# Poison Ivy/Poison Oak



## Maestro

Anyone ever have experience with this plants famous oil urushiol. 15% of people are unaffected by it, some barely notice it.... Others well its hell for them.

In canada i know its eastward starting from Ontario all the way to Nova scotia i believe. Im sure the US is similar, this plants has so many variations of it that most people can not identify it. Well it has 3 leafs is all everyone seems to know.
I was speaking with a traveler here about it (from germany) and he kinda chuckled. Thought i was kidding till i showed him the effects of it, Which i happen to be experiencing right now. After a few beers u start gathering firewood and just forget its there. Lol Its itches, burns, causes major discomfort. Im just glad it didnt reach my gential area!!
I HIGHLY recommend getting the 1% hydrocortisone cream its available over counter here in Canada. Instead of it itching to the point where u break skin and get a staph infection it burns for about 10 mins then u forget all about it.


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## ScumRag

Fels-Naptha laundry soap to dry out the oils + oat meal in a bath tub if you can find one... I would imagine an oat meal compress would work but I've also heard of baking soda, apple cider vinegar too...

Once while camping we burned the leaves that were growing on the logs for the bonfire + I got poison ivy in my lungs. Was in the hospital for several weeks after that. Couldn't breathe at all super sucked.


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## Maestro

Yeah i hear thats the worst!! Its on these little islands here on lake nipissing. If u wash it within 2-8 hours i hear ull be fine.
So going forward, as soon as i get back on the boat i will be rubbing my legs with a soap, isopropyl, sand or a combination of them! Thing is my body will slowly start reacting 7-10 days later and can last another 30 days.
If oils are unwashed on your clothing u will continue getting the burns/sores till the oils are washed away!!
I could NOT imagine inhaling that shit!

This was 4 days ago, a week after exposure. Just blows up outta nowhere


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## Tony Pro

I work in the woods and out health and safety guy has a few things to say about it: Wash the oil off with plain old dish soap; the purpose-made medical soaps are a waste of money. Also don't use moisturizing soap.
I don't react to it at all, but I still have to be careful, because if I go home with contaminated hands or clothes, I get to watch my wife puff up like a marshmallow.

It's remarkable how young sarsaparilla looks exactly like poison ivy; only when it matures can you be sure it's a different plant.


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## Koala

Oh yea, I got a case of poison something in the everglades that was horrible and lasted for ages, and would pop up in random patches for weeks after the initial flare up. 

Taking allergy medicine helped me sleep through the night and not wake up scratching my skin off. Running the rashes under hot, hot water does the burns-like-hell-for-30-seconds-then-doesnt-itch-anymore thing. And calamine lotion is soothing and dries out the patches. Aloe is amazing and soothing, too. 

I hit a lot of poison ivy sleeping at the hop outs near Jacksonville, FL and was terrified it was all over me and my gear, but I got nothing more than a few patches on my arms and back. Nothing bad. So whatever was in the Everglades wasn't poison ivy. Makes sense, I grew up in upstate NY and MA where poison ivy is everywhere and watched my parents and friends get it, but I never did.


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## Koala

@Maestro your rash looks more like chiggers. Idk if you have those up your way, though. But the rash from them flares up and down for about a month in my experience


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## Maestro

Koala said:


> @Maestro your rash looks more like chiggers. Idk if you have those up your way, though. But the rash from them flares up and down for about a month in my experience



After doing some poking around online and being terrified at first, i dont think it is. I think it looks similar because at first i scratched alot and now the cream is healing the rash. I did have blisters in the begining which isnt chiggers. Ill add some blister pics, also they oozed which ive seen with poison ivy prior. Also the damage is minimal at restricted areas, waist band, sock area.

Anyone hear of cooties? Apparently chiggers living on poison ivy, bite u and sprear urushiol! I hope it isnt real!!


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## Koala

Holy fuck. Chiggers living on poison ivy is how I know god isn't real lol 

Yeah those pics you just posted look like poison ivy/oak. 

