Poison ivy and firewood

[zogger]

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If your hands are free of the sticky, resin-like oil (urushiol), rubbing or scratching the rash will not spread poison ivy, oak or sumac to other parts of your body (or to another person). Some people get blisters, and breaking them will not spread it either (someone is gonna' argue with me, but it is a myth). The oil (urushiol) is absorbed by the skin within minutes, but the excess is easily washed off with lots of cold water (hot water may open skin pores making the rash worse) and most cleansers. The problem with urushiol is it doesn't degrade and can last with full potency on surfaces for years... surfaces like tool handles, steering wheels, watch bands and belt buckles. And now for the big kicker, when urushiol gets on your cloths, and you toss the clothes in the washer it can spread to to other cloths items. Clothes suspected of being in contact with urushiol should be washed separately, at least twice, in a strong mix of detergent and water. Understand that the amount of urushiol it would take to cover the head of a pin could give 500 people a rash from head to foot.

I get poison ivy rash several times a year, often after running the weed-eater around the edges of the grove; I normally don't get the big blisters, just a rash and a few smaller blisters. After using the weed-eater I've learned to strip outside and carry my clothes straight to the washer and wash them separately while I take a long, cool, soapy shower. I pat dry, rather than rub dry, with the towel and wash it immediately. This seems to minimize the amount and severity of the rash, which I do not treat with any medicines, creams or chemicals... takes about 2-3 weeks to go away. The "itch" isn't all that bad for me, kind'a comes and goes. The effects are different for every person; all my dad has to do is walk down wind from the stuff and he breaks out in a horrible nasty rash with blisters, while my three-year-old appears to be immune to the stuff... I've caught him rolling in it. Dad borrows my weed-eater a couple times a year because his gets left up at the lake home from time-to-time; I need to wash it with tire cleaner and plenty of water before he takes it or just the act of touching it will cause him to break out in a bad, painful rash.

Some people can experience a (sometimes quite severe) histamine reaction, which lead to that observation of it "spreading" past the oil contamination zone.

 

[johnha]

I wouldn't screw with any PI covered ANYTHING, even if it was Jessica Alba sitting on a pile of hundred dollar bills and a case of wild turkey.:taped:

I would in general agree. Unless she were naked. The doc will call the pharmacy with a steroid scrip if I call him.

 

[darkbyrd]

I don't get poison ivy/oak very often, and then usually only a mild case. This was not always the case, as a child/teenager, several times I had to see a doctor and get a steroid to take care of it. Now, I will handle it without gloves and no special cautions. But what works for me now, and did then when the reactions were more severe, was hot water. Put your arm (fingers, leg) under the faucet, and increase the water temp as high as you can stand. I usually keep working the temp up for a minute or so. The itch stops soon after, and after a few "treatments" the problem goes away. The hot water does something to the histimines that are causing the the reaction in your skin and stops them from making you itch. FWIW, YMMV.

 

[KMB]

I don't know what you mean by ordered, live plants or seeds or just the inner juice bottled up, but took a coupla pics today of some wild growing here. It is just starting to flower. One bonus pic of beefers and kity and doggies in the swamp near where the big patch of jewelweed is.

Anyway, what are you looking for? I got no idea how to ship them and have them stay fresh. Maybe transplant some in pots, then prune heavy, then take a chance and ship them in a box? I think they'd croak. I haven't had all that much luck with saplings being shipped, let alone real delicate plants like these are. They need moist and cool and shade, you won't see them growing anyplace they get even a little sunburnt. They seem to be able to take just a teeny bit of mild sun, early or late, but I never see any growing where they get hit with mid day sun. I'll give it a whack if you want some though, maybe pack them in wet peat moss or whatever. Well, whatever dirt and stuff they are growing in now, wrapped in like brown paper bag paper then..I dunno. The saplings they ship in long tubes with the trees themselves in plastic sleeves that hold the wetness in, but half of them I ever got came croaked, either frozen during shipping or dried out hot/heat related/starting to rot..

What I meant by ordering is I have seen Jewelweed that is processed into a cream/paste and also made into soaps on ebay or other places online.

Thanks for the pics and info on what to look for in the woods. I haven't got into the poison ivy this year so far...and I hope I can spot it before I get into it again! If I would ever find Jewelweed in the woods...rub the leaves on my skin ?(if I get into the ivy).

Kevin

 

[KMB]

I don't get poison ivy/oak very often, and then usually only a mild case. This was not always the case, as a child/teenager, several times I had to see a doctor and get a steroid to take care of it. Now, I will handle it without gloves and no special cautions. But what works for me now, and did then when the reactions were more severe, was hot water. Put your arm (fingers, leg) under the faucet, and increase the water temp as high as you can stand. I usually keep working the temp up for a minute or so. The itch stops soon after, and after a few "treatments" the problem goes away. The hot water does something to the histimines that are causing the the reaction in your skin and stops them from making you itch. FWIW, YMMV.

