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Poison ivy. What was your experience.

RNCollins

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Don't pet your outdoor pets (their fur can carry the poison ivy oil).

I was dog sitting for a friend while in college and I caught poison ivy from the oil on her dog. I never touched the plant, I was just touching the dogs hair.
 

BJRSanDiego

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I have had poison Ivy and poison Oak. Same family but different leaves.

The first time (Ivy) I used Calomine lotion (dries it out), hydrocortisone (calms it) and it went away after a week or so. I caught it early.

The second time (Oak) I went to a doctor, he prescribed an antihistamine pill (like Chlor-trimiton, OTC), benidryl, and Calomine lotion. It went away pretty quickly.

I watched a Youtube video on how to clean yourself if you know that you have been exposed. The guy on the video said that you are trying to remove an oil. He said that just washing with regular soap and water isn't going to help much. Then on the video, to prove his hypothesis, he rubbed black car grease on his hand or arm and showed how soap and water didn't phase the grease. He said that you remove the grease (or Poison Ivy/Oak oil) largely with a cloth or paper towel by rubbing off the grease/oil and leaving it on the cloth or paper towel. Then use the soap and water. There are some slightly abrasive liquid products for mechanics that is used to remove ground-in grease from your hands. In addition to the abrasive they also have a solvent like orange oil. I suspect that it would work gang-busters on poison oak/ivy oils if you used it before you saw any symptoms.
 

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From The American Academy of Dermatology:
Poison Ivy, Poison Oak, and Poison Sumac are NOT CONTAGIOUS and CANNOT BE SPREAD by contact.
You can only get it by coming into contact with the plant which contains the offending oils.
Lot of myths out there.
https://www.aad.org/public/diseases/itchy-skin/poison-ivy-oak-and-sumac


Dermatologist said this. General practitioner said the opposite.


Well, anyone confused, please do some research, as the GP is misguided.
And with all due respect, a GP does not have NEARLY the knowledge
about it as does the Dermatologist.

For 50 years this has been the understanding, and research since then, up to today, has confirmed it. They are NOT contagious.
There are different ways to get it, though, which should be understood as something DIFFERENT from a conclusion that
contagiousness in the general sense is possible.
It's all explained further in the following MAYO CLINIC article:
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/poison-ivy/symptoms-causes/syc-20376485

(excerpt from article: A poison ivy rash itself isn't contagious — blister fluid doesn't contain urushiol and won't spread the rash.
And you can't get poison ivy from another person unless you've touched urushiol that's still on that person or his or her clothing.)


(Side note: Dermatology is one of THE most difficult residency programs to get after graduating from medical school, and it
takes super-outstanding medical school performance and record to be considered. Only the top 1% are accepted.
A GP residency, on the other hand, is what you do when you can't get accepted into a difficult, hard-to-get residency program.
Not judging, just fact.
GPs know a lot about everything, but Dermatologists, Neurologists, Cardiologists, Orthopedic Surgeons, etc, etc hold a
world of knowledge about their specific field, far more in-depth.
The study level is far more intense. When a GP can't treat certain things, or doesn't feel personally competent to treat certain things,
they refer the patient to the specialists.
God bless the GPs , though!!!----they work tirelessly and are our first-line of defense in medicine. I admire them greatly,
and right now there is a huge shortage. We have one we go to for regular check-ups, and we have a Dermatologist as well as other specialists, chosen by me (not by my GP). When anything of concern happens, however, I promise you I'm not phoning the GP.)
 

Quilter

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Well, anyone confused, please do some research, as the GP is misguided.
And with all due respect, a GP does not have NEARLY the knowledge
about it as does the Dermatologist.

For 50 years this has been the understanding, and research since then, up to today, has confirmed it. They are NOT contagious.
There are different ways to get it, though, which should be understood as something DIFFERENT from a conclusion that
contagiousness in the general sense is possible.
It's all explained further in the following MAYO CLINIC article:
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/poison-ivy/symptoms-causes/syc-20376485

(excerpt from article: A poison ivy rash itself isn't contagious — blister fluid doesn't contain urushiol and won't spread the rash.
And you can't get poison ivy from another person unless you've touched urushiol that's still on that person or his or her clothing.)


(Side note: Dermatology is one of THE most difficult residency programs to get after graduating from medical school, and it
takes super-outstanding medical school performance and record to be considered. Only the top 1% are accepted.
A GP residency, on the other hand, is what you do when you can't get accepted into a difficult, hard-to-get residency program.
Not judging, just fact.
GPs know a lot about everything, but Dermatologists, Neurologists, Cardiologists, Orthopedic Surgeons, etc, etc hold a
world of knowledge about their specific field, far more in-depth.
The study level is far more intense. When a GP can't treat certain things, or doesn't feel personally competent to treat certain things,
they refer the patient to the specialists.
God bless the GPs , though!!!----they work tirelessly and are our first-line of defense in medicine. I admire them greatly,
and right now there is a huge shortage. We have one we go to for regular check-ups, and we have a Dermatologist as well as other specialists, chosen by me (not by my GP). When anything of concern happens, however, I promise you I'm not phoning the GP.)

I believe the GP was referring to the transfer of any remaining urushiol, not that the rash itself is contagious. He actually said I could "spread" it which to me meant spreading residual urushiol.

I'm still very confused about residual urushiol. According to all accounts it is water soluble. After many washings is it all gone? Some references say it can get into the blood stream and become systemic, hence the strange break outs of new rashes days and weeks after initial contact. Or is that merely the body overreacting to the flood of histamines?

