Poison Ivy

[BamaBill]

What do you all do to keep from coming in contact with Poison Ivy? I've had it 4 times this season and I'm considering waiting until cools down more so I can take better precautions, but when you have a site your itching to search its tough not going back and back.

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Treasure of Victoria Peak - Grab it through Amazon!

[jeff of pa]

I just started getting it last year..

As I type this I just got done Mowing a ton of it
SO Guess I'll see if last year was a freak thing
or if I'm going to Break out.

 

[wildrider]

Try wearing gloves, long sleeve shirts and long pants. Make sure to strip off near the washer when you get home, so you can get the residue off of your clothes.


By the way, It's still there in the winter, it just doesn't have leaves. If you want to hunt now, just watch out for the plant you should know what it looks like by now .

My doctor says he is surprised that I don't get it in the summer, but wait until January or February to get it. The reason seems obvious, as I avoid it if I see it, but I can't tell the difference between that and any other plant once the leaves are gone. The roots contain the oil too.

Good luck, there is no absolute prevention. I know.

Burt

 

[stefen]

A flame thrower works

All kidding aside, I had annual bouts when a kid. Gets onto your clothes and can be continuely spread if not thoroughtly washed as described above.

Burning Poison Ivy (and Sumac in California) transports the resins in the air...and can be even worse that direct contact.

I have a friend that contacted poison that went into his blood stream and for about 6 months wherever he sweated he would break out.

 

[Mr. Mojo]

Re: Gross but it works......

I have used chewing tobbacco. Spit on your arms and rub it in. the acidity breaks up the oil from the Ivy. I have used this for over ten years. It is the only reason I will chew. I had it once from cutting line through a large patch of poision. first time I ever had blistering. Old farmer told me about chew.

Surveyor Chuck

 

[bean man]

I intentionally expose myself in the spring, by wearing shorts in the woods. I know this sounds crazy, but it seems to work for me.

 

[Gypsy Heart]

I always get it on the side my face and ear, because I forget and brush my hair behind my ear.....even tho I am wearing gloves.....then I wipe off the detector and touch the coil with my hands later . Think after all these years I would remember...but no ...so guess I deserve it . I do have a bottle of technu that works fast at removing the oils.

mojo: I carry chew with me in the truck and fishing box for the treatment of wasp or bee stings/ Nothing takes away the hurt or swelling faster than wet tobbacco. My daughter was stung on her mouth by a wasp that had crawled inside of her soda can and I grabbed a guys cigarrette ,ripped it open and applied it immediately....instant relief.
Indians used tobacco leaves to relieve rashes, insect bites etc
My friend in Florida said she used tobacco for fire ant stings and it relieved the pain right away.

 

[wildrider]

...I grabbed a guys cigarrette ,ripped it open and applied it immediately....instant relief.

Sounds like McGyverheart to me

 

[TreasureTales]

Tecnu is a product that seems to work well, if applied quickly after exposure to the plant.

http://www.teclabsinc.com/product-categories.cfm?id=1E8FDCC1-F136-4EBF-EF2DA11F1E0BAEB8

 

[therover]

I HATE that stuff. My best solution...hunt salt water beaches !!

 

[LadyDigger]

If digging in the winter months...the roots can and still produce the oils (up to several years)....just cause you can't see the LEAVES OF THREE...don't mean you still can't get it...in the blooming months...if you see WHITE BERRIES on the bush/vine (they can be ground cover, bushes and vines growing on a tree...as my yard has or had all three...we destroyed the vines and bushes on the creek!!!)...the WHITE BERRIES are very mature plants! That's when I woke up the next morning and could barely open my eyes!!! I covered in plastic except my face..and that dang blasted stuff still got me!!!!! That was the worse birthday weekend I ever had!!!

Tech-nu causes me more trouble....so Calamine and extremely HOT SHOWERS work for me...but most of the time..>I have to go to the docs for drugs....I get it really bad!!!

I wear plastic surgical gloves (hate wearing gloves...these don't restrict my movement)...but it's when you wipe your face or as Gypsy said ...putting your hair behind your ear... what's on the gloves will get on your skin.

If I am in an area I know has alot of Poison Ivy...I even tape plastic bags around my shoes...I love my TENNIES!!!

