Poison Ivy/Poison Oak

Maestro

Active member
Joined
May 30, 2018
Messages
40
Reaction score
21
Location
North-Bay, On, Canada
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. :)
 

Attachments

  • 20180714_202617.jpg
    20180714_202617.jpg
    814.7 KB · Views: 6,220

ScumRag

me, hellarity, oak, ca. about 2006
Joined
Oct 13, 2017
Messages
292
Reaction score
278
Location
San Diego, CA
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.
 

Maestro

Active member
Joined
May 30, 2018
Messages
40
Reaction score
21
Location
North-Bay, On, Canada
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
 

Attachments

  • 20180710_195201.jpg
    20180710_195201.jpg
    630.8 KB · Views: 854
Last edited:

Tony Pro

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 24, 2015
Messages
219
Reaction score
589
Location
Denver
Website
gavincwillow.wordpress.com
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.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Dmac and Maestro

Koala

sleeps 22 hours a day, eats chutes and leaves
Joined
Nov 3, 2015
Messages
634
Reaction score
2,164
Location
NY
Website
ciggybuttbrain.wordpress.com
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.
 

Maestro

Active member
Joined
May 30, 2018
Messages
40
Reaction score
21
Location
North-Bay, On, Canada
@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!!
 

Attachments

  • 20180706_234821.jpg
    20180706_234821.jpg
    428.8 KB · Views: 395
  • 20180715_123633.jpg
    20180715_123633.jpg
    355.7 KB · Views: 1,347

Koala

sleeps 22 hours a day, eats chutes and leaves
Joined
Nov 3, 2015
Messages
634
Reaction score
2,164
Location
NY
Website
ciggybuttbrain.wordpress.com
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
 

Maestro

Active member
Joined
May 30, 2018
Messages
40
Reaction score
21
Location
North-Bay, On, Canada
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
 
D

Deleted member 16701

Guest
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.
 

Attachments

  • 20180722_130122.jpg
    20180722_130122.jpg
    979.2 KB · Views: 533

roughdraft

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 16, 2015
Messages
1,283
Reaction score
1,489
Location
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
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
 
Last edited:

Mj23

I'm a d-bag and got banned.
Banned
Joined
Jul 3, 2018
Messages
31
Reaction score
40
Location
Kansas city
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.
 

ScumRag

me, hellarity, oak, ca. about 2006
Joined
Oct 13, 2017
Messages
292
Reaction score
278
Location
San Diego, CA
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...
 

roughdraft

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 16, 2015
Messages
1,283
Reaction score
1,489
Location
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
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.
 

Skelevision

Member
Joined
Jul 24, 2018
Messages
6
Reaction score
7
Location
portland, maine
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 :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: manzo

About us

  • Squat the Planet is the world's largest social network for misfit travelers. Join our community of do-it-yourself nomads and learn how to explore the world by any means necessary.

    More Info

Latest Library Uploads