Marty, how do you explain the continuous breakouts of new rashes? I saw the Mayo link and it's very weak on details like this.
 

Quilter

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I don't usually get it but last year I got it on my arm and never really being affected by it before I looked for remedies. Check out Mean Green Power Hand Scrub.

Like the Zanfel it is a scrub. After using the Zanfel I thought Lava soap may have been just as effective but I didn't know about this Mean Green stuff. Looks like a good item to keep by my outdoor faucet where I wash hands and gloves.

This is one of the many links I found during the wee hours when the rash woke me up. Proper scrubbing is his mantra:

 

Quilter

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I was dog sitting for a friend while in college and I caught poison ivy from the oil on her dog. I never touched the plant, I was just touching the dogs hair.

My neighbor's dog spread it to her many times. We all have wooded areas on our properties and hers was full of PI. She's had landscapers tackling it for years and finally has it under control. But in the early days when they moved in her dog knocked her down. She had no idea she was in a mess of ivy and she really was in a mess. Body and face. Prednisone had nasty effects on her.
 

bluehende

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My neighbor's dog spread it to her many times. We all have wooded areas on our properties and hers was full of PI. She's had landscapers tackling it for years and finally has it under control. But in the early days when they moved in her dog knocked her down. She had no idea she was in a mess of ivy and she really was in a mess. Body and face. Prednisone had nasty effects on her.

PI is very tough to get rid of. I had a hedge in the backyard that had quite a bit in it. I took out the hedge because I was tired of getting it just from grass clippings. It is now 30 yrs later and find a plant or two every year.
 

Quilter

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PI is very tough to get rid of. I had a hedge in the backyard that had quite a bit in it. I took out the hedge because I was tired of getting it just from grass clippings. It is now 30 yrs later and find a plant or two every year.

If it’s anywhere in the vicinity birds eat the berries and plant it with their droppings.
 

bluehende

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If it’s anywhere in the vicinity birds eat the berries and plant it with their droppings.

These come up only where the hedge used to be. As much as it is a possibility it is hard for me to believe the birds poop in one straight line in my back yard. I have no idea how long the seeds survive in the seed bank but many weed seeds can go decades. I looked and could not find it. I usually hit the plant with roundup and clear it out a day or two later as I feared it was roots still active.
 

Quilter

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These come up only where the hedge used to be. As much as it is a possibility it is hard for me to believe the birds poop in one straight line in my back yard. I have no idea how long the seeds survive in the seed bank but many weed seeds can go decades. I looked and could not find it. I usually hit the plant with roundup and clear it out a day or two later as I feared it was roots still active.

http://wssa.net/wp-content/uploads/Weed-Seed-Factsheet-2016.pdf
 

jme

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I believe the GP was referring to the transfer of any remaining urushiol, not that the rash itself is contagious. He actually said I could "spread" it which to me meant spreading residual urushiol.

I'm still very confused about residual urushiol. According to all accounts it is water soluble. After many washings is it all gone? Some references say it can get into the blood stream and become systemic, hence the strange break outs of new rashes days and weeks after initial contact. Or is that merely the body overreacting to the flood of histamines?

Marty, how do you explain the continuous breakouts of new rashes? I saw the Mayo link and it's very weak on details like this.

Easy.
The article is not "weak" at all, it's simply meant to be something else---- they are succinctly addressing the
major symptoms, treatment, and a few related facts, just like WebMD does----Bam, 1,2,3.
Strictly superficial (no pun intended) for the general public.
It is NOT meant to be an exhaustive treatise on plants which cause allergic reactions.

For those issues you'll have to do some deeper research. Frankly, I've never heard of those rare sequelae being
noted in general discussions. That's not to ignore the crazy stuff out there when it comes to allergies and immune systems.
They deserve attention but on a different level.
 

bluehende

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csxjohn

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I've gotten poison ivy since my youth, one time from head to toe from climbing pear trees and picking the pears from an abandoned orchard. Little sister got it that time too. That bout required a prescription spray.

I still get if if I'm not careful but I found a product called Tecnu when I got poison ivy as an adult at a Boy Scout camp. It essentially washes away the oil that causes the rash. When I suspect I've been near the plant I use it.

We used to use "brown soap" which was Fels Naphtha. It did the job that the Tecnu now does. I found some Fels Naphtha in an old general store on vacation recently but upon reading the label it says "contains no naphtha." a lot of good that's going to do.

You can buy naphtha in the paint dept but I'm pretty sure it's not recommended to put directly on your skin.

When I do get an outbreak I use the tecnu and either calamine lotion or an anti itch cream to relieve the itch. I did have to go to the doctor a few years back and was given some pills that I had to take seven or so the first day then one less each succeeding day.
 

Quilter

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Three weeks. Finally no more “special “ creams or potions. Just normal body lotion to counter the dry patch.

We arrived back home tonight. I’m curious to look in that part of the yard and find out where this vine was coming from. I contacted a landscaper to come work in that area. Of course I’ll tell him about the ivy.
 

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Glad you're feeling better! I've gotten to the point where I do all my yard work in the off season so I can wear long pants and sleeves plus gloves and closed shoes. Everything immediately goes into the washer and I take a shower. Thankfully, no cases of poison ivy the past few years.

PS: Cashews are closely related to poison ivy. You might want to take care not to eat too many of them and increase your sensitivity or develop an allergy.
 
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