I've done the hot water thing for temporary relief. Getting to the point, where the itch goes away while the hot water is on it, can almost drive me crazy! I guess the heat causes a reaction and the itch is sometimes unbearable for the few minutes. But it does work.

Kevin

 

[zogger]

stem juice

What I meant by ordering is I have seen Jewelweed that is processed into a cream/paste and also made into soaps on ebay or other places online.

Thanks for the pics and info on what to look for in the woods. I haven't got into the poison ivy this year so far...and I hope I can spot it before I get into it again! If I would ever find Jewelweed in the woods...rub the leaves on my skin ?(if I get into the ivy).

Kevin

supposedly the stem juice is what works, sorta like aloe vera stem juice.

Out in the sticks, that's all you can get, go for it, in town got some coin, I like tecnu..... mostly I just always wear long pants and a long sleeved shirt and light cotton gloves when working in the summer, no matter how hot it gets. I just put up with it. (that helps with insects as well). Cutting I use tight fitting leather gloves. And I am a fiend about washing my hands when I come into the house. Doesn't matter to me, if I have been outside working around and with plants and animals, I wash my hands thoroughly, almost like a doctor does. Every single time I walk in, I go wash my hands. Same thing after going to town and being in stores and around a lot of people, wash hands. Clean hands goes a long way in avoiding various cooties, poison ivy included. The cotton gloves are cheap, get a dozen pack, then throw them in the wash, then wash your hands.

Ya, go for a walk and learn some wild plants, useful stuff to know....you can look up better pics of jewelweed, and you'll always find them in the same patch every year and are easy to spot, especially now that they are flowering. I'm not the best wild crafter, but I can get by, still learning various trees though, some I get "stumped" on, heh

 

[smokinj]

I cut through a vine I grabbing the 91 percent isopropyl alcohol! Have cut it the winter with a sweatshirt on. Put it on later after being in the warm house for a month and get it again....Nasty stuff!

 

[KMB]

supposedly the stem juice is what works, sorta like aloe vera stem juice.

Out in the sticks, that's all you can get, go for it, in town got some coin, I like tecnu..... mostly I just always wear long pants and a long sleeved shirt and light cotton gloves when working in the summer, no matter how hot it gets. I just put up with it. (that helps with insects as well). Cutting I use tight fitting leather gloves. And I am a fiend about washing my hands when I come into the house. Doesn't matter to me, if I have been outside working around and with plants and animals, I wash my hands thoroughly, almost like a doctor does. Every single time I walk in, I go wash my hands. Same thing after going to town and being in stores and around a lot of people, wash hands. Clean hands goes a long way in avoiding various cooties, poison ivy included. The cotton gloves are cheap, get a dozen pack, then throw them in the wash, then wash your hands.

Ya, go for a walk and learn some wild plants, useful stuff to know....you can look up better pics of jewelweed, and you'll always find them in the same patch every year and are easy to spot, especially now that they are flowering. I'm not the best wild crafter, but I can get by, still learning various trees though, some I get "stumped" on, heh

Been way to busy to get out for a walk in the woods...but I wish I could. Next time I'm in town I'll probably just get the Tecnu I saw at Walgreens. Hand washing properly is a very good habit...I should probably be doing it more and keeping after my 3 yr. old to wash her hands properly.

Kevin

 

[john T]

Just got over a case of poison oak...
huge vine wrapped around a cedar tree....

I haven't had poison anything for so long, I didn't even see or pay attention to the vine...

and yes, jewel weed works good on it...

some carnage pics....


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[kd460]

There is a cheap and readily available soap called "Fells Naptha" that is sold in just ablut every grocery store and supermarket. It is excellent at removing the urishoil on skin and clothing. I keep a few bars around the house at all times.

Fels-Naptha

One bar of this will last along time. I don't use it every day, just when I come home from a day of cutting. You can feel the difference in your skin by how well it removes the oils (normal skin oils and the urishoil). I use it in the laundry with the clothes I wore while cutting. Is less than a buck for a bar of it.

No it won't stop or cure poison ivy, but it will get rid of the urishoil from your skin and clothes to prevent it spreading or if in time, prevent an outbreak. I have read that you need to wash the urishoil off the skin within about a 1/2 hour of contact in order to prevent a reaction. KD

 

[TermiteBuffet]

i use a soap called octagon it does very good also at removing the oils after being exposed , also if i do get the rash the soap will dry your skin out and help with itching. I try not to cut wood with poison on it .... I hate that crap and it hates me.. Termite