The first you posted still looks a helluva lot like the chigger bites I got last year..... either way they both heal up in about 4 to 6 weeks in my experience


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## Maestro

Koala said:


> Holy fuck. Chiggers living on poison ivy is how I know god isn't real lol
> 
> Yeah those pics you just posted look like poison ivy/oak.
> 
> The first you posted still looks a helluva lot like the chigger bites I got last year..... either way they both heal up in about 4 to 6 weeks in my experience


Just enough time before i hit the road!! 
I cant find more information on the urushiol chiggers so must be bullshit. Thank god


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## PAN AM HOBO

Ivarest Max Strength Poison Ivy Cream, Relieves Itching and Burning, Bug Bite Relief, 2 oz cream bottle works great ! !


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## manzo

I use a razor dipped in bleach and dry it out with some salt


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## Deleted member 16701

I got it a couple months ago. I asked everyone what it was and no one could tell me, so i went to the Dr. And he told me what it was after like a second of looking at it.
He gave me this stuff in the pic and some anti inflammatory pills. It worked great.


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## roughdraft

ive had it quite a lot, when i was 12 or so it was all over my entire face arms and torso

it's a lot to do with killing the rash by drying it out because it spreads through the oils secreted by the leaves and then through any open parts of the rash on your skin. so it's notable to sweat as little as possible too

it's been a long while and i seem to have built up a resistance to it. I'm inclined to think isopropyl alcohol works if nothing else to really choke it out


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## ScumRag

manzo said:


> I use a razor dipped in bleach and dry it out with some salt



Wow that's crazy. Do you actually scrape off the rash??


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## Mj23

Yeah the worst part about poison oak/ivy is that your body doesn't register right away. 

I was in norcal last fall, when all the foliage had already gone, and I spent an entire day setting up a firepit / camp platform and ripping up all those sprigs of poison oak not realizing what they were just then.. Two days later I was covered, face to foot, and couldn't sleep for nearly a month.

You don't see the end of it for weeks, if it's allowed to spread. Best bet, as long as you're in the sticks is letting it dry out for as long as possible and refrain from scratching. Pat it down with dirt.. rinse occasionally with water/ gently pat down w alcohol wipes when available. 

It's hell on earth but thankfully not lethal to anyone but an unlucky few.


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## manzo

ScumRag said:


> Wow that's crazy. Do you actually scrape off the rash??


i cut the bubbles, drain/pat with a bleach soaked rag or paper towel, then rub salt in to help dry it out and tape it over or krazy glue it if u got it

like Mj23 said i just try to stop it before it spreads


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## ScumRag

manzo said:


> i cut the bubbles, drain/pat with a bleach soaked rag or paper towel, then rub salt in to help dry it out and tape it over or krazy glue it if u got it
> 
> like Mj23 said i just try to stop it before it spreads




That's... Wow....

I guess if it works, go for it...


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## roughdraft

Well ya can't make this shit up, I got poison ivy manifested on me today

all over my forearms and inside the 'lobes' of a couple fingers on my left hand and guess where else....yes also on the underside of my penis shaft...and if you know much about male anatomy...yes it's now on my scrotum

Luckily I have a bottle of isopropyl alcohol and have been opening the parts on my arms and dousing them with alcohol. it hurts a bit but that's how you know it's working right? can't be healthy so just have to avoid this in the future....I say that every time. i also put some on my dick and now I'm actually afraid I may never have an erection again.


