Poison Ivy, Oak, Sumac Protection

[Vegan Packer]

I can't say if this works or not, but it sure sounds like it makes sense.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oyoDRHpQK0

[perrymk]

I don't disagree with anything he said and especially like the part about washing three times, but a couple of points were overlooked, at least as they apply to me.

I am a heavy sweater. I believe (with only my personal experience to validate my belief) this means the pores open up and make it easier for urushiol to get in. So my protocol:
In the shower, I rinse in cool water first. Hot water opens pores, cool water help keep them shut. Then wipe on by hand Tecnu and let it soak 2 minutes (count 1 Appalachian trail, 2 Appalachian trail, all the way up to 120). Rinse in cool water and repeat, this time soaking for only 60 seconds. Finally I wash with regular soap using a washcloth.
Towels and washcloths are NOT re-used. They go straight into the hamper. So do clothes; do not use the same pair of pants two days in a row with out washing. Yes its a lot of laundry to have to do.

I suppose any oil-cutting soap or detergent will do. Tecnu in great because it contains mineral spirits. Petroleum products like mineral spirits and gasoline are great for getting oils off the skin. I've seen mechanics use gasoline to get the grease off. Check the ingredients of old school mechanics grease removers (http://hazard.com/msds/f2/cbb/cbbks.html); they often contain mineral spirits. Petroleum products are also not particularly healthy so I wouldn't use them unless absolutely necessary. Keep in mind poison ivy isn't healthy either.

That's my two cents. Thanks for posting the video. It's a topic that should be reviewed regularly.

[Slosteppin]

Good explanation. Poison ivy has been a problem for most of my life. Most of my career I worked on a highway survey crew, for most of 40 years I had several cases of poison ivy rash each summer. Sometime in the 80's there was a product called Aqua Ivy that kept me from getting the rash for 3 years. The fourth year our all wise government said they couldn't sell it because it wasn't effective!
I developed my own prevention method not much different from the video. For over 20 years I have been keeping a can of mechanics hand cleaner and a roll of paper towel in my vehicle. After a day in the woods I clean all bare skin with hand cleaner. I still shower as soon as possible.
I have often carried a small tube of the same hand cleaner when backpacking. OTOH, I go to great lengths to avoid the vines when hiking.

[NJdreamer]

I am highly allergic but for some fortunate reason have not had a problem while hiking 200+ miles on AT in PA, MD, NJ and Virginia. Perhaps the advice to stay on the trail works for me.

[Slo-go'en]

That's why I don't like to hike in shorts.

[Traveler]

There is not a lot you can do to protect yourself from casual contact oil you can't see. Pets can carry oils to you, people leave it when they touch various surfaces, etc. However, being able to identify these plants is the best defense from direct contact. Learning the different looks these plants take on in the wild and the seasonal changes they present is critical to avoidance.

There are some apps that can be used with cell phones that show these plants in their varieties can be a lot more helpful. Otherwise, "leaves of three, leave them be" remains the best adage.

[tiptoe]

The worst poison ivy that I have seen thus far on the AT was in Georgia last July. In many places, it lined the trails on both sides, making it difficult to pass between without touching the leaves. Somehow I managed; I'm highly allergic, but avoided the dreaded itchy rash. And I did hike in shorts.

[Dogwood]

Video instructions apply to situations in which one already knows they have been exposed to Poison ivy, oak and sumac like when working around ivy oing landscape workd. Thing is people most often don't realize they've been exposed until dermatitis develops. Urushiol oil on skin is virtually always undetected as it is colorless odorless not visible as the grease on the arm demonstration. To say no one ever will get dermatitis once knowing how urushoil works really isn't a foolproof approach as implied. Perhaps, still the best approach serving the most good for the most amount of people is to avoid urushiol oil by avoiding poison ivy, poison oak, and poison sumac through identification and avoiding contact with the plant directly in hiking situations.


Interestingly, poison ivy, poison oak, and poison sumac is a allergic reaction that data suggest can be a developed allergy. Young people have much lower incidences of urushiol allergies as well as those up in age. Seems humans develop the allergy. I wonder what triggers the allergic susceptibility. About 15% of people demonstrate no allergic reaction to urushoil. WHY IS THAT is what I want to know?

