Here in the northwest corner of California poison oak grows from the seashore to our highest peaks, about 6000’ ASL. In our small county alone, the vines grow 100 feet up the side of redwood trees, as ground hugging shrubs at the ocean and large and small bushes throughout the rest of the area.
As youngsters we all learned to identify and try to avoid the plant. If you did get the rash the usual remedies of the time were used. Calamine lotion, Fels-naphtha, etc.
Later I began a long career of land surveying. Amazing where a straight line takes you in the mountains. We did a lot of boundaries surveys between National Forest and private lands in Nor Cal and southern Oregon. Poison oak everywhere. Machetes and chainsaws cutting of boundary lines really exposed us to the plant. The crews had the itch more often than not.
One day while chatting with a local Native American friend the subject of poison oak came up. He said some of “his people” had a natural remedy. He told me to cut a section of bark, about the size of a stick of chewing gum from a madrone tree and chew it, swallowing the juice and spitting out the pulp after a bit. It’s pretty darn bitter.
As it was so long ago, I don’t recall how soon I got results, but ever since, I chew some each deer season and only get small spots if I first break my skin from thorns or such. For me, it has really worked.
For or the last 8 years or so I’ve worked for Caltrans (Ca. Highway maintenance crew). Keeping the highway right of way open and clear is a constant battle with the ideal natural garden here. A lot of chainsaw and weed eater work keeeping the forest back. I still chew my madrone bark but many of my coworkers, as well as the local Forest Service fire fighters, power and cable company linemen and many outdoorsmen swear by a product called Zanfel.
Mike
