Uh Oh Poison Ivy.....

[Slamfire]

I had a couple of bad bouts with it as a kid, so my folks got me desensitization shots. This must have been in 1947 or 48. Worked real good, I have been in it up to my ears when clearing brush the old fashioned way, I did get one blister inside my nose when we were burning it though. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[dmartin88]

Don't remind me about burning poison ivy! When I was about 13, helped my dad burn off a field behind our house and ended up with poison ivy over about 50% of my body, eyes, ears, nose, yuck! This was in 1968 (I think) and the treatment was cortisone shots, a miserable couple of weeks. The only good news was that this was during the World Series so I was out of school and watched the Cardinals win.

Since that time, I have to really be in hard contact with poison ivy to get a rash and then it's not too bad.

 

[PineRidge]

<font color="blue"> Electrical linemen keep a jar with a rag soaked in gasoline and wipe down with that when they are exposed to it. </font>

Junkman my father must have heard that same story as well. When I was a kid and caught poison ivy on my arms and forehead dad swabbed me down with some. Then with exposure to the sun I got a bad chemical burn and had to use some salve that the doctor prescribed for a week or two. I think the poison ivy was the lessor of the two evils.

Besides, someone cleansing with gasoline and then deciding they want a cigarette might be a BIG mistake..... /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

 

[hfd376]

My best treatment for exposure has been to catch it early, when its just starting to irritate. I use alcohol, either a wipe or gauze pad, and wipe in one direction, wipe with one side twice an then turn over. I guess its similar to the gas treatment in that it dissolves or breaks down the oils.

Doug

 

[smilingreen]

"Ivy_X" Pre-contact towels work very well as a barrier. If you know that you have gotten into poisen ivy, then use "Tecnu" skin cleanser. I am a landscaper and I get into poisen Ivy all the time. I am also, highly allergic to poisen Ivy. Both of these products are available through Gemplers.

 

[Boondox]

I hate when that happens! /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

No advice to offer, but wanted to share a humorous classified ad I recently saw in our local paper. Firewood is getting very expensive as the price of heating oil goes up, so the headline caught my attention very quickly.

"ABSOLUTELY FREE: Firewood, mostly rock maple, 18" length split and stacked. Overgrown with poison ivy. You pick up."

Pete

 

[Soundguy]

Luckily I don't have much where I brushhog.. though I do up around the fence areas. I opted to spray what I could.. and simply hack and slash and remove the rest.

I have only have the slightest reaction to poison ivy and none to poison oak.. ( so far.. ).. and usually only if I really grind it in and let it set for hours.

Still I've found that washing with a good soap gets the oils off, and I also take alegra occasionallyfor seasonal alergies. If I know I'm workiong outside.. I usually pop one before heading out as a 'pre-emptive defense'. It works better than any over the counter antihistamine I've ever used.. course costs an arm and a leg too. I have a feeling that the antihistamine
( even and Over the counter one ) is doing quite a bit of good in preventing the extreme alergy response the poison ivy oils cause.

Good luck

Soundguy

 

[DAP]

Jim .. tis true that goats eat a huge variety of things, poison ivy included. The eat non-vegetable matter also.

I must say however, after having owned goats for a couple of years now, that expecting goats to remove poison ivy problems is not really a solution.

First off, poison ivy is prolific. Where there's a little, there's usually a LOT not far off. 2nd, it would take a lot of goats to do away with the problem entirely. Lastly, goats eat alot of other things so if you want them to eat ONLY poison ivy, well that dog just don't hunt.

Contrary to popular myth, yes goats do eat a lot of unusual things, but they are as finicky an eater as has been invented. My goats like maple leaves, dried or fresh from the branch. If you made a pile of 10 of those leaves, they would eat 6 of em and you couldn't force feed the other 4 to em no matter what.

Very finicky.

My goats eat poison ivy, but will never make a dent. The real topic then becomes - cute lil pigmy goat eats ivy - wife kisses cute lil pigmy goat - the rest doesn't require much imagination.

The way we deal with poison ivy, especially the mammoth 3" thick vines affixed to old stately trees in the forest is the chain saw. Cut a 4 inch section from its stalk (2 cuts). It will die eventually. You can speed it up by pouring some roundUp on the exposed stalk - being very careful not to contimaniate the tree or its roots.

The lil stuff - well we deal with that like any other weed. It gets string trimmed or roundUped, depending on where it is. Dealing with PI is a venture of compromise - and when it's not, we usually lose.

 

[DAP]

A word of WARNING - in the ever present losing battle of man vs PI ....


A neighbor of mine dressec in full body rubber collected a huge pile of poison ivy. It was stacked and victory exclaimed.

This party then set a torch to the pile. Whilest standing around admiring their victory over the Urushiol oil family of plants, apparently, the smoke from the fire introduced the oil residue into the lungs and subsequently, the blood stream.

Now it's called "Systemic Poison Ivy" and this party need not come into contact with the oil to have an episode.

After almost 40 years watching all my siblings and others get affected, I have always remained unaffected by it. I thought I was one of those immune to it types.

Last year, picking blueberries, I, after 40 years, finally succombed. My entire front torso became 'the living hell'.

Be careful with that stuff.

The indians taught that each PI plant usually had a neighboring rememdy plant (Jewel Weed) and would use that to treat the malady.

We make jewel weed soap at home for this purpose. I can't say whether it actually works or not yet though.

 

[ronbo3]

I am quite allergic to PI, and have found that wearing a long sleeve shirt and gloves when working around it helps keep it off my skin. If you can wash the oils off within 1hour of contact, that will lessen the effects. If you still get it on you, the best relief I have found (other than a visit to the doctor for steroids!) is wash the area with hot water--the hotter the better. Running very hot water on the rash will give temporary relief, it will not cause it to spread, and it almost feels better than sex!!