Poison Ivy

[walhondingnashua]

I have major issues with getting poison ivy. I have been in the woods my whole life and cut wood no matter what. I just end up getting it and dealing with it. Its pretty much unavoidable. I am wondering if anyone has any tricks. What do you do to not get it, other than just trying to stay out of it? What do you do if you get it?
Just curious if I can learn something new that I haven't been trying.

 

[Bigger_Al]

Where long sleeves and pants, wash my skin right after being in the woods and I sometimes will use TECNU wash and after lotion if I end up getting a rash. Always wash clothing in warm water too.

 

[Kevin Weis]

Supposedly if you can wash off within two hours after contact the nasties will be minimal. I haven't gotten poison ivy for probably over 30 years now. I used to end of in the doctors office when I was a kid just by looking at it. Go figure, but I've heard it can work this way and vice versa. Otherwise as mentioned above with the precautions. Never burn splits or rounds with the vine still on it. Even when its dead, contact with the smoke can be an unforgiving thing. Kevin

 

[Ashful]

Yes. I got it very badly once, systemic actually, and spent about four months visiting a whole host of doc’s to get it cleared up. That is when I learned about a particularly useful steroid cream, which always clears it up in one day. It is a topical steroid called 0.1% triamcinolone acetonide, and it comes in a 1 lb tub that looks like Vaseline. Basic procedure:

1. Wash with Tecnu or Zanfel in cool water. Make sure you have removed all of the poison ivy oils. Wash beyond where you are currently affected as there are likely oils on you that just haven’t yet triggered a reaction.

2. Dry, then apply the steroid cream only to the inflamed areas. This cream can move and exacerbate any latent oils, so do not apply it to areas that were not already well-washed with Tecnu.

You can add an oral steroid, but I don’t find it necessary, the topical is much safer and much more effective. Any dermatologist (or general doc) can prescribe it, but most have not heard of it. This is most commonly used in the “Soak and Smear” treatment developed by Dr. Ari Benjamin Gutman, et al.

Avoid the oral steroids, if you can. But sometimes adding them can help, if you don’t react poorly. Standard practice is a 40 mg taper on prednisone.

 

[hickoryhoarder]

Each body varies in how easily they get it. I seem to get it pretty easy. But have not had it since 1980, even though from 1980-1983 I tended to be in it a lot. Anything that wasn't covered in clothing I wash with soap when I get home, usually in the shower. But if it's just your hands, wash them. On site, rubbing alcohol or hand sanitizer that contains alcohol can be very useful.

It's usually going to touch your pants cuffs if you're in it. Handle them as though they have the oil on them -- that is, don't touch the pants cuffs.

As Kevin said, know what it looks like. Don't burn logs with these vines on them. The poison ivy vine is distinctive, even without leaves, and easily learned.

 

[walhondingnashua]

Honestly because I hate it so much I can pick it out in the woods like it’s blaze orange but I know I still end up in it. I actually keep a spray bottle of white vinegar and dawn to spray my boots, pants, and tools down with. Seems to help some but I still end up with it sometimes. I actually think my dogs give it to me from walking in it.

 

[fishki]

I am pretty sure I am the only one that purposefully grows poison ivy, the vines are leaves look beautiful climbing my trees, unlike other vines they will not choke out a tree. I do have to pull up new vines that start growing where I do not want them, so yes, I am quite familiar with the occasional rash.

Washing with Mean Green hand scrub is a much cheaper alternative to Zanfel and results seem to be the same, for $20 I can get 60 ounces of Mean Green compared to $40 for a single ounce of Zanfel.

 

[spudman99]

Would burning dead poison ivy be a dangerous as live ivy? Just asking as I am not in that situation. Does the dead vine contain toxins that can be released during burning even though they are not alive, and in theory have dried out just like the wood its attached to?

 

[Ashful]

Would burning dead poison ivy be a dangerous as live ivy? Just asking as I am not in that situation. Does the dead vine contain toxins that can be released during burning even though they are not alive, and in theory have dried out just like the wood its attached to?

Dangerous, yes. “As dangerous”, maybe not. The vine contains oils for a few years beyond death, the specific level of danger comes down to a few factors, the primary being years post-mortem.

 

[Prof]

I don't seem to be affected by poison ivy--I tend not to tempt fate though. I have friends that swear by jewel weed as a remedy. https://www.motherearthliving.com/plant-profile/jewelweed

I also remember Euell Gibbons writing about eating poison ivy as a way to build immunity--I wouldn't suggest this one though, seems a bit crazy.

