Poison oak/ivyand sumac

[rskybiz]

As we tend to be in and around this stuff. What ways do you all use to keep clear of getting it? I have been using Tecnu since my move but it has not worked for me the last two times(Oak) despite washing prior to and after having to deal with it.

 

[Altissimus]

poison Oak SUCKS !

 

[woodworkingboy]

If you do get it...

I get it bad now, after never getting it at all before. . Few people want to take my word for it, but liquid laundry bleach diluted half in half with water, applied four or five times a day on the rash, is the best treatment I've found, including doctor prescribed. Dries it out quick. You need to dilute or the bleach will burn you.

 

[rskybiz]

My thoughts exactly!

 

[CurSedVoyce]

Jay is correct. Sea Salt also with Ivory soap will help if you have problems with the bleach.. Some are sensitive to a bleach bath. Astringent type soaps also work well .... Alcohol.. Anything that pretty much cuts the oil like a solvent will work.

 

[stehansen]

I used calamine lotion the last time I had it. Didn't seem to work very well.

 

[rskybiz]

I had heard some where about the cherokee indians eating the young shoots in spring and not getting it, Fact or fiction?
I'll try the bleach mix. I had always been able to roll in it, with no ill effect. Guess those days are over for me...suck!

 

[rskybiz]

I used calamine lotion the last time I had it. Didn't seem to work very well.

Been there done that and agree whole heartedly.

 

[SkwerI]

I'm slow to react to it so I don't know I have it until the next day. Too late for wash treatments at that point. I've had decent relief using a hydrocortisone anti-itch cream (just the generic drug store brand).

 

[woodworkingboy]

It seems like once you get the rash, you will get it henceforth. Perhaps it has to be a bad exposure? My goats got into it, and I picked it up off of them, a serious case. Now I almost just have to look at it.

 

[bruce6670]

I've used bleach and have had good results. The sooner you realize you've been exposed to it, the better chance you will have at getting the oil off your skin. As soon as I know that I have touched it, I wash off with straight bleach and then rinse off with water so the bleach doesn't harm my skin. Don't forget to wash off any tools that have been exposed as well. Kind of hard to wash it off a rope though.

 

[MasterBlaster]

You wussies

When I do frig up and allow myself to contract the shite, and when I don't have the chance to wash it off with soapy water, I use this.

Bleach feels good, but bleach doesn't "cure" it. This stuff dries it up toot sweet.

I used Oral Ivy for years, and it works just fine. I just fell outta the habit once I started wearing long sleeves.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

We keep alcohol and soap right in the truck for just that reason.. A quick alcohol wash once exposed and over the course of the day goes a long way .. Bleach would work the same..

 

[SkwerI]

That's just calamine, Butch.

 

[MasterBlaster]

No, it isn't.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

Everyone will react different.. And some things work for some.. somethings don't. Everyone has to experiment with what will work for them.. Just the way nature works ...

 

[MasterBlaster]

+10

 

[Knotahippie]

Cover in clothing, nearly head to toe and do a pre-Technu douse, as per directions.

Worked when I was cut trails through the shat, working for the Park Service.

Iv'e heard that Fels-Naptha soap works good.

Also, chicken fat; my moms method, taught to her by an old German lady, if I remember correctly.

Rid me of PO in 3-5 days and always made me hungry.

 

[SkwerI]

Mine goes away in 3-5 days if I don't do anything.

 

[Newfie]

It seems like once you get the rash, you will get it henceforth. Perhaps it has to be a bad exposure?

Any allergic reaction (which this is) requires an initial exposure for your body to develop the antibodies that cause the reaction symptoms the next time around.

 

[rskybiz]

thanks all grinning and bearing it day 4 with some relief, im going to research the eating the fresh shoots in spring. and will post back on those findings.
To All A good day.

 

[MasterBlaster]

No, do NOT do THAT.

Order Oral Ivy instead. It's basically the same thing.

 

[Blinky]

I know a couple of people who eat it in Spring. They say it works. So far, I don't get it except on my forearms after climbing a tree shrouded with it. I never stopped scratching in NOLA, every third tree was covered in PI.

I still avoid it, I figure I can't be far from the exposure that sensitizes me.

 

[woodworkingboy]

Bleach is a cure, it helps to stop the itching and dries out the rash.

In a shower as hot as you can stand on the exposed area, will stop the itching for a few hours. It itches like crazy when under the hot water, though.

 

[Fiddler]

Here in MI PI (mostly 3 leaves) doesn't bother me much, maybe a little dot or two that itch if I have been swimming in it.

Climbing in KY and southern IN I ran into varieties with 5-7 leaves that tore me up pretty good although I still faired better than most of the guys that got into it.

The big thing i make sure of is to keep all my work clothes that have gotten into the stuff separated (out in garage) and take them to a Laundromat for cleaning. Helps with the relationship when my dear wife isn't suffering from her rather severe reaction to it.