Cleaning posion ivy from the cutter

[czechsonofagun]

First of all, I have to say, poison ivy, oak, sumac, that was some fine print I forgot to read before moving to USA The only plant causing skin irritation we have over there is Nettle and compared to poison ivy that's a joke. Actually Nettle - which I never saw in America - can be used for turkey stuffing, hair conditioner, tea...
Hogweed is gaining some ground, but that's easy to spot.

Now suppose I cut grass and I go over an area with poison ivy and twenty minutes later, the blade is stuck due to a stick or something like that and I know I have to get under and pull it out. Typically, right after contact with the poison, I go and wash very very well with soap, dish detergent or Goop but still I seldom escape rash.

What do you do, when you are 100% positive, you exposed your skin to urushiol in any form?

 

[Skyco]

I wash immediately with 90% isopropyl alcohol. If I don't have that handy, but I usually do, I use Dawn and water.
I'd like to use the Tecnu product but dang it is expensive.
Of course I've had it bad enough I'd pay almost anything for relief after the fact
Might try wearing either plastic gloves or cheap $.99 work gloves from HF and throw them away immediately after use....

 

[Heavyduty]

The oil from the plant can be on the cutter also, so keep that in mind. I think you can get a shot once a year if you have realy bad reactions to posion ivy.

I got posion ivy in the winter time from digging a hole for a post. Dug down about 2 feet and I hit a brick, reached down to the get the brick out. The next day I had a8 inch soild infected mass on my arm.

 

[RobertN]

Technu works well. There are some other "soaps" made just for poison oak/ivy. That is the best I have found. It is also on the shelf above the sink at our Fire Station.

Technu, Avon, and others make a pre-exposure cream that helps too... You have to reapply frequently though. Works for me, when I remember to use it

Remember, this is an oil. Once the tractor, Jeep, dog, whatever, passes thru it, it is on it/them. They, will get it on you. Today, and maybe 2 months from now. You could degreases the tractor/implement to get it off maybe.

My son got it from the dogs when he was a toddler. I know for sure we kept him far far far from the plants. But, he'd play with the dogs, that ran around our 5 acres...

I have got it from the tractor. Been weeks since I have been in it. Change the oil, adjust the belt, get the oil on me....

You can get it in the winter too. You probably will not recognize the twig you just cut in the middle of December, but it still has that oil in it.

Learn to ID it in all it's phases; bare twigs, leafy, ect. If you get in to it, Technu... Expensive as another poster noted. But, works best. Calomine, and Aloe seem to help me once I have it. I do not get a rash, I get itchy blisters...

If I know I have been in it, I undress right in front of the washer(it gets on your clothes too...). Wash well, even adding some Technu. Then straight to the shower, making sure to wash hands and arms with Technu first.

Also, wash well before you go to the bathroom. Trust me, you do not want posion oak/ivy there...

 

[Heavyduty]

Watch out if burn leaves,etc that may have posion ivy in it. You can even get from the smoke. I know people who can roll around in it and not get it. All I got to do is see it.

 

[LD1]

All good advise here so far. I seldom get the rash, unless I am in it all day and practically rolling in it, then I will get a few spots on my arms, but not as bad as others, especally my wife.

The Technu stuff works well, but one thing to keep in mind, when you first wash after contacting the oils, it is best to do so in cold water and NOT hot. Hot water opens your pores and lets more of the oil in. Wash with Technu in cold water and then take a mildly warm shower, but not as hot as you can stand it.

 

[nmu98]

I wash with dawn or other dish detergent and then follow with rubbing alchohol. Seems to work most times......

 

[cowboy357]

Oak & Ivy brand Cala Gel & cleaner is the best I,ve found . The Wife gets it at walmart . Use the Cleaner first to Remove the oil THEN soap & water . Otherwise Your just rubbing it in . Then apply the Gel its clear & dont stink or discolor clothing like most products .

Instant releif & Your right back to work if You catch it quick enough . Its all over Our place & this is the Only product ive found to work . I dont know how expensive it is, But I also dont care becuase it works . It also goes a long way . Works great for insect bites as well. Bob

 

[JohnDeere4300]

I immediately use rubbing alcohol and wash the place where i had contact with it.

I keep a bottle with me on the tractor, because all that poison junk really tears me up....I have a pair of rubber gloves that come up to my elbow & wear them if i have to handle any vines, or get the vines loose from my mowers.

When cutting the poison junk the oils in them will carry through the air...and if you should breath that in it could be very dangerous.

I know a guy that was cutting "poison ivy" and he got it on his arms & he scratched on it all day while mowing, and he was sweating & he rubbed his face & around his eyes & had to go to the hospital... The oil from it had got in his eyes & his eyes swelled together... and getting it on his neck made it swell up also.

He is allergic to poison ivy & poison oak real bad..... and i am also.

The worse thing a person can do if they are allergic to the poison junk is run a weed-eater.

If i was you i would wear rubber gloves if you need to handle the vines, and you should carry a bottle of rubbing alcohol with some clean rags if you need to cut a lot of it.

 

[Bird]

Nettle - which I never saw in America

There are quite a few different nettles in America, but the Stinging Nettle is not that uncommon, although I haven't seen much lately. But in 1993, I was checking a gas main that crossed the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania and had to wade through a bunch of it. Fortunately, it didn't bother me through the blue jeans I was wearing, but I sure felt sorry for the guy from the gas company who was with me, because it did get him.