 

[shoot-straight]

Work- but do so smartly then immediately wash. The other posters are correct. If you get the oil off soon enough you will be ok.

I am super allerrgic to it BTW.

 

[fbelec]

i've read washing with dawn twice within 15 minutes of contact works. is this true

 

[hickoryhoarder]

i've read washing with dawn twice within 15 minutes of contact works. is this true

It should work. Just about any soap will take off the oil. Sooner is better than later, though I've pushed this quite a few hours.

 

[Tar12]

Would burning dead poison ivy be a dangerous as live ivy? Just asking as I am not in that situation. Does the dead vine contain toxins that can be released during burning even though they are not alive, and in theory have dried out just like the wood its attached to?

YES! My Wife and I had just started our life together and had moved into a old farmhouse surrounded by a brush and Poison Ivy choked fence...a large section of the fence had ivy that had been killed by over spray by the farmer....I started by clearing and burning this section first...my wife was picking debris up around the place and walked through the smoke from the fire a few times...she paid a very heavy price...she had to be hospitalized within 2 days...it was a living hell for her...I on the other hand can roll around it and it doesnt effect me at all.

 

[fbelec]

tar12 if you don't mind me asking what were her symptoms and are there any permanent ones?

 

[Tar12]

tar12 if you don't mind me asking what were her symptoms and are there any permanent ones?

She was wearing a halter type top and shorts and sandals....lots of exposed skin for the smoke to make contact. She also had it in her throat...she was given steroids both internal and external topical...no permanent or lasting effects...I dont know what it was about that smoke but it did a number on her for some reason...she still helps me to this day to gather firewood and she takes precautions such as gloves and long sleeve shirts and pants...she will still occasionally get it but nothing anywhere near like she did that day...I have never seen or heard of anyone else who has had this type of reaction to Ivy smoke....there was other plants in the mix...we dont know for sure if it was the poison ivy alone that gave such a severe reaction...

 

[fbelec]

glad to hear she's ok

 

[Kevin Weis]

The Jewel Weed is a Native American remedy. Not sure how effective it is. Jewel Weed is a wetland plant and grows also near stream banks. Kevin

 

[blades]

The oil of the plant (Urushiol) is vaporized in the smoke depending on one sensitivity the reaction can be quite nasty. The oil can linger for some time in a vaporized state meaning it can drift quite a distance and that it can be inhaled. It also takes quite awhile for it to breakdown under natures conditions. The stems/vines are more toxic than the leaves. Rash is caused by your own immune system sending White blood cells to combat what it sees as a foreign invader. Treatments involve numbing down your immune system. very basic overview. Temperatures in an open fire or even perhaps our stoves are not sufficient to break down the oil. Kinda like cracking crude oil.

 

[firefighterjake]

For years I never had an issue with poison ivy . . . I literally was rolling all around it at a car accident that I responded to with my wife and a fellow firefighter. They both ended up with nasty rashes and I had not a single spot or itch.

Figured I was immune.

Fast forward a few years and I'm looking for a geocache and I notice I've wandered into a patch of poison ivy. I think it's not a big deal . . . until later that night when I end up with a nasty rash . . . so much for remaining immune to the stuff.

And that fellow firefighter? He has the worse luck. We were burning around some fields one year and around a stone wall there was some poison ivy. He never touched the stuff, but the oils got into the smoke and he ended up having respiratory issues due to the poison ivy oils in the smoke. Pretty sure he stays clear of field burning these days.

 

[Wood Dog]

A couple of years ago, someone posted a Youtube link that had a "professor of poison ivy" on it. The guy made a LOT of sense and gave several helpful hints. The best one being.... soon after exposure to the stuff, use a washcloth and soap on the areas that might have been in contact with the poison ivy. He compared the oils from the leaves to greases and automobile oils. The washcloth made a big difference, in that it broke the oils away from the skin and allowed it to float away in a shower. Instead of smearing it around.
I'm 60 years of age. When I was young, I could roll in the stuff. Once I hit my late 20s, I could get it acutely/ systemically (in the bloodstream-pops up everywhere). Now I keep an eye out for it and use a washcloth with Dawn dishwashing soap. Haven't had a bad problem with the stuff in a long time.