I have never been allergic to poison ivy/oak, I remember me and my dad pulling that shit out like 2 years' ago, and not a problem..



Few days ago I had the pleasure of removing a shit ton of Poison Sumac from a clients property, no biggie, I don't get that poison shit, right? WRONG



I'm covered in it, it's all over my arms, hands, face, neck, legs. It doesn't feel to great an the appearance of it is even worse..





Anyone else have a problem with this shit?

You nailed your own post.
What ends up being worse is what you are affected by most.

I remember a kid at boy scout camp many many years ago got into a patch of poison oak and ended up covered in rashes.
On his eyes, in his nose, everywhere.

In theory they are all the same, as the "poisonous" oil on all of them is the same.  They all produce Urushiol, which is what your skin reacts too.



Depending on the locality and what strain as well as just individual variation will determine how Urushiol an individual plant produces.

I haven't gotten it, despite being in contact with it on a regular basis.


I should clarify that... I haven't gotten it, YET.

 PICS PICS PICS!!! Lets see it! I'll try to get some tonight of mine, its probably not as bad as your wifes, but it is blistering up fairly nicely, on my arms at least. My face has regular poison rash on it.

I hate that shit....I always had it growing up....don't touch the shit now.

i'm immune

I read an article that said poison ivy / oak / sumac are much much stronger today than 50 years ago due to a higher concentration of co2 in the atmosphere.

Seems like it always gets stronger the year following a drought/dry spell. The few times I have gotten it was then.

Yes. They all use the same chemical defense mechanism. Why previous exposure did not produce a response is anyone's guess. If someone gets a rash from poison sumac, I would bet that the same exposure to poison oak or ivy will do the same to them.

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100% BS.



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In for the pics.  Morbid curiosity.

Not sure what I had, but it was bad.  Weepy.  I would cut the end off a sock and put it on my forearm to absorb and had to change it a couple of times a day.  It was bad.  Doc gave me some medicine that worked great.

Did Al Gore write the article?



Apparently there is saturated and unsaturated urushiol.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urushiol

Went through some poison oak with a weedeater and not wearing a shirt. It sucked. I am glad they required me to have a face sheild on.

First:

What you are allergic to or not allergic to can change over time.  Maybe you were not highly allergic to bee stings 20 years ago, but you might be now.

Second:

In terms of their effect, poison ivy, poison oak, and poison sumac are about the same.  It is the urushiol oil on the leaves of the plant that causes the irritation and itching.  DON'T scratch it, because that spreads the oil.

Sounds like you need "an ocean of calamine lotion" as the old song says.

Pic's

Zanfel

I get it SO bad.  This stuff has been a life saver.  Follow the instructions exactly.

Yeah, that big rise of CO2 from 0.028% of atmosphere to 0.038% of atmosphere really has the plants in a tizzy.



Of course, if indeed the oil is becoming more concentrated it could just be evolution at work.  You know, strong plants survive, weaker plants die off, that sort of thing.

No pictures?



This guy is disappoint:





More pics at: http://www.poison-ivy.org/rash/index.htm

soak the rash in HOT water (as hot as you can stand) it will give you a few hours relief from the itch, something about heat destroying the histamine.

That's bad, but I'm surprised a doctor told you it is "the worst he has ever seen."

So was I , for 40 years .

I'm still mostly immune , but I no longer completely ignore the risk like I once did

Shit.

that looks absolutely miserable i just got off a course of steroids from a nasty case of that crap, did she get the shot and steroid pack?

nuke it with bleach

I'm alergic to all of it and had to be hospitalized for a bad reaction when I was a kid.  I'm getting itchy just thinking about it.

Yeah, my friend used to get it really bad like that, except even worse.  It was pretty damn ugly a couple times, HUGE areas of pustulent blisters.  Could have layed him on the floor in a store and freaked people out.

Oh yeah, that comes pretty close to the case of poison ivy I had when I was in Boy Scouts. The major difference was that I had more open, weepy, pus filled sores. My father wouldn't let me eat with the family for several days, and I honestly couldn't blame him. I had a lot of serious skin problems when I was a kid, and the impetigo I had when I was 19 years old bought me a "4-F" classification when I went for my draft physical. What memories.

Had it that bad last year.  Prob 10+ times i have had it that bad.  

Had it much much worse like 3 or 4 times.  Got the steroids twice, I tough it out unless my eyes no longer open.

Scratching wont spread it, but it will cause pain, skin damage and possibly scarring.

Nice countertops, though





 

+1 for HOT water, feels awesome when you have it. But I believe that if you shower with COLD water asap after exposure you will minimize any rash. Something about the cold water  dosent open your pores as much.

This is my post from a while back concerning treatment of Poison Ivy.

A few added tidbits are, Urushi oil is present in the skin of Mangos. The time of year and temperature of exposure have alot to do with whether or not, and if so, how much oil you come way with during your contact exposure with the oil bearing plants. There is a way to be exposed to the oil with contact and that is during the burning of the plants bearing the oil. People have died from inhalation of smoke from burning poison ivy patches.

Methylprednisolone

Depo-Medrol

8 -12 hours to completely stop new blister. Starts healing the existing blisters within a couple of hours.

Doctor will prescibe a weeks worth in the form of a dwindling dosage pill pack they also might give you a one time starter shot.

If you can't do this by all means do take the BENADRYL. It's a very potent antihistamine and will cease most if not all of the itching while doing a good job at limiting the formation of new blisters. You should mind what you eat and drink for speedier results. I will only drink unsweetend tea during poison ivy outbreaks. Stay away from spicy stuff.

A couple of informative links.
Army Info on Poison Ivy
Army Info on Poison Ivy II

Go to Walmart or CVS and get ZANFEL Poison Ivy Wash

You must wash throughly everything that came into contact with the stubborn, sticky Urushi Oil produced by the plant to rid yourself of further outbreaks. The oil does not move around in your body it is stuck here and there in varying amounts or is transfered by touching it. When it soaks through the skin it produces new reactions. Take your time washing and don't use hot water as it open the pores and speeds the oil's penetration. Use hot water oand stronger sop concentrations on any clothes that came in contact with it and also wash pets that may have come into contact with it to prevent secondary application of the oil to your skin. The oil can stay active for years on stuff.

It does look bad, but I have had it worse! I get it my nose, eyes and it really bubbles up!!!

I've been realy lucky and have handled all of it with no ill effects including being downwind of a burn. I have heard you can be immune at a younger age and eventually still get a rash from it later in life.

My Dr. prescribed some steroid pill that's suppose to bring down the redness and swelling. Started taking it last night, hopefully it kicks in soon