They call it poison for a reason

[ultrarunner]

WOW! Eat poison ivy!! You nuts?
Cutting wood that痴 been contaminated with poison ivy is bad enough, burning it indoors is even better.

Ever hear of Satan wood?

Some of the Homeopathic Remedies are made from the oil of the Poison Oak Plant.

I also have a few vials left from a product called Immune Oak that was issued to Telephone Company Lineman back in the 1960's... it is made from Poison Oak and was taken orally to build immunity...

 

[BigD23]

I had poison oak once...Was DEFF not good.

Don

 

[jinman]

As a thread about identification and prevention, this is an excellent thread. I am so sorry about the gent who lost his life, but I see lots of good advice and some great photos that prove every three-leafed plant is not your enemy. I got a kick out of one of JoelD's photos that had a 3-leaf clover in it. The thorns were noted on the wild berry plant, but nobody said the clover was harmless. "Leaves of three, let it be" is still the best advice. For the last two days, I've been out mowing in my woods where it is carpeted with poison oak. I am so lucky that I am not hypersensitive to it. I'd probably have to move.

Here's the picture with the 3-leaf clover.

In the lower left corner of the photo

 

[scott_vt]

After he was recovering from his worst bout as a child we went to the beach camping and the doctor warned my mother not to let him near the water as his wounds would become infected. Feeling sorry for him and not being terribly bright children we helped him sneak away and go swimming. Within a couple days his poison Ivy started drying up and my mother was astonished at this miraculous cure until we told her why, and what we had done. Even though this was the cure it didn't help my burning backside. From that day on as soon as he caught it he would go to the ocean.

Good Mornin psj,
We just got back from a vacation in the carribean a few weeks back. One of the couples that went with us had a pretty bad case on his arms ! Within a few days of swimming in that very salty water his blisters just started to vanish ! If you have an ocean nearby, its the quickest way to get rid of it IMO !

 

[Soundguy]

tecnu was the stuff i was trying to remember in my previous post.

Poison Ivy Treatment, Poison Oak Treatment from TecLabs Inc.


soundguy

 

[dodge man]

I don't think picutres 3 and 4 above are poison ivy, the leaves are to perfect, no broken edges. I wouldn't mess with it though, because it looks pretty close. I am a land surveyor, and I would guess I have had poison ivy 50 to 80 times in my life, most of those cases were very minor, but I have had it bad several times. Prednesoine(sp?) is the only real cure. I have had it several times and the doctor won't give it to me any more unless I have a bad case, due to the long term side affects of steroids.

Another home remedy is a very hot shower. It will cause it to itch really bad for a couple of minutes, but will make it not itch for several hours. I read about this in a medical book and it actually works. The heat brings out the itch(histimines) and uses it all up so to speak. That is why ice or something cool will help supress the itch.

Another thing, a fairly large % of people don't get poison ivy, they are imune. Everyone is immune the first time, but maybe not the second time. If you are allergic to it, the more you are in it, the more sensitive to it you become. If you stay out of it for several years, you will be a little less sensitive the next time you get in it.

My problem isn't the severity of the reaction, but it lasts a long time on me. I have had it last over a month when I have had a bad case.

 

[jinman]

I don't think picutres 3 and 4 above are poison ivy, the leaves are to perfect, no broken edges. I wouldn't mess with it though, because it looks pretty close.

I agree with you that it does not look like poison ivy. In the picture below of a butterfly pea vine, you can see a very similar grouping and shape of three leaves. However, if I came upon the butterfly pea without it being in bloom, I might steer clear just to be on the safe side. I think the plant in pictures #3 and #4 look much more like this pea than PI. I believe the butterfly pea is native to most states east of the Rockies, so it is possible to see it in the northeast states as well as here in Texas where I took this picture about a month ago.

 

[ampsucker]

keep in mind, this PI stuff takes three distinct forms: low bush, taller shrub often with no leaves on "trunk" and tufts of leaves grouped in threes at top, and very tall vines.

I believe these are efforts for the plant to adapt and find light. You'll often find the low bush at the edge of woods where it can easiliy get access to afternoon sun. The taller shrub will often be in fields where it has to compete with tall prairie grass or similar, and the tall vines are usually in old growth wooded areas where it has to climb to get full sun in the top of a tree. Also remember that vines can be very old (and thick) and may have grown up into a tree before a portion of the land was cleared. Then you'll have all three types coming from one mother plant.

The vine reproduces by seeds from the berries it forms if it gets good sun. It can also spread by sending up shoots from the root. That is why if you try to kill it with chemicals, you'll have to keep after it for several seasons and make sure you get it all including the tallest vines.

In our area, the dead giveaway for most PI is the reddish/purplish tinge to the top part of the young vines where the "leaves of three" connect. About the only hardwood this looks like is young maple sprouts which are also redish at the stem but usually have much lighter green leaves.


amp

 

[SuperDuty335]

I've managed to fend off any notable reactions for several years now thanks to Oral Ivy, a homeopathic treatment. In the past I have had PO so bad that I felt feverish and sick from it. It is terrible stuff!

 

[valley]

Some years back, while visiting my brother in Washington, I got PI. I gave my dog a hug, the dog had run through it, I had no shirt on, got it on my arm and side. It made me sensitive to other things for a while. No fun as I remember it.