Poison Ivy
Poison ivy growing up a tree.
Poison ivy grows well in Texas. It grows well in almost every part of the United States except for the desert. It invites you to touch it with it beautiful green leaves that turn a beautiful red color in autumn. It climbs up tree trunks and thrives. The stem of well-established poison ivy turns into a woody trunk of 3 inches in diameter. One can easily get a horrible, red rash by mistaking this camouflaged stem with a harmless vine.
How can you get affected with poison ivy? Touch it. Touch the leaves, weed eat the plant, burn wood with poison ivy on it and breathe in the smoke, pull up the vines, etc. Technically the poison ivy has an oil called urushiol. It is in the leaves, roots, and vines, which explains why it is so easy to get the rash. Any contact with the plant can give you a bad case of poison ivy.
These are the woody stems of poison ivy. You can tell how easy it would be to mistakenly cut, pull, or touch the vines without taking the proper precautions.
There are indirect ways to contract the urushiol. It carries well on clothing. My mom used to get poison ivy rashes by doing laundry and carrying our clothing to the washing machine. After many weeks of suffering over and over again with poison ivy, she began making us strip down next to the washing machine and put our clothing directly into the wash.
Rubbing up against pets or petting your domesticated animals can also pass the urushiol onto your skin. I don’t know how many time our dog, Bonnie, rubbed up against my mom’s bare legs, which in turn gave my mother another bad case of poison ivy.
Some people like my mom are extremely sensitive to poison ivy. Others do not seem to be bothered by the oil in the plant. I do not recommend tempting fate and rubbing the leaves all over your body to test your sensitivity.
Are there any ways to prevent getting poison ivy? My family adheres to the thirty minute rule. If we know that we have made accidental contact with the plant, then we give ourselves thirty minutes to wash the affected area with soap and water. Make sure that you do not use very hot water as it is known to make matters worse.
If you do get the bad, itchy rash, you can treat it with topical ointments. My mom really likes to use Rhuli gel. I do not believe that the rash spreads from scratching; although, I know some people who disagree with me. I think only the urushiol from the plant gives you the rash.
A baking soda paste can help soothe the rash. Some told me that they dab white vinegar on the rash to help dry it out. Aloe vera is also soothing.
Young poison ivy growing along a fence line.
If you do get a bad case of poison ivy, you might have to seek medical treatment. Monitor yourself and make that decision. I know of a man who died from poison ivy after breathing in smoke from a burn pile that had poison ivy growing amongst the fallen logs. He had an internal case of poison ivy. After a few weeks of working on my dad’s ranch, my cousin broke out from head to toe with poison ivy. He was absolutely miserable and ended up going to a doctor. He was given a prescription and a shot to make him more comfortable.
The best cure is to prevent contracting the oil from the poison ivy plant. Make sure that you can identify the leaves before walking or working in the woods. Print out a picture of the plant and put it on a card for your children and guests to see before venturing out in the woods.
To see pictures of the rash made by urushiol, click here. It is called the Skin Rash Hall of Fame from poison ivy. The pictures will certainly make you think twice about not taking poison ivy seriously.
FYI, Dr.C. has poison ivy/poison oak drops that work wonders for lessening the effects of poison ivy or even preventing if taken before contact.
Thomas and I are both terribly allergic. It took Thomas 1 month of NAET treatments to finally be cleared….I still haven’t had that treated. We are the type where if someone steps on a plant and the wind is blowing our way we catch it. NOT fun!!
Marjorie,
Thanks for the information about the drops. Man, you and Thomas are severely allergic! You must have it all the time.
Thomas used to get it every time we went to see my parents. It only grows in one area of our land and that is along the road to the mailbox. Thomas’s NAET treatment, took a full month, seems to have him cured of his allergy. I just stay way from it anymore, but will get NAET treated for it sometime. Needless to say, I keep drops on hand just in case!