[SGTJones]

I got a super bad case about three weeks ago. It covered 70% of my legs and I had it on my back, face, and neck. Was trying to "tough it out"... until my legs swelled so bad I couldn't walk up the stairs. Legs looked like hotdogs - my ankles were so swollen that my shoes barely fit!! Went to the doctor and got some shots and prednisone which immediately started clearing it up. Within 2 days the swelling had gone down and within a week all the rash and itching was gone.

Most miserable I've been in many years.

Going on a thru next week so poison ivy prevention has been top of mind for me. It would be absolutely miserable to get it again on the trail.

I read a few studies that said high dosed cortico steroids were effective at preventing a severe poison ivy outbreak IF you took them as soon as you noticed the rash start to appear. Makes sense - it's an allergic reaction so if you can suppress that allergic reaction before it can cause your skin to develop the rash and then wash away the oil it should prevent the rash from getting worse.

So here's my plan on the trail:

Use wet-wipes everyday to scrub lower body, using a separate wet-wipe for each leg. You can buy oil-cleansing wipes from wal-mart. Be sure to use those and not regular wet wipes as that will only spread the oil around.
Be really mindful about where I set my pack, where I set up camp. Be real mindful and try not to touch my shoes/pants.
If I see a rash starting to break out I'll take a high dose of prednisone for the next two days.
If a rash appears to be wide-spread I'lg get to an urgent care ASAP and get a shot.
If I have been exposed to poison ivy, rinse the pants I was wearing with dish soap and then store them in a trash bag until I can wash again, wash shoes with dish-soap.

Not going to take any chances, that last experience was awful!

[Stitches]

Interestingly, poison ivy, poison oak, and poison sumac is a allergic reaction that data suggest can be a developed allergy. Young people have much lower incidences of urushiol allergies as well as those up in age. Seems humans develop the allergy. I wonder what triggers the allergic susceptibility. About 15% of people demonstrate no allergic reaction to urushoil. WHY IS THAT is what I want to know?[/QUOTE]

I wonder, too! I grew up playing in the woods with poison ivy all around, and I know I have come in contact with it many times in my life. About ten years ago I was doing some yard clean-up and wasn't even thinking about poison ivy, until the next day when my forearms were covered with rash. First and last time I developed an allergic rash. I've been in the woods many, many times since then, and never had another problem. ?????

A doctor friend told me how to treat it for more nighttime comfort, although you can't really do this on the trail---Apparently heat causes the cells to release their histamines, so if you take a hot shower----as hot as you can stand it for as long as you can, all of the histamines get released. It takes 6-8 hours for them to build up again and cause the itching, so at least you can sleep through the night. It really worked. This has worked for me for chigger bites, too.

[andyg]

+1 on the hot water trick.

I've had PI continually since March of this year from overnighters. Mainly my hands and feet. If you rinse the affected areas in the hottest water you can stand it will make the itch go away for a few hours. Don't know what you'd do on a thru hike to relieve it, though?

I'm worried that that oil is on all of my gear at this point, especially my down quilts.

[MuddyWaters]

Interestingly, poison ivy, poison oak, and poison sumac is a allergic reaction that data suggest can be a developed allergy. Young people have much lower incidences of urushiol allergies as well as those up in age. Seems humans develop the allergy. I wonder what triggers the allergic susceptibility. About 15% of people demonstrate no allergic reaction to urushoil. WHY IS THAT is what I want to know?.

Ive had one mild reaction to poision ivy in my life. Thought I was immune.
I had to move a vine that interfered with climbing treestand while bowhunting. Apparently got it on my hands and transferred to genital when using bathroom.

A little itching, swelling, redness for a couple days. No blistering or severe reaction, just light pinkness and generalized itching.
The swelling was kind of cool.

No reaction ever on less sensitive areas.

[misterfloyd]

I have never really had a problem with poisen ivy, and consider myself very lucky.

