poison oak

[Collin]

Alligeric to poison oak? Yes, it totally sucks. Who knows how to avoid or spot it? The first time I got it was during my finals week. It was so bad I had to wear a jacket to class so the puss wouldn't stream out over everything/everyone. It was the most uncomfortable pain I have ever had. A big shot of cortizone and two 4Ds killed it but I want to know how to protect againist it and spot it. Help

[badvoodoo]

Spotting it is usually pretty easy. The leaves are dark reddish-green, and have a pretty high shine on them. Plus the leaves are always in groups of 3.

 

If you do touch it, wash that part of your body as soon as possible to get the oil off that is responsible for the reaction. If you've been in an area with lots of poison oak and are wanting to avoid a reaction, change clothes as soon as you can and avoid touching them until they've been washed.

 

More info: http://www.calpoison.org/public/poak.html

[thelawgoddess]

thanks for the link. i always wondered what that stuff looked like.

[Szyjakowski]

this is the shiz to avoid in on eastside.

curse the people it doesn't affect...wish i was as lucky.

 

good site

[Dan_Harris]

Is there much poison oak up PNW way? Stuff is thick down here CA way? A little warning, just because you come in contact with poison oak and do not have a reaction, do not assume you are not allergic to it. My usual hiking / climbing partner had never had a reaction despite numerous times of contact. He brushed up to some on a backpack trip over Easter and is just now starting to clear up.

[sk]

if there's three, let it be.

 

in the fall it turns all red.

 

I have never had poisen oak (knock on wood) and I count my blessings.

[max]

Tec Lab's Web Page

 

High marks to Tec Labs for their Tecnu wash. This stuff really works! If you find you're reactive to it, it's well worth your money.

[lummox]

windex is a pretty easy post exposure kinda clean up thing to use. sometimes you just cant avoid it. btw in drainages spring flood can strip the leaves off the stuff but the oils on the branchs will still mess with you. and with each exposure you get more sensitive it.

[sk]

I got all pranoid last night hinking I had it because I was all itchy but I didn't. I freak out when I think I have been exposed because I have seen it on my patrents sooo bad. I guess I have them to thank for not getting it so far because they cleand it all out of our yard when I was a kid.

[Double_E]

one thing to remember about allergic plants and such is that different types of it can have different levels of affect on you. I got exposed to poison oak a couple times in CA in the early 90s; did not get a reaction tho. and because of that, I wasn't being super careful when hiking thru/near it in Klickitat Cty, WA, a couple summers ago ..... ended up getting a reaally bad reaction that time.

 

another possibility is that I simply wasn't allergic to it way back when; some people gain and/or lose allergies over the years. I've been stung by bees about 12 times in life... time# 8 or 9 created an allergic reaction, but none of the others before or after did.

[bunglehead]

Fuck, I'm so sensitive to that shit it's insane. Seems like it's the dominant undergrowth around these parts. I get it almost every year. I now use the Technu, and that's been working great for me. I put thew shield stuff on and then I use the rinse and VOILA! no P.O. I hate poison Oak.

[catbirdseat]

If you suspect you've contacted poison oak or ivy, try to avoid rubbing or chafing the area before you can wash thoroughly. Don't scratch with your fingers, it get's it into the skin and you'll be affected a lot worse.

[assmonkey]

Use Tecnu, (link above) it's the only thing that really works to get the offensive oil off of skin and clothes.

 

I once flaked a rope into a patch of Poison Oak at the Madrone Wall. Took me a week or so to figure it out. Threw that rope away...man that sucked. That's right around the time I started using rope tarps.

 

 

- a s s m * n k e y

[snoboy]

Homeopathic remedies are supposed to bbe very effective for poison oak/ivy problems. Having never been exposed to the stuff myself, I can't comment on their utility, but it's probably worth a try for those of you who suffer badly from it.

[murraysovereign]

Hey Snoboy - time to change your location to "Drinking town w/ a Climbing problem"

[Dustin_B]

This is going to sound a little strange, but since you asked for ways to avoid it, I'll tell you what I used to do. When I used to mountain bike (much more than I do now) in college in Austin, I would get poison ivy all summer long. Cortisone shots and bottles of the pink stuff were the norm. It was gross. I hate it, more than any other aliment. I heard about this trick from someone and tried it with much success. Before I went on a ride I'd slather on some Vaseline on exposed body parts (arms and legs). I never once got poison ivy while doing this and still rode the same trails where I commonly got poison ivy before. I think the oils get trapped in the Vaseline and can't get to the skin or something. It is messy and gross and really wouldn't be much of a pleasure on a multi-day climb. It worked great for a 3 hour mountain bike ride though were I could immediately go home and shower.

 

And unlike cuts/scars and broken bones, chicks really don't dig poison ivy

 

PS - a benefit is Vaseline has other uses too...

[max]

...chicks really don't dig poison ivy

 

Rumor is that two people on a fire crew got a little frisky w/o thinking about the previous day's oak exposure.

[Skeezix]

I used to get it all the time growing up back in Virginia. We had a bottle of tincture of lobelia in the medicine cabinet that we used to slather on the rash. It seemed to dry it up and relieved the itching somewhat. If it's burning, even the smoke can cause a reaction on contact to skin...

[Dan_Harris]

Had a student come back to school on a Monday with a terrible rash all over his face. Seems he had grabbed an armfull of poison oak and threw it on the camp fire and the smoke blew in his face. He's lucky he didn't get a lung full of the smoke.

[catbirdseat]

My dad once helped my grandfather clear some brush so they could build a chicken coop on Long Island, New York. They made a pile and burnt it. There was poison ivy in the brush and he got the rash all over his entire body. He said it was horrible.

[EWolfe]

When I was working for OB in Oregon a few years back doing logistics, I thrashed through poison oak on the Deschutes River in shorts and Tevas for an hour, setting up the switchover to mountain course.

I had no idea what poison oak was until it went systemic 3 days later.

I was laid up in my platform tent for a week. The most miserable week of my life, for sure. I could hardly move, and I was soaking rags as fast as my friends could bring them for three days.

The only upside is my face and genetalia were spared.

[Dustin_B]

The only upside is my face and genetalia were spared.

 

Its no fun to get that shit on your wang, its happened to me once or twice.

[lummox]

The only upside is my face and genetalia were spared.

 

Its no fun to get that shit on your wang

word. swollen and pus covered aint no fun. i got it so bad once my dick swelled and i hard to really push to pee. i got steroids to get rid of it.

[rbw1966]

The steroids are nearly as bad as the rash.

[J_Kirby]

Leaves of three, let it be

Leaves of four, eat some more.