off and the poison has died out.

 

[wroughtn_harv]

I'm fifty eight. And in my line of work I'm in it all the time.

If I know I'm in it I remove my clothes in the laundry room and they go straight into the washer. My wife can get a reaction from just handling my clothes.

I once heard that you could be immune to it until you get some oil from the plant in an open wound. Then you become highly allergic to it. I don't believe that's true. Because in my line of work my hands stay tore up and I know that I've been in poison ivy with open cuts.

I can roll in it, cut it with power or hand tools, for hours on end without a reaction. My dad's the same way. But my mother and daughter shared being highly allergic. My daughter can get a reaction from stuff in the wind we believe. My brother is allergic to it too.

Go figure.

 

[EddieWalker]

As a kid, I never got it. I'd pick it and carry it around just to prove that I didn't get it. Then one day I got it.

From what I've learned, the oils cause the reaction and everyone is capable of getting a reaction, but it might take your entire lifetime for it to happen. Some folks just have more luck than others.

If the oil is still on a tree, piece of wood or clothing, the person who comes into contact with the oil will get a reaction if they get it. I get it just about every time I pick up a stick or branch off the ground. It don't matter if it's been on the ground ten years, the oil can last that long!!!

Eddie

 

[lrunge]

I get a new case of poison ivy just about every week. I have a stong prescription cream and if caught early, I'm ok. Twice this year I've had it so bad I have to get steroid shots. This is the worst year I have ever seen for poison ivy. It is everywhere, so when I mow every week I get it. My wife and daughter aren't allergic to it. My wife can go pull it and not get it but if she doesn't wash her hands really good afterwards she'll give it to me. I have been spraying it with roundup and killing it but the dead plant still has the oils in it.
There is a product called Tecnu that you can get at the pharmacy. If you wash real good with it on exposed places right after you get back in the house and then shower it really eliminates most of the oil and reduces or eliminates the allergic reaction.

 

[PineRidge]

The wife and I got it when we were kids and we still get it. Fact is since moving on this property one or the other normally gets it on a yearly basis. Steroid tablets normally seem to work for us once we get a good case of poison ivy but I'm one of those folks that hates taking pills.

 

[scott_vt]

I was headed back to the house the other day when I came across a scary sight. There was a guy on the bank beside the road knee deep in poison ivy with a weedwacker. He was having at it and it was like he was standing in a green cloud. Watching him actually made me itch. I was so glad when the light changed and I could get away from there. Now I am wondering is that guy in the hospital? Are there many people who don't get poison ivy? Man just thinking about that guy is making me itch again.

Chris

Mornin Chris,
Gee that guy sounds like me Soundguy had a post on poison ivy the other day and I responded that I rarely got it I was out weedwacking with deck shoes and a bathing suit and was covered with smashed poison ivy on my legs, so I jumped in the pool and thought I was fine Actually I ended up with a few small spots around my ankles but not bad, I think I have learned my lesson As Eddie said, you never know when your going to get it !