Having said that I recognize it, and I stay away. As much as I can ovoiusly, many times you cannot.

Georgia being the worst.......... I always thought it was the chiggers!!

[Greenlight]

I wasn't allergic to poison ivy until I was 23 or 24. I've had it a couple of times, but nothing recently. I wonder if I've gotten my immunity back somehow, but it isn't like I want to go out and rub it on my arm to see. OBTW, you can visit your doc before a thru-hike and have him or her prescribe a couple courses of prednisone for you. Then if you do get it, the remedy is right there in your FAK. While you're in there, ask for a full course of Doxycyclene or Mefloquine for a host of bacterial infections you might be stricken with.

[ChuckT]

I was told that urushiol oil can build up in your body from multiple exposures that we don't notice until it triggers a reaction.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using Tapatalk

[Tipi Walter]

SgtJones---Did you get your bad case by weed eating the stuff or cutting it up? My worst case came many years ago when I cut a whole hillside of it down and ended up with a terrible rash.

But really, I can hike thru big healthy patches of the stuff and not get a single itching blister. Just did so on my last NC trip in May 2016.

Back in the 1980s I squatted over a patch on Turd Patrol and got your basic Itchy Bunghole Syndrome---not fun. I looked like Maude Frickert trying to do a striptease.

[Secondmouse]

there are pre-contact blocking ointments but I don't know how effective they are. I used to use Ivy Block but it is no longer being made...

[rocketsocks]

there are pre-contact blocking ointments but I don't know how effective they are. I used to use Ivy Block but it is no longer being made...my wife swear by em, and won't garden without it, so I guess they work pretty good. I think she uses ivy block brand as well, I just never touch the plant if I can help it, I'm inclined to say I don't get it anymore as I was in the thick of it last week and was fine, but I'm also not gonna rub it all over me to find out.

[Secondmouse]

my wife swear by em, and won't garden without it, so I guess they work pretty good. I think she uses ivy block brand as well, I just never touch the plant if I can help it, I'm inclined to say I don't get it anymore as I was in the thick of it last week and was fine, but I'm also not gonna rub it all over me to find out.

yeah, I can easily identify the plant but you don't need direct contact. someone could set their pack down, or throw a canoe paddle onshore, a bear bag rope or the bottoms of hiking poles could brush it and contact with any of these items can trigger a reaction later on. my wife, who's most adventurous outdoor excursion consists of playing golf, has contacted the oils from our dogs' coat when they go up in our woods.

I go through varying degrees of susceptibility to it, some years never getting a single irritation, and some years I've had it 4 or 5 places by Memorial Day.

all in all, I would much rather be in pain than the miserable itching of poison ivy....

[Shagtast1c]

Found this product: Timberwolf hand cleaner. Info page: http://www.timberwolfhandcleaner.com/twprodinfo.htm

It can be purchased here http://www.sheltertree.com/ecom/product/70/556/ and a few other online places, but this was the best price for a smaller volume with shipping. Auditioning it this year. Highly regarded by arborists and tree workers. Will update when I have a chance to better review it. Biodegradable, so field use is a little more favorable.

[Traveler]

This is probably one of the better explanations I have seen relative to poison ivy.

There is actually no such thing as immunity to poison ivy. Poison ivy rash is caused when a particular irritating, toxic chemical in the poison ivy gets on the skin and stimulates an inflammatory reaction by certain immune cells in your body, called a delayed hypersensitivity reaction. The chemical in poison ivy will produce this inflammatory reaction (and the consequent rash, blistering and itching) in everyone exposed to the chemical, assuming that the exposure reaches a certain threshold. What is true is that some people have much lower thresholds for getting the rash, and so they will seem to be "sensitive" to poison ivy, while other people will have higher thresholds, so they will seem to be "resistant" to the rash. However, a "resistant" person will get poison ivy if they come in contact with enough of the plant for long enough. Another thing that can happen is that repeated exposures over the course of your life can gradually sensitize your immune cells to the chemical. This means that you may appear to be "resistant" for most of your life and then, suddenly with one final exposure, become "sensitive."

