Fun with Poison Ivy

[Dugan]

I too was never bothered by the stuff until I followed a trail through a thick stand of raspberry brambles twined with poison ivy. There was a lovely warning sign on the *other* side.

I've also long guessed that my dogs might be vectoring the oils to my skin but couldn't be sure.

How long is the oil potent? For example, if it gets on your shoes and you touch the shoes a week later, will you still get it?

 

[Tom Rankin]

Too bad some of you are bothered by that stuff. So far, it never bothered me. In fact there was one night.... rolling around in it....Well, I don't want to give details, but I wasn't the one that got it.

I love those sexy legs Pete!

 

[DougPaul]

How long is the oil potent? For example, if it gets on your shoes and you touch the shoes a week later, will you still get it?

The Tecnu website claims that the oil can remain potent for months to years. http://www.teclabsinc.com/product-categories.cfm?id=1E8FDCC1-F136-4EBF-EF2DA11F1E0BAEB8

Of course, they have a vested interest in having you use a maximum amount of their product.

Doug

 

[Zimmer]

Salad, anyone? You are the second lunatic I have encountered that claimed to eat poison ivy. The first was a high school drafting teacher. He said he showed off to other kids, but the immunity wore off later in life.

Actually, some people eat it intentionally to develop immunity. Daily for three to four weeks, starting with a small dose and working up to a complete leaf (using tweezers or encapsulating, so as not to risk skin exposure to the fingers and lips/mouth) is supposed to confer a year or two's worth of immunity. I haven't ever tried it, but if anyone here does, let us know how it works.

http://www.wwmag.net/pivy.htm

As for chicken pox etc., it's been hashed out, BUT it is true that adults who get it do generally get a far worse case of it than kids. I believe that about 20% of adults who contract c. pox (which is still called c. pox in adults) wind up hospitalized. Thus anyone who hasn't had it should definitely avoid contact with people who have it. Some people do wind up with mild enough cases in childhood that it's never diagnosed, though. There is a blood test that can determine if a person has immunity; any adult who thinks they haven't had it and wants to work in a field where exposure could be likely should probably have that test.

I've never gotten poison ivy, but it's one of my biggest paranoias when I'm out and about. To my knowledge, there didn't used to be any in Franconia Notch, but local lore has it that when they imported trees from NJ to plant on the bike path, some of them had it in the root balls. Not sure whether or not that's true, but at least that way we get to blame it on government waste.

 

[DougPaul]

Actually, some people eat it intentionally to develop immunity.

It used to be possible to get shots of poison ivy extract to gradually build up a tolerance. Don't know if it is still done--check with your doctor if you are interested.

I've never gotten poison ivy, but it's one of my biggest paranoias when I'm out and about. To my knowledge, there didn't used to be any in Franconia Notch, but local lore has it that when they imported trees from NJ to plant on the bike path, some of them had it in the root balls. Not sure whether or not that's true, but at least that way we get to blame it on government waste.

Poison ivy isn't that hard to spot--just have to learn what to look for and to keep your eyes open. It likes moist areas with partial tree cover, so you are likely to find it along streams and roadsides. (This might account for it being along the bike path.) In general, I haven't seen much of it along the hiking paths in the White Mtns and the DAKs.

Doug

 

[Zimmer]

It used to be possible to get shots of poison ivy extract to gradually build up a tolerance. Don't know if it is still done--check with your doctor if you are interested.

Um, that would be a "no".

Poison ivy isn't that hard to spot--just have to learn what to look for and to keep your eyes open. It likes moist areas with partial tree cover, so you are likely to find it along streams and roadsides. (This might account for it being along the bike path.) In general, I haven't seen much of it along the hiking paths in the White Mtns and the DAKs.

Doug

My problem is that there's one three-leaved plant that I often mistake for it, so I tend to be overly cautious. I've also not seen it up here in the mountain areas, but know someone who works for Parks who got it while working in the Notch. There's some along the Ammonoosuc in Lisbon, though.

 

[DougPaul]

My problem is that there's one three-leaved plant that I often mistake for it, so I tend to be overly cautious.

I'd rather walk around a few harmless plants than through a patch of poison ivy.

Doug

 

[Zimmer]

I'd rather walk around a few harmless plants than through a patch of poison ivy.

Doug

Me too, for sure. I'm not so concerned about me, but my kids are getting the paranoia too, though, from watching my wary searches of the edges of trails. I'm very laid back around home, but when we vacation anywhere suspect I'm on the lookout enough that they're wary, too. I'm always afraid of someone getting a bad case of it on Day Two of a ten day vacation or something.

 

[DougPaul]

I'm very laid back around home, but when we vacation anywhere suspect I'm on the lookout enough that they're wary, too. I'm always afraid of someone getting a bad case of it on Day Two of a ten day vacation or something.

It might be worth just bringing some Tecnu and/or Zanfel along just in case. The faster you can clean the urushiol oil off, the better.

BTW, CVS has a house brand equivalent of Zanfel at $20 for 1.5 oz instead of $40 for 1 oz.

Doug

 

[DragonflyJo]

fun with poison ivy

ahh, poison ivy...I always say spring hasn't arrived until I have my 1st case of it. Spring came really late this year. I haven't tried hot water and will the next time. I agree that it must work because it confuses the nerve endings. After one savagely severe case, a friend of mine asked me why I wasn't using oral Benadryl; I promptly got some and was cleared up in a few days (after suffering for 2 weeks). My personal take on that: don't get it that badly! After that episode, my skin will crawl when I'm near the stuff, even if my conscious mind hasn't seen it!