Poison Ivy

[wegobigupnorth]

Anyone else have to deal with this shit as much as I do every year? It seems to grow fucking every where around here and I am super sensitive to it so no matter what precautions I take, it seems if I am within 10 feet of poison ivy or oak i will get it unless I take some extreme precautions which is what I now do. THERE IS ALSO PRESCRIPTION CREAMS AVAILABLE that I will talk about below. Some work amazing.

Now, I will run you through my routine before I head off into the bush. First I totally cover my body in spray deodorant and rub my arms with a stick of deodorant until there is a thick layer of it. This deodorant barrier will help keep the urisol oil (the name of the oil that causes reaction is urisol, I night be spelling it wrong tho) from bounding to the skin.

After I am covered in deodorant I put on pants and long sleeves and "bug hat" which is a bucket hat that has mesh netting running down all sides, looks like a bee keepers type hat you know it breaths, obviously this does not offer total protection as it is mesh but it will significantly reduce the amount of oil that touches your skin if you rub against a plant or have the oil on your hand and scratch/touch your face

And lastly I make sure to carry 99% ISO alcohol in a spray bottle. I will spray myself completely and wipe myself down once I get through the brush into the actual grow site and then again once right when I exit the brush. i have read that it takes about an hour for the oil to bind with your skin but in my experience it is much quicker espicallly when your sweating a ton as your pores are so open. I have found that if I treat the skin with rubbing alcohol immediately after exposure you can eliminate it and not get a rash but even if it's only been 10 minutes some of it for sure has "taken hold" but you will GREATLY reduce the size of the rash as long as you get it within half an hour.

IF ALL ELSE FAILS and I manage to start getting a rash I will go to the walk in clinic right away. There is many different types of steroid cream and I have tried most, if not all of them over the years and by far the best one I have used is FLOCINONIDE (brand name Lyderm in Canada) it is fucking AMAZING how good this shit works. Every time I get poison ivy it will last a minimum of three fucking weeks! With this cream, it will only itch for the first 24 hours and the cream greatly reduced the itch, by the second day you won't itch at all the rash still looks brutal and nasty but is already fading and my the third day the rash will just be a faded pink. I make sure to keep a tube of it at all times now. If you put it on right away when you see the rash, it won't even be as bad as a bug bite.

So anyone have any horror stories of this shitty plant? I got shit loads hahahaha

 

[blastfrompast]

I have this shit all over my property...IT SUCKS DONKEY DICK

I am super sensetive to it now also.

I glove up, duct tape wrists and ankles...etc.

When I get home, clothes go in screaming hot soapy water (Dawn Dish Soap)....Then into washing machine... Gloves get tossed, boots get left out in the sun (I put these on LAST, And tAKE them off First.... Never touching with bare skin. END of season they get turfed.

I leave them in the sun also, hope the UV breaks down the oil....

NASTY POISON IVY.

 

[wegobigupnorth]

Yeah it is literally the worst fucking plant in the world I can't stand it.

I left out some real important parts, sorry, I am typing on a phone and it makes it much more difficult for me.

For sure once you get back to your house, strip outside leaving EVERYTHING including any tools you used out in the sun as mentioned above. I also use dish soap to wash down in the shower. MAKE SURE YOU WASH UNDER YOUR FINGER NAILS VIGORUSLY!! All it takes is a tiny bit of oil to get trapped under there (which can happen very easily) and then where ever you scartch more of the shit will just keep popping up. This is why lots of morons think scratching it spreads it but it is proven that If no oil is present on the skin it cannot spread. Lots of people will do things like sit on their couch and the oil transfers from their clothing to the couch and then even weeks after your poison ivy clears up, you sit on that spot on the couch and break out again. This is why it is so important not to get that shit on anything inside. THE OIL STAYS ACTIVE ON SURFACES FOR 5 YEARS

If you find yourself with a brutal rash that just won't stop itching no matter what cream you put on or whatever trick you try BY FAR the best thing to do is put as hot of water as you can bare on to it. If it's all over you obviously the shower is best for this (not a bath because you want the water so hot you wouldn't be able to sit in it) or if just on a few patches what most people do is soak some paper towel and put it in the microwave for a short period of time then press it on the skin. Their are reports all over the Internet about how pleasurable hot water is on poison ivy (it is a trick that people with exzema use too) and the best part is, after you soak yourself with the hot ass water, you will get a few hours of near total relief from the itching. I would take a shower before bed and it was the only way I could get some rest if I was itching all over.