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## ScumRag

Ouch


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## Skelevision

just had poison oak & poison ivy at the same time (traveled from california to georgia).. then they got staph.. but learned a lot about how to cure poison oak/ivy naturally! esp important if you're on the road.. you can heal your body for free!!
the basic concept: for plants that give the body infections/rashes such as poison oak & ivy, look to their sibling plant as a healer.

poison oak: sibling is manzanita! slice off a branch & boil it w/ the branches until the water is black. strain it & take a bath/wash yourself with the manzanita nectar! gets rid of oils & itching & heals it up quick.. highly effective if done more than once after infection

poison ivy: sibling is jewel weed! slice up the stem & rub the juices on all exposed infections. this helps irritation. you can also boil the plant, like manzanita, until the liquid becomes a dark orange. take a bath in this... if you're able to have access to an ice cube tray, pour this liquid in there & use the jewelweed ice cubes on infected areas... v soothing.. also soap form works wonders

hope this helps for future encounters! share this knowledge along


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## creature

I'll point to the wiki, here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urushiol

some pretty fascinating stuff..
what *really* hit me, though, is that fucking *mangoes* are part of the same family (which kind of makes sense, once the connection is stated), and *cashews*..

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anacardiaceae

wikipedia also gives a reference to a pretty good tutorial, here:
https://www.cattail.nu/ivy/ivy_index.html


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## BusGypsy

I've found calamine lotion to be helpful.


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## peacefulmonokai

Had it multiple times. Usually picked it up near small streams, or rivers.

If it gets too bad, on crotch/eyes, head to clinic for a steroid shot. 

Should be gone in 3 days with steroid shot. If you have a mild case, try some oats and water to dry out.

And if access to shower, alternate between hot and cold to release anti-histamine. Then let dry out. 

In SF, you might take the N Judah to the beach, sit in the water, and scrub your body with wet sand. Let the ocean minerals work their magic. Worked for me.


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## Eng JR Lupo RV323

I've had that shit for over a month. First it was my entire torso, then it was my forearm, now it's on my leg. My dog must be running through it & getting it on my blankets or some shit. I've decided that once this patch on my leg goes away if I get it again she's sleeping on the floor from now on. She usually just sleeps at the foot of the bed out of the way but I think when I'm not paying attention she'll jump up there near the pillows and whatnot.

The best relief I've found is using Tecnu when I first notice I've got it. That shit gets all the oils out real well. I use paper towels and really get that shit all dried up well then hit it again with the tecnu, dry it and apply calamine lotion. I've tried all types of topical products like benadryl gel and calamine sprays but the basic ass calamine lotion seems to keep it the driest. 

I take a few showers a day, as many as I can stand to take. I run the hottest water I can stand, it feels like it's burning my skin I have the hot water heater set so high. Then just run that hot stream of water directly on the location of the poison oak. It feels better than any orgasm I've ever had. If it didn't itch so bad I'd roll around in the shit just to have that sensation over my entire body. 

The extreme hot water seems to make it bubble up and blister but that seems to just advance it to the next stage where those blisters break and all the fluids are purged. I've read about those blisters and the fluid and has no poison oak oil in it at all so it's not a risk of spreading it further. Scalding hot water is where it's at. I've also heard a hair dryer can be your friend.


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## tchavers

Another thing to note is alcohol works before you get the rash too. I keep some with me in a small glasses cleaner spray bottle. If I think I went through some ivy, build a fire at night, etc. I spray the area asap and since I started doing that haven't had it in years. It takes 20 minutes for it to bond to your skin, so time can be crucial. Hand sanitizer works too, but in my eyes the spray it more versatile.


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## Older Than Dirt

The OP mentions that some folks are immune. Either the poison ivy in Missouri/Arkansas is different than poison ivy in Connecticut, or i lost my immunity from 9 to 10, but when my family moved east when i was 10, and i demonstrated my immunity to poison ivy by rolling in it, my, how the other kids at camp laughed! Turns out i wasn't immune to east coast poison ivy.

The modern stuff like Tecnu that Engineer J Lupo mentions, and other similar brands you can find in most drug stores, works way better WHEN YOU ARE FIRST EXPOSED than the old school shit like calamine lotion and Fels-Naptha. After it works its way into your skin, strictly those two things.

In the Boy Scouts, they taught us

_Leaves in threes,
Leave it be_

To cheer yourself up, google the R & B classic "Poison Ivy" by the Coasters:

_It's gonna take an ocean
Of calamine lotion_

Oh fine, i did it for you:


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