I always wear long pants (preferrably ones, that if I had to throw away, I would not be heart broken), long sleeve shirts (same applies as pants) ... (thrift shops are great for throw away clothes!)....my surgical gloves, my shoes wrapped in plastic (if in highly affected area) and I always pin up my hair....or stuff under a hat! I keep with me Toilet Paper (for other reasons too! hehehee)...so if I have to wipe my face, I can use that. I use to keep a rag in my pocket...but the ivy will get on that and you are spreading it! I also keep a gallon baggie with me to deposit my used paper!!!

Poison Ivy....sneaks up you when you least expect it!!! Nasty Plant!!!

 

[Tim Williams]

Try spray-on-gloves. Yes thats right - do a search for spray on gloves and see what I mean.

Tim

 

[Pimp Lenin]

I just try to remember the words of wisdom once said by Homer Simpson:

"Leaves of three, leave it be. Leaves of four, eat some more!"

 

[RON (PA)]

You could ask the land owner if you could spray the area with a weed killer a few times before you go. I have done that and it has worked well. Most land owners are happy to let you detect if you will get rid of the poison ivy..At least it has been my luck. I have used Triox. It is clear until you mix it with water and then it looks like milk.

One time I got poison ivy so bad had to go to the doctor and he gave me a shot. Blisters so bad I could not put my fingers together. What helped me was to take a shower as hot as I could stand it and then put bleach water on it. Worst pain I have ever had. Next day, was starting to heal.

 

[ohiotech]

Bad thing about poison ivy is that the oil can stay active for up to 5 years. Washing doesn't always work, and saying that you've thrown those clothes in the shed for a whole year, or in your trunk... well, that won't work. What is the worst is when you get them on your gloves, don't know it, and then put them on a season later and get poison ivy just from grabbing your gloves.

I remember reading once that only .25 ounces of the oil is needed to cause every person on the planet to have a rash.

Since some remedies act differently with different people, the best cure is to make sure that you get something that completely obliterates the oil. The stuff that makes you break out is called urishiol oil or somesuch.

Also, the 3 leaf cluster thing is typically good to know if you're area only has poison ivy (and oak I think), but sumac is like 6, up to 12 I believe.


Ohiotech

 

[ac385]

After moving to the south I have learned that poison ivy is not the same little plant that i was used to. Check it out.

http://www.poison-ivy.org/

 

[treasurefiend]

Man, I think I came accross some!!!! I was out hunting in the wood this past weekend, I was in the mud so I took off my gloves, well after I got out of the muck I was trapesing thru the brush and naturally my detector hand got all scratched up. I don't mund scratches, but man, MY HAND ITCHES LIKE NOTHING I HAVE EVER HAD BEFORE!!! It has some tiny blisters on it and if I pop one it itches even worse. I have been putting hydrocortozone cream on it and that works like 90% for the itches, but not all the way. I hope it clears up by next weekend so I can go back out and do it all over again!!!! LOL

 

[rovnrbl]

Try Ivy Block - it's in the grocery story pharmacy dept generall over the counte

or I had a nurse recommend the spray on bandage - that gets a bit expensive. Zanfel's great for getting rid of it but really pricy.

 

[mrjosh]

I have gotten into it alot landscaping. When I was a kid and teenager I was not allergic but now, I can get it from 10 feet away. The product I have found to work extremely well is " Ivy Rest" think walmart carries it. At work we have a box of individual packets that you can keep in your pocket for when you need it.

 

[mistergee]

it is worse now than when i was younger. got it so bad on my arm a few years ago that i got cellulitis. no doubt from all the scratching. wound up in the emergency ward and was told if i waited one more day i would have had to stay in the hospital for 5 days.
that reminds me of one time when i had it worse. me and some friends(we were teens then) were skinny dipping at the dock one night and the cops came...i hid in some weeds at the edge of the water. next day i didn't have one square inch on my body that didnt have it. it was everywhere. (yes there and back there too). (try to guess what that feels like) whole tub of calamine, plastic sheets, no one would touch me... looked like a gargoyle. lasted weeks. probably got so bad from not showering that nite then rolling around in the sheets spreading it everywhere. mom burned the sheets. she,s still wondering how i got that so bad . i'll never tell