So,poison Ivy doesn't bother you..

[aokpops]

Might be the only person sitting outside right now with no insect protection . I hardly ever get bit ' Not sure if I can do this with poison ivy ?

 

[hardpan]

Guy in my church used to eat some at the beginning of every season.
There is online info on how to eat it without touching it (wrap it in a piece of bread) and they advise small amounts of fresh young leaves.

HOWEVER, that being said, many people are (currently) not allergic to it, so it doesn't harm them. Most people are.
The scary thing is that allergies can come and go- maybe years, maybe your whole life, but they can change without you doing anything at all.
You can't really build up immunity, despite all the internet hype about it. DO NOT EAT POISON IVY.

I heard one story of a guy who ate 'too much' and ended up with a bad rash on his bung hole!
A fate worse than death, to be sure.

OK another true story. A childhood friend of mine's dad was squirrel hunting and nature called. He wiped his butt with the available leaves and PI was among those leaves. The rash went up in side of him and made him very sick. Some say it almost killed him. It went way past funny.

 

[redoakneck]

+1 on the face cut, thought dude was pretty keen, till I saw that, wtf!!!

 

[Ronaldo]

+1 on the face cut, thought dude was pretty keen, till I saw that, wtf!!!

Not sure on this.......but I think they are creating habitat (browse) for the deer. Cutting the trees this way leaves just enough of the cambium in tact for the tree to continue developing some leaves, stems, etc.

 

[haveawoody]

brenndatomu,

LOL yep we all got to go but we should at least taste good when we do

 

[Johnnybar]

FWIW, looks like you used your arm to wipe sweat off your head, could be poison ivy, could be a reaction to a caustic solution. Different people can react differently to both, extreme heat makes most more susceptible to both. The way that people react to both can change over time. I have to be careful with water based paints, when that started it was a new thing.

Watch the eye carefully and be vigilant about infection.

Latex allergy...it carries overs to some foods too.

 

[rarefish383]

Three trailer loads. A local tree service quoted Doc $5000 to take down this dead Cherry tree. It looked alive from a distance but had actually been dead for years. Any green showing on it was Poison Ivy. Yep I got some on me. I scrub with any Dish Detergent, it's all made to cut grease and oil. Gojo works too. I was told when I was a student at MD U that the oil in Poison Ivy is equal to a 10 weight motor oil. I get it bad, but work in it at least once a year. Just scrub really good, Joe.

 

[firefighter938]

I too was one who thought I was immune to poison ivy. We would always play in and around it as kids and it never affected me. Then, as a teen, I was clearing some land at my parents property and burning everything. I must have burned some Ivy because that night my face and eyes swelled up huge and itched horribly. I went to the Dr and got a shot and took home some steroids. Now I can't even look at it without a rash.

 

[Toy4xchris]

Grew up playing in it and around it and never really knew what it was. Friends would get it and I didn't. I generally try and keep covered when I am working around it and stuff but there have only been a few times I have intentionally got into and around it working and that was for a buddy who gets it just thinking about it. I find it interesting how nobody in my immediate family ever gets it but friends of ours always do.

My uncle doesnt get it but when they get home and his wife washes his clothes she gets it. so he now has to wash his own clothes after camping trips.

 

[009L]

I don't know how many times I heard someone say poison ivy, oak, sumac, doesn't affect me.
well until this week it really didn't bother me much . Usually a slight rash on fingers or arms for a few days then all would be well.
Last Saturday night the wife and I were out having dinner and she asked what is that on your forehead..
Sunday the rash had spread to the crown of my head and into my eyebrow and on Monday morning my eye was nearly swollen shut.
Two trips to Dr's office a couple of shots and a script and I think I'm beginning to heal.
Sad thing is , I have no idea where I come in contact with the stuff . I have spent the previous several evenings pressure washing my decks/sidewalks and staining decks and haven't even walked by my woodlot.
View attachment 436625

Definitely an acute case of Face Herpes.

Let me know your address so I can send you a bill for the diagnosis.

Dr. Pat

 

[tnflatbed]

I use to get poison ivy extremely bad up through my late teens I remember having it from my fingertips up to my ear one time. As I've gotten older I still will get a few blister patches every now and then even when directly working around it. I am by no means immune to it but my reaction seems to have died down substantially and I take precautions like long sleeves and gloves. I also carry dish washing liquid in one of my toolboxes that I periodically will wash my arms down with if I am really in it like that cherry that rarefish posted a couple posts up. I have read that the urishiol can stay potent on things like axe handles and the like for like a year or more

 

[unclemoustache]

I spoke with an expert about rashes/allergies and he said that such things can come and go for no reason. It's perfectly normal that someone previously immune can suddenly develop a sensitivity to PI (and other allergins), and vice versa. Really strange.

 

[Jakers]

I use to get poison ivy extremely bad up through my late teens I remember having it from my fingertips up to my ear one time. As I've gotten older I still will get a few blister patches every now and then even when directly working around it. I am by no means immune to it but my reaction seems to have died down substantially and I take precautions like long sleeves and gloves. I also carry dish washing liquid in one of my toolboxes that I periodically will wash my arms down with if I am really in it like that cherry that rarefish posted a couple posts up. I have read that the urishiol can stay potent on things like axe handles and the like for like a year or more

I am exactly the same way. had it on 90% of my body when i was quite young. then into my teens id get it in big festering blisters by my early 20's it was like i was building up an immunity to it. now i am 32 and own a tree service doing a fair bit of township road right of way work in the summer. i still get it but usually only once a year in the spring and only if i have a scrape or cut there. the rest of the year ill get a couple of bumps that itch for a day and then gone. even in the spring when i get it its just a gentle rash which hangs on for about 2 weeks. barely even noticeable to me and certainly not to others. the days when im in it, im slinging the crap around flying off the chainsaw for 8-12hours and i dont usually get to shower it off til around 8-9pm. someday itll come back to haunt me but for now, im thankful for the "immunity" or what ever it is

 

[pweber]

I scrub down with TecNu and All Stop as soon as I can. That seems to minimize the damage.

 

[Mustang71]

I get PI pretty much every time I cut wood but it has gotten a lot less severe over the last few years. I got a staff infection from it when I was a teenager. I also use the poison ivy remedy soap as soon as I come in. I actually am getting over it right now and it wasn't bad at all just a few spots. I also get bit by mosquitos and the bites are gone about 5 minutes later it's awesome.

 

[mga]

As for the OP maybe you grabbed a log that had traces of the oil on it.

If I think I was exposed or find that I have the rash I wash with dawn dish soap and later use peroxide and/ or alcohol to speed up drying the rash.