I hate the shit SO much but it's a love hate relationship with it because the deer know not to go near it and some of my spots are on private land and the land owners go near where near the part of the property where it grows obviously.

 

[1madtrapper]

LOL , the seven year ich fella's.Well I have had it and it seems after gettin it a few times you become pretty succeptable to it.I go to the docs get the prednazone and get ride of it.Shit is bad oatmeal bats work pretty good aswell.My wifes father wow he can get it if we look at it...And then Ma to..I got our house full of it a time or two..my ol friend said he used to get it so bad every year then he ate t figured it would make more amune to it said it dam near kille dhim was terribly sick for a wk or more , but never got it again and i seen him rip it out bare hands...How abotu wood ticks ...FML now i am feelin em..Cheers

 

[wegobigupnorth]

Hey madtrapper regarding your comment about your friend who ate it DO NOT TRY THAT I have a close friend who researched the topic and was convinced he could ingest very small amounts to gain an immunity to it. He put a tiny ass piece of leaf in a capsule and swallowed it. 15 minutes later his face was digestingly red, puffy and swollen and his throat was so swollen he could hardly breath. He had to call 911 and get an IV shot of some potent steroids so he could breath. His whole body was red itchy swollen and in pain for 2 weeks. When he told the doctor that he had ingested poison ivy and explained his reasoning the doctor said (exact words) " that has to be by far the most stupid, reckless thing I have ever heard someone doing intentionally as my 22 years as an emergeny room doctor" LOL

My buddy thought since he ingested it in a capsule and the leaf would not be making contact to his throat/mouth/skin he wouldnt get any reaction and his body would build an immunity. There IS truth to this but the study used very small amounts of "poison ivy extract" in capsules. I don't think any of them got a total immunity to it but a near total immunity was reached.

Hey madtrapper that is really interesting that your buddy whom ate it can now rip it out with his bare hands but you should really tell him to avoid it still. It is not uncommon at all for someone to get an allergic reaction to it after repeated exposure even if they seemed totally immune before.

I have a family member that used to get paid $120 an hour to rip out poison ivy by the roots in a part of southern ontario where it grew everywhere. He didn't even take any precautions at all and dealt with this shit on a near daily basis for years. Then one day as soon as he touched it he got the worst fucking reaction I have ever seen. He cannot even get near it now with getting all fycked up from it

 

[wegobigupnorth]

Btw TICKS ARE THE FUCKING WORST!! Ticks and Lyme disease is not even something I ever worried about until a family memeber got it..Jesus Christ fucking nasty.

 

[Lester Beans]

Oh yeah, my whole property is covered in the poison fuck. I normally have it from may till Halloween. Hate it. Just got done with it all over my face and everywhere. Wife won't touch me, its terrible. I will eventually eradicate it but it will take time, itchy, itchy time. I burned all my clothes recently and started fresh. Fuck ivy!!!!

 

[DuskrayTroubador]

...am I the only one who doesn't get affected by it?

I got it like once when I was a kid, but haven't gotten it since and I've been crawling around in the woods and brush for years, people who go with me get it, I don't. It's kinda like chicken pox in my case I guess.

Ticks (I'm pretty sure) take 24 hours to transmit lyme disease after they bite. At my one plot, I literally throw off 15+ ticks every time I go. Constantly picking them off. Before I get in my car I give myself a good look, check upper legs and inside of shorts, take shirt off, flip inside out and check the inside, check your reflection in the window/mirror to see if you can spot any, run your fingers through your hair along your scalp.

Then I usually catch another crawling up my leg while I'm driving home.