[jeffmeh]

I agree with the general premise. This stuff works great to remove the urushiol. https://www.meangreen.us/

[Jim Obermeyer]

Jewel weed is the best remedy for poison ivy. All the remedy soaps and potions contain jewel weed. Look on youtube for different ways to prepare it and carry it. It grows around creeks and road sides and youtube will show you how to identify it.

[swjohnsey]

The stuff he was holding up likely wasn't poison ivy. Not sure of his expertise when he can't even identify it.

[b-square]

+1 on the Timberwolf.

Also my Father in law ate some on a dare when he was 8, says it almost killed him. To this day he has never had another reaction to PI. I never know whether to believe his stories - he should have been dead long before my wife was born.

[swjohnsey]

Some folks are not sensitive to poison ivy/oak. I'm not. I can wallow in it without any problems. Never tried to eat it.

[Greenlight]

If you're going on a longer hike, it makes sense to get with your doctor first and ask for two things. First is a 30 day supply of antibiotics. You'll have a discussion about that one, of course, to ensure you don't misuse it. The second thing is a Prednisone pack. This is just part of a strategy from prevention and protection, to mitigation and response. Yes, I'm an emergency manager. LOL. If you start to get the rash, you start popping Prednisone. It will help dry it out quickly. If it keeps getting worse, when you get to a town, you go into the RediMed for a shot in the butt of Cortisone. The two drugs together are the standard treatment for contact with urushiol.

[Don H]

Yes, I'm an emergency manager. LOL. If you start to get the rash, you start popping Prednisone. It will help dry it out quickly. If it keeps getting worse, when you get to a town, you go into the RediMed for a shot in the butt of Cortisone. The two drugs together are the standard treatment for contact with urushiol.


Prednisone is indicated for severe poison ivy reaction, not just contact with it.

Personally I wouldn't start popping Prednisone every time I have contact with poison ivy.

[Traveler]

Prednisone is indicated for severe poison ivy reaction, not just contact with it.

Personally I wouldn't start popping Prednisone every time I have contact with poison ivy.

+ 1 This is one of the reasons many MDs won't prescribe antibiotics without seeing the symptoms first and have people use a prescribed antibiotic in the wrong application.

[Sarcasm the elf]

Some folks are not sensitive to poison ivy/oak. I'm not. I can wallow in it without any problems. Never tried to eat it.

This is another great example of why it is so important to pick your parents carefully. :D I have never gotten a case of poison ivy despite being exposed to it many times and I don't think my siblings have either. Nevertheless I also do my best not to tempt fate and I don't get careless around the stuff, I always remind myself that I am not immune, just less sensitive to it than most folks. One of my big worries outdoors is that I will find myself in a situation where I am exposed to enough of it at once that my body finally has a full blown reaction.

[SGTJones]

Prednisone is indicated for severe poison ivy reaction, not just contact with it.

Personally I wouldn't start popping Prednisone every time I have contact with poison ivy.

I started getting a rash in GA, popped 3 prednisone and it went away. Seems like the key is to suppress the immune response before the rash fully develops and wash the urushiol oil off so it doesn't cause further irritation.

But that was the only time I had any issue with poison ivy on the trail. Kind if surprising really since some places are literally covered with the damn plants.

I'm wondering if the lack of frequent showers means that we have our natural layer of oil on our skin intact and if that helps keep the urishi oil off. Or if maybe our immune response is already somewhat suppressed due to the stressors of hiking. Or I've just been lucky and haven't gotten it on me.

[swjohnsey]

This is another great example of why it is so important to pick your parents carefully. :D I have never gotten a case of poison ivy despite being exposed to it many times and I don't think my siblings have either. Nevertheless I also do my best not to tempt fate and I don't get careless around the stuff, I always remind myself that I am not immune, just less sensitive to it than most folks. One of my big worries outdoors is that I will find myself in a situation where I am exposed to enough of it at once that my body finally has a full blown reaction.

Yep, I have heard you can suddenly lose your immunity. Poison Sumac is much more potent, but you don't see it very often.

[swjohnsey]

If you have been in the woods much and have never had it you probably aren't sensitive.