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Poison Ivy/oak/sumac/etc.

G

Gerald Rutledge

Joined
Feb 8, 2022
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Location
Reidsville, NC
At some point, many of us go out in the field to get raw materials. We encounter oily "jerky-plants" that irritate our epidermi.

Just wanted to share a remedy I have discovered through trial. No error, just trial.

At the very first sign of trouble, grab a washcloth and soak liberally with rubbing alcohol. Scrub affected area, and a bit of margin, but nothing more. Send said cloth to the washbin. Repeat once. Then wash thoroughly with soap and water, no firm abrasion required by now.

Be amazed a day later that you are not miserable. Way better than that pink crusty stuff, but you have to act FAST, as soon as you suspect youve been exposed.
 
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Another excellent cure for that and you don't even have to bring anything , if you are lucky enough to be in an area where it is growing, Look for Jewel Weed and if you find some, grab some stems and mash em into a poultice to rub over the area. Often found near creeks and streambeds, damp sandy areas, that I have noticed it in. There's also the always useful Plantain weed. But as mentioned, the sooner applied the better.. I prefer the jewelweed myself as it is easy to mash into a poultice in bare hands.. but can always mash plantain in a bit of bark dish as a mortar and a suitable rock to make the pestle... I more often use it for bee stings, as I rarely encounter poison ivy..
 
Well, as said, you need to attend to it quickly, no doubt. If you are hot and it is a sunny day and you are sweating, you don't have 2 hours to wait. There are those who say they are not allergic to poison ivy/oak. I say, you just are not allergic to it yet. With each exposure, your resistance goes down. Kind of like some allergies to wood....

robo hippy
 
I spend a lot of time in the woods in & around poison ivy and can attest that which soap I have on hand does not appear near as important as vigorous scrubbing with lukewarm (not hot) water. I keep Tecnu on hand, but homemade cold process soap also does the trick for me.

Gary
 
Nothing against the advice to wash, but its still easy to miss an area and not know it. I tried all kinds of things over the years, including rubbing alcohol, and none worked completely. I happen to be fairly sensitive to the oil, and any left on me will start a rash. A decade or so ago a friend told me, 2nd hand - he was told by an old family Dr down in MS, rubbing alcohol doesn't dissolve the oil - use grain alcohol (yes, the kind you drink) - it will dissolve and remove the oil. I keep a bottle of cheap vodka (too nasty to drink!) around just for this. It has stopped the continual spreading of the oil due to not getting the oil completely removed, and the initial small bumps go away quickly.
 
We've always used Fels Naphtha soap for PI exposure. Seems to work well. I suspect the naphtha in the soap breaks down the oil on the skin.
 
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