Poison Ivy

[JethroB]

I was once THAT sensitive.
Time seems have decreased my sensitivity.
Now I only get it if within 20 ft.of the plant itself.

I’m that way with fiberglass.

Whoever at Procter & Gamble came up with the idea of donating Dawn soap for the Exxon Valdez cleanup was a marketing genius. Whatever brand is on sale works for me.

 

[Captain Dirty]

When I was a boy my family kept sheep partially because they would eat poison ivy, horse briers, and other noxious plants. The pastures were fenced with wire fencing on T-posts just inside the old stone walls. In the Spring when we set out the lambs, city people, out for a Sunday drive, would discover that if they picked the lush green stuff (PI) off the stone walls and held it through the fence, the ewes, with lambs in tow, would come right over and eat from their hands.

 

[rgr33]

This whole subject gives me the creeps. Bad juju.

Birds spread seeds everywhere on my place, I have to hand dig them up, as I can’t spray herbicides due to wine grape intolerance.
I have had some success with scrubbing skin with Dawn, like you want to lose a layer of skin, but usually get a small dose at least a couple of times a year.

 

[dodge man]

I had a coworker that swore he didn’t get poison ivy. I pointed it out one day and he yanked a leaf and rubbed it on his face. I got mad and yelled at him because that alone could give it to me. I was lucky and didn’t get it. Him on the other hand, not so lucky. Served him right.

 

[ultrarunner]

For most according to the Docs everyone has some level of sensitivity and a trigger...

Remember well putting all my clothes in the wash and using Fels Napha soap... worked well no issue.

I put the same old clothes that were laundered several times back on to pull a motor a few weeks later... that night I was itchy and had a blister like never before.

Clothes looked like someone had taken a black Sharpie Marker and the spot with the huge blister on my calf was intense black circle the size of a quarter.

Native Americans used the sap as a dye for baskets...

 

[wheelbuilder]

My Dad's side of the family doesn't get poison ivy. Neither me or my sons do, fortunately. That said, I do try to avoid it, no sense tempting fate.
My Step Father, would get it by looking at it. He used bleach on any spots and swore it helped.
I have no idea if that is safe, but it seemed to work for him.

 

[Frankenkubota]

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

 

[ultrarunner]

Can kill you...

 

[Ford850]

Dodge, this might be too far along and won't help much but it's worth a try. This is what I learned from several good posts on here over the years, and it works very well for me after trying this for several years now. Dish washing soap/detergent, and a coarse cotton wash cloth. Urushiol is like sticky grease or partially dried varnish. Think of it that way when you are washing with the cotton cloth, using lots of detergent and a little water but relying on the cotton to scrub the skin clean. I scrub up after being exposed, and then scrub any areas that break out using the same method for days afterwards. Sometimes a breakout will be greatly reduced even days later, after scrubbing. That sticky Urushiol on the skin is what takes so long to wear off and so your skin stops reacting to it. My wife bought a cheap (coarse) bundle of white cotton wash cloths from Walmart, and we keep them next to a pump bottle of dish soap close to the shower for easy access.

 

[NorTracNY]

I've found great results with Zanfel, but only if you use it when you first notice your skin reacting to the oil. It will also help clean it off areas of your skin where you haven't started to react. If you use it later >24hrs after your already reacting, the damage to the skin has already occurred, it won't wash off as easily, and the skin will be itchy just from the damage.

Zanfel is expensive and I use technu sometimes when I suspect I've been exposed. It's a good wash.

I believe that a fair amount of spread will come from the oil getting on clothes and not washing out. Some clothing can take a few washings to get it out. The worst were running tights that I use to wear back in my running days. I was getting cases of poison ivy "coming back" weeks after it was gone from the same area. Turned out that I had gotten them on the clothes and even though they had been washed, the oil must still have been there.