 

[wegobigupnorth]

Your not even close to the only one that does not get it. 85% of people have a reaction the first time they get it it is the worlds most common allergy and like any allergy not everyone is allergic BUT everyone can develop an allergy to anything and you WILL develop an allergy after repeated exposure. Read my post talking about the family memeber who used to get paid to remove it, it tools years but now he will get a brutal reaction just from getting close to the stuff and the same thing has happened to several others I know. I used to be allergic to shell fish when I was a kid and now I love lobster. Body chemistry is always changing so even if you think you are immune, if it is common in your area learn what it looks like and avoid it!

This video helped me understand how the plants oil (urishol) works. It is all about the friction when you are washing yourself. Get a face cloth or something and dish spas and SCRUB ESPICALLY between fingers, behind ears, back of arms/elbowss.

The guy is a nerd but very helpful https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4oyoDRHpQK0

 

[meadowman]

Never get it.

 

[genedigger]

real real easy to not let it spread on your body or even take hold of yo skin.DONT SCRATCH IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!if you get it even if its everywhere on you get some will power and dont scratch it.it will go away in a day or 2.the next huge piece of advise is to use jewel weed and rub it on your skin where you think you have got it.if you have poison ivy growing around you then you have jewel weed too.this stuff works 10 times better than any cream.i use to be super allergic to poison ivy.i would get it all over my body from the tip of my dick to inside my eyes.i dont get it anymore because i discovered in order for the oils to really take hold on your skin IT NEEDS TO BE SCRATCHED IN.DONT SCRATCH IT!!!! jewel weed is that tall plant that likes wet areas and grows maybe 3 to 6 feet tall.it makes small orange flowers that will burst open if you touch them.you prob remember playing with this plant when you were a kid if you lived near nature.it will shoot its flower off into the air if you gently touch it.i believe its the seed pod that forms after the flower that bursts easily.

 

[Kygiacomo!!!]

i got some already on my arms. i usally just go to the Dr and get a shot for it and it dries right up. they make some stuff that u rub on u that is suppose to repel the oils from ivy but i havent used it so idk if it works or not

 

[45th]

I measure my trips by tick moments...today was a TWO tick visit

 

[br26]

Poison ivy is vining out from the prairie into trees. It grows up and shoots out and back down. Flailing leaves downward , that if not looked at twice, would be dismissed as a tree leaf. This is a huge point of unknown contact to this particular species. The poison oak is also prevalent. Acid soil are more common to see them in (pines). Don't forget the poison sumac as well. This mother fucker looks like a hickory sapling , but usually is purple in the spring/fall seasons when temperatures dip to 30's -40's at night. It contains the same oil , usushiol.

Oh, and CO2 is amplifying the production and toxicity of the oil produced from these plants. But , all plants are growing more intensely. Vines and invasives are conquering the forests in this area sadly. But , at least there are still forests.

 

[DuskrayTroubador]

You've all got me fucking terrified now. Thanks, guys.

 

[HillBilly1]

They drink goats milk to help lol. I myself use cold
Water if is all you can find, soap and cold water best
I don't really get it but have started getting it as like
3 little pimples, after I get it I have used everything
A man would lol Gas , Bleach, Portland Cement and
A quickset for it lol rubbing alcohol Ducttape to keep
From scratching it lol the cold water has always been
The first line of defense

But hear lots about goats milk and all good..

 

[DJbigbud]

Did someone say poison ivy?

 

[Scrappy-doo]

I have poison ivy at all my grow spots. I get it easily enough but simple precautions and I avoid it completely. First obviously is knowing exactly what it looks like. Then I avoid brushing against it with my clothes. The ground is covered with it so I wear knee high waterproof boots that I tuck my pants into, and carry a paper towel soaked in iso alcohol to wipe them down with when I leave. Always wash clothes and shower immediately when I get home. I've managed to avoid getting it with this routine.

 

[Kygiacomo!!!]

Ducttape to keep from itching

haha thats a new one that i have never thought about but damn i will try it bc i cant help myself i scratch it before i even think. i got the pink shit on the 3 little spots on my arms right now. im trying to fight the urge to scratch it.

 

[gekolite]

native

native

I eat poison oak leaves at least once a week.... Used to get it so bad... Now I can string - trim through the shit.

This is how the native Americans dealt with poison ivy , they fed it to their infants and children to provide immunity thru out their life span .