Poison Ivy

[Brushy Sage]

While working around Balsam Gap on the NC Mountains to Sea trail, I saw lots of poison Ivy that is budding and will be greeting hikers on that trail soon. It reminded me of the giant poison ivy plants I encountered along the AT in Pearisburg, VA. Other hikers will remember other notable poison ivy locations along the trail. What is the best protection? Clothing? Lotions?

[jlb2012]

best protection - don't touch it - know what it looks like in all seasons so that you know not to touch it - in winter look for the cinnamon colored buds and fuzzy vines - in summer look for the foliage

[DebW]

best protection - don't touch it - know what it looks like in all seasons so that you know not to touch it - in winter look for the cinnamon colored buds and fuzzy vines - in summer look for the foliage

Easier said than done when it's growing OVER the trail! I remember quite a bit of it on the River Walk in Connecticut. I often try to push it away with my poles, but then I have the oils on my poles and end up getting it on my legs anyway. Though "second hand" poison ivy is never as bad as direct contact poison ivy. The stuff mainly grows in lowlands with some sunny exposure and near roads, seldom in dense woodlands.

[jlb2012]

well if you are stuck walking through the stuff try to step right on the plants if possible avoiding contact with clothes other than the bottom of your shoes

another "trick" - try to be the first one to go through a patch after rain - if the PI had not been previously disturbed there will be very little oil picked up - the oil is excreted when the plant is disturbed - the oil tends to be immobilized by water so if you do touch it try to wash the area quickly before the oil spreads very far

[Moose2001]

Another suggestion is to NOT wear your sandals when you're out digging a cathole. I did at the Knot Maul Shelter in VA and woke up the next morning with lots of little red dots all over my legs. By that evening they were blisters the size of a quarter. We bailed to Bland the next day to find some calamine lotion and anything else to help dry the stuff up. I'm only thankful.....oh so thankful.....that it was just on my feet and legs and not some more "sensitive" spot.

[smokymtnsteve]

Have your doc write you a prescription for prednisone,,if you get exposed to poison ivy /oak and break out in blisters then you take the predisone per your docs order and this takes care of it quickly..prednisone is cheap med. and works fast..

[veteran]

A quick natural cure for poison ivy is to find some Jewel Weed. Grows along
stream/river banks and other moist areas.
Crush the plant stems and apply the juice/sap to the infected area.
It will stop the itching almost immediately and dry up the infection in a day or two.
If you don't know what jewel weed looks like, do a Google search on it.
Also works on stinging nettle.

TESTIMONIAL: Stuff Works

Link: http://www.luminet.net/~wenonah/hydro/jewelwed.htm

[ga>me>ak]

A country friend of mine said old timers used goat milk for PI(not commercial produced, goats in the country). I guess the theory is that goats eat the PI and build up a immunity. Anyone else heard of this? Of course, where the heck are you gonna get goat milk on the trail :confused:

[gravityman]

There is no such thing as acquired immunity to an allergic reaction. In fact, the more you are exposed to an irritant (like pollen or poison ivy) the worse the reaction.

From http://poisonivy.aesir.com/view/fastfacts.html

"Upwards of 90% of people are allergic to urushiol oil, it's a matter of time and exposure. The more times you are exposed to urushiol, the more likely it is that you will break out with an allergic rash. For the first time sufferer, it generally takes longer for the rash to show up - generally in 7 to 10 days."

[highway]

Another note is that different people experience differing allergic reactions from many more plants than just poison ivy,oak & sumac; it's just that they are all lumped into that one catch-all name since the steriod cure is generally the same-with little effort to determine exactly which plant is the culprit.

The Brazilian pepper tree, for instance, which is becoming so pervasive in the south, also causes the same itchy,red rash, skin blistering,etc., reaction, identical to poison ivy, but only in some people. Here in my area of Florida, the local branch of the Department of Agriculture, has a chart of at least 30 different plants that can cause the same allergic reaction-but not in all people. Every couple of years my wife gets a "poison ivy" outbreak from something while working in our yard while I never do and I am there more than she is. And, we dont have poison ivy, either, as every plant with "leaves of three" we find we bag and take to them for identification. We just don't know what the culprit plant is, however the reaction is the same and she gets the same prescription from the doctor for it each time.

So, if you get the itchy, red, splotchy, blistering rash, it just might not be "poison ivy" that gave it to you-and it may not look like it, either.

And all people apparently dont get it or do so to different degrees. Some may even have an "immunity" somehow. I had "poison ivy" a couple of times as a child but never since and that has been many, many years ago :D . I have spent far to many hours wandering through the Florida forests without having contacted some allergic-type plant in the interium.

I also think it is like water. I think that "bad" water affects people differently and that one acquires an immunity to "bad" water, after being exposed to it a few times. But that is based soley on my experience, from myself, and is strictly my opinion. I have had no medical training to back it up. :-?

