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Post by wgiles on Apr 28, 2016 5:20:37 GMT -8
I get into Poison Ivy fairly regularly around home. I do know what it looks like, including the mature vines that I find on trees in the woods. Even so, I often get it on my hands. I just try to wash my hands regularly and with some detergent as that is what gets the oil off. I try to avoid touching my face with dirty hands, to keep from spreading the oil. As for the itch, I mostly just endure it, unless it is really bad. I've had prescription Cortisone cream in the past and found it not to be all that effective. Cooling the affected area seems to help. Ice or a wet rag helps. The best thing is to be aware and just stay clear of it.
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daveb
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Post by daveb on Apr 28, 2016 6:17:50 GMT -8
I've stopped buying Tecnu and simply started cleaning the area with dish soap and a rag. It works and I should now. I've only been to the Doctor twice in the last five years from clearing the stuff. Treating the area like you got into dirty grease is working for me. www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oyoDRHpQK0
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toejam
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Hiking to raise awareness
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Post by toejam on Apr 29, 2016 4:33:20 GMT -8
California hiker - We have lots of poison oak out here. Once, Big Sur, above Salmon Creek, made the mistake of having a campfire...must have been some urushiol oil residue on the wood/ in the smoke. Woke up looking like the hulk (except not green)...eventually worked its way down to the privates too...took 4 months to finally clear up the boys. That's one of my favorite local hikes. The PO seems to be more vicious up there than closer to Santa Barbara, and I tend to get it underneath clothing, somehow. I've also seen it above 4000' around here, although that's still a good rule of thumb. I was near there last weekend pushing through poison oak for 3 days and had fires at night. Did the full body scrub with Technu Extreme when I got home and have only the faintest small pink rash on a groin area. I'll remember this story next time I build a campfire in Big Sur.
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Post by immadman on May 12, 2016 17:46:47 GMT -8
Under the right conditions, if you inhale the smoke from a fire where there are vines or leaves burning, it can get into your lungs causing very serious problems.
When we were car camping at Mt Rushmore, we got some on the tarp we were using as a footprint. When we got home several days later, I was refolding the tarps and apparently there was some Urishol still on it and I wound up with a small rash on my forearm.
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Post by FarOutFarley on May 14, 2016 15:17:33 GMT -8
Once you get home, a trick I read about and tried with success is to stand in a very hot shower. It hurts like heck when you're in the shower but afterward it feels much better.
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Post by wgiles on May 14, 2016 18:56:04 GMT -8
Hot water will make the itching very intense, but cooling will relieve the itch. I've done that with my hands, washing them under very warm water and then cooling them. It's a very strange feeling, but it does give some temporary relief. When the itching interferes with my sleep, I usually resort to ice or cool wet rags for relief.
Dish detergent seems to work well for cleaning the oil off my skin or other things that have come into contact with the oil.
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Post by FarOutFarley on May 15, 2016 14:44:34 GMT -8
Quote from a poison ivy website: "Heat releases histamine, the substance in the cells of the skin which causes the intense itching. Therefore, a hot shower or bath will cause intense itching as the histamine is released. The heat is gradually increased to the maximum tolerable and continued until the itching has subsided. This process will deplete the cells of histamine and the patient will often obtain eight hours of relief from the itching. This method has the advantage of not requiring frequent application of ointments to the lesions and is a good way to get some sleep at night." Confirmed by many people at poisonivy.aesir.com/view/water.htmlI'm not even sure you need to end with cold water because as soon as you turn off the shower you feel instant relief. It's pretty amazing. I never would have believed it if I hadn't tried it. Works much better than calamine.
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daveb
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Post by daveb on May 18, 2016 5:55:19 GMT -8
I never knew why the hot shower before bedtime worked when I was covered in poison ivy but it makes sense now. Thanks for the info.
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Post by aabigrick on May 20, 2016 8:10:21 GMT -8
I have gotten poison 4 times so far this year. Technu wash seems to work best, i usally then put isopropyl alcohol on it to dry it. hydrocortisone cream or technu itch spray for the itch....
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Post by immadman on May 21, 2016 7:10:21 GMT -8
I can't remember how many practices I have heard regarding getting Urishol off of the body post exposure. My Grandma Hall and my parents recommended and used (and made me use) either Octagon (name brand) soap or homemade lye soap. Yes, Grandma Hall used to make lye soap and preferred it to anything else(even in the late 60's and early 70's)! Then someone else had advocated showering and using bleach to neutralize the satanic oil of poison ivy/oak. Of course, anything one uses to mitigate the nasty stuff has to be done at least within 24 hours or you will break out in that most maddening, itching rash.
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Post by Crockett on May 21, 2016 8:52:24 GMT -8
"Heat releases histamine, the substance in the cells of the skin which causes the intense itching. This is true with insect bites as well. Tip: Apply a hot spoon to a bite and it drives the histamine away. In the backcountry I often touch an itchy bite with a warmed BIC lighter to stop the itch.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 25, 2016 9:01:31 GMT -8
Coretex, out of Bakersfield makes two products - Pocket Sized Foil Packs: 1.) Poison Oak Shield - a Pre-contact solution that is applied via a soaked pad in the foil pack. It dries to a white haze on your skin and is meant to shield your skin from the oils in poison oak, ivy and sumac. 2.) Cleaner - A foil pack with a soaked pad that removes the oils from your skin. The foil packs are small, lightweight, easy to carry every day. When I get on "iffy" trails on Mount Tam in Marin County - on goes the shield - especially on shin / calves / knees. Off trail - remove the shield and oils with the cleanser foil pack. Image of foil pack:
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davesenesac
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Post by davesenesac on May 25, 2016 15:44:20 GMT -8
Am near a lot of poison oak in the spring while out in the field and am very careful. Very familiar with it since kid days. About the only way I catch it these days is by bringing it into my vehicle on the bottom of my boots and then sometime later, even months later driving barefoot like after a day at the beach, picking up residues of sand, dust, and dirt below my brake and accelerator pedals. Well actually there is another way. A friends happy dog has a way of running and frolicking through EVERYTHING along a trail. After Max runs through poison oak none of us want to get anywhere near him so as Max goes towards one person the rest of us will be laughing hysterically thus Max interprets that as some kind of game to catch and jump up at us. If even a small area of my skin develops the CRUD I find that very very annoying. Best way to lessen the itch is to put the itchy area under hot water or a hair blow drier for a minute or so that will cause the histamines from your own body the CRUD is using to be unpleasant to be released quickly. That will make the area so super itchy it almost feels good. With all the histamines from that zone depleted, the itch will be minimal for at least a few hours until one's body manufactures and delivers more to the itchy zone. David www.davidsenesac.com/2016_Trip_Chronicles/2016_Trip-Chronicles-0.html
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