[highway]

There is another almost-identical plant to poison ivey which is harmless and does not cause the allergic reaction. It is a plant/vine, is in the three-leaf configuration and, to me, looks identical to all the photos of poison ivy, until the subtle difference is pointed out. Whereas the edges of the harmless plant are slightly serrated, and you have to look very carefully to see it, the poison ivy plant has non-serrated, smooth edges. Even the leaf ribs are similar on both plants, but poison ivy has more of them. The coloration, to me , also looks identical. You almost have to look at the two side-by-side, so as to be better able to make a visual comparison, because when I first saw it I was certain it was poison ivy. But I was wrong. So, I suspect that many who contact the reaction, may not have gotten it from what they thought.

[bearbag hanger]

There is no such thing as acquired immunity to an allergic reaction. In fact, the more you are exposed to an irritant (like pollen or poison ivy) the worse the reaction.
Hmmm. I've suffered from various allergies since I was fifteen years old. One of the problems I'll probably encounter on my thru hike attempt is around mid August, anywhere north of Florida, my ragweed allergies kick in and lays me right down.

The standard treatment has always been shots which consist of the allergin suspended in solution. This is to help our body build up a "tolerance" (as opposed to a "immunity") to the allergy. I gave up on this "therapy" when I was twenty, as it never seemed to help, but everytime I move and have to get a new doctor, they want to put me through the same torture. Would like the know source of your information so I have a little better information the next time I have a new doctor (which will be soon, I'm probably going to move after my thru hike in 2004). Some of these doctors are quite vocal in their opinions. Thanks,

note: for all those who have been helped by this therapy, good, but I'm not looking for spam or testimonials, just useful information. Again, thanks,

[Brushy Sage]

Is there a list somewhere that tells where along the AT it's likely to be? I've never been in that part of the country - we have to watch out for poison oak on the west coast - and I've never seen it before. I'll take a picture of it with me on my thruhike but I'd like to know where I should keep my eyes open for it.

In the southern states it can show up most anywhere except at higher elevations (I believe it appears mostly below 4,500 ft or so -- someone might have to correct this). It rarely appears where there is a heavy growth of rhododendrun, probably because it can't get enough sunlight. Also, there is a similar-looking plant that often grows up the tree trunks along with the PI -- but it has five leaves instead of three; it is Virginia Creeper, not a toxic plant.

[Rain Man]

Is there a list somewhere that tells where along the AT it's likely to be? I've never been in that part of the country - we have to watch out for poison oak on the west coast - and I've never seen it before. I'll take a picture of it with me on my thruhike but I'd like to know where I should keep my eyes open for it.


Let's see if this works:

Here is poison ivy THICK and close along each side of the trail in north Georgia in August:
http://www.whiteblaze.net/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=1303&password=&sort=1&cat=500&page=3

Here is more in a photo taken nearby. That's all poison ivy that we almost had to sit in just to take a break on Sassafras Mountain.
http://www.whiteblaze.net/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=1341&password=&sort=1&cat=500&page=2

Sorry, I don't have a close up. But I think it's being nominated as the State Weed of Georgia by the GATC. LOL

Rain Man

[veteran]

Try these links for PI pictuires:

http://poisonivy.aesir.com/view

http://ncnatural.com/wildflwr/obnxious.html

[Mr. Clean]

Poison ivy could be just about anywhere. I grew up in Virginia and the stuff got huge and grew up trees with enormous vines. Here in Maine it seems to form large patches of shrub-like clusters. I don't know personally where on the trail it is, but the stuff spreads fast, by birds dropping the seeds mostly, and could be just about anywhere. I second the "cure" of Jewelweed or Spotted Touch-me-not, a member of the impatiens family. Works every time. I'm not scared of the stuff anymore like I used to be. I know everyone here has seen jewelweed, it's everywhere, like PI.

[Peaks]

I have photos, I meant where it is likely to be along the AT.

Poison ivy generally seems to thrive in places where the soil has been disturbed and where there is a lot of sunshine. I think it's called an invasive plant. Here in eastern Massacusetts, it grows very well along roadsides. I grow so well, I wonder if its their plant.

Along the AT, I noticed it in the southern mountains especially in areas where the gypsy moths have killed trees, letting the sunlight reach the forest floor. Likewise, it was very heavy along some of the ridges of PA, again in sunny locations. But, I don't see it much along the AT in New England. Maybe the climate is a little colder and harsher.

[Icicle]

I am not sure if it's widely available in the USA, but I take Rhus Tox for joint pain. It's a homeopathic remedy actually made from Poison Ivy. With extended use, some websites claim it can make you temporarily immune to the rash from Poison Ivy.

https://secure.news-star.com/ecart/catalog/Poison_Ivy_Prevention.html

This site claims that you will be immune for one year.

It's perfectly harmless to ingest what they have in tonic form, and also the pillules from homeopathic sites.

I hope this helps.

[squirrel bait]

I am allergic to poison ivy and my buddy isn't. Read somewhere that maybe 50 percent of people were not allergic to it and the wierd part I remember was that you have to be exposed to once before. It's the second exposure that causes the problem. As a kid we used to call the runney liquid in cattails before they shed "goats milk". I second the motion about water, standing in a cold stream and not itching works wonders. Just watch for it.