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View Full Version : Where is the evil Poison Ivy???



jthue
02-17-2011, 21:16
In my life I have come in contact with poison ivy several miserable times living here in Utah. I hate it! This fall I am planning on hiking from Springer to the Waynesboro area of Virginia. What areas should I be on the look out for poision ivy? Will I come in contact with it a lot on this portion of the trail? Thanks

Sierra Echo
02-17-2011, 21:16
Georgia is positively plastered with poison ivy!

Skidsteer
02-17-2011, 21:26
Will I come in contact with it a lot on this portion of the trail? Thanks

Yep............

HiKen2011
02-17-2011, 21:30
In my life I have come in contact with poison ivy several miserable times living here in Utah. I hate it! This fall I am planning on hiking from Springer to the Waynesboro area of Virginia. What areas should I be on the look out for poision ivy? Will I come in contact with it a lot on this portion of the trail? Thanks

Wear long pants or long gaiters if wearing shorts, you'll see a lot.

Wise Old Owl
02-17-2011, 21:45
It's everywhere - birds eat the seeds and spread the vile vine every where learn how to identify the three stages......

http://poisonivy.aesir.com/view

Mountain Maiden
02-17-2011, 22:40
In my life I have come in contact with poison ivy several miserable times living here in Utah. I hate it! This fall I am planning on hiking from Springer to the Waynesboro area of Virginia. What areas should I be on the look out for poision ivy? Will I come in contact with it a lot on this portion of the trail? Thanks

I feel your pain! I am a Poison Ivy, Poison Oak, etc., MAGNET. :mad:

However, I managed to get from GA to ME without a single incident. I was very careful along the Trail, stayed on the Trail, washed every day. I took notice where I sat down. I was careful taking my socks and shoes off, too so as not to spread the urishol (P I oil that spreads everywhere!)

And, I never had a single tick on me, either..... I think my little habits helped.

LOL--too bad I've not been so careful at home, I've had several reallllly BAD bouts with it!

This year, I found that cleaver tincture and cleaver tea, used internally and externally, cleared up my breakout in less than 3 days! Cleavers are 'weeds from the woods' and they grow all over the place! Just make a tea and drink it 3-4 times a day and pat it on the affected area each time, too.

Good luck to you!
S:sun

Sierra Echo
02-17-2011, 22:42
You could walk down the trail holding a weed whacker in front of you! LMAO local trail crews would thank you!

Tinker
02-17-2011, 22:45
I was surprised at the number of poison ivy vines on the trees along the AT in Georgia when I hiked in '06. I was actually glad to have my tent for once. I figured it would be cold in mid March. I was wrong. It only got to freezing on the first and next-to-last day of my hike (at night). Definitely learn to ID poison ivy vine without the leaves.

Ashevillian
02-17-2011, 23:24
NC is loaded with it as well. My doctor prescribed a “Z Pack” for me that I carry with me in the event I get in contact with the nasty stuff.

jthue
02-18-2011, 01:53
Thanks everyone, your great! I will be careful and learn as much about it as I can. I was hoping that it all would just be in the upper mid-atlantic states haha. I can't wait to hit the trail this summer/fall! I wish I could thru hike though, but I'll finish it someday soon

Trailweaver
02-18-2011, 02:40
Like others have said, it is everywhere. Be especially mindful when you are inclined to take hold of a tree to help yourself go down/up a step on the trail. Also be very careful where you go to the bathroom - nothing in the world is worse that poison ivy in private places. Wash your hands often - if the poison ivy oil is on your hands, you can spread it to your face, private parts, and anywhere else you touch yourself. As you hike, just look everywhere for it and don't touch anything green with three leaves.

Sickmont
02-18-2011, 08:53
Learn how to identify Jewelweed(Touch-me-nots). Its a natural remedy for poison ivy and is usually found growing very close to it. Split the stem or crush it and rub it on the affected area. Most people wont even blister up from the poison ivy if you do that quickly. And it kills the itching too.

Doc Mike
02-18-2011, 08:57
Just to clarify an earlier post a "z-pack" is azithromycin an antibiotic and won't help contact dermatitis at all. A "pred-pack" or a similar steroid taper is usually what is prescribed.

Doc Mike

Sickmont
02-18-2011, 09:02
You could walk down the trail holding a weed whacker in front of you! LMAO local trail crews would thank you!

The worst case of poison ivy i ever got was from being near a crew using weed whackers in the summer to clear out a bunch of overgrown vegitation in an oil refinery. Both of my legs swelled up so bad i couldnt bend my knees any more. And the load of steriods(shots and prescriptions) were no fun either.

FatMan
02-18-2011, 09:13
With all the snow and rain this winter I am expecting a bumper crop here in GA.

LoneRidgeRunner
02-18-2011, 09:21
You could walk down the trail holding a weed whacker in front of you! LMAO local trail crews would thank you!

My guess is the weed whacker will just serve to cause the oil to be sprayed all over you..not a good plan IMO ....consider carrying a little Benadryl Cream if you do get it...but ..as someone else said..watch for it, stay away from it and wash immediately if you know you have contacted it ..wash every day even if you don't know you've contacted it ..even those who think they're not allergic to it can be broken out from it....I have sen this first hand from people who just KNEW they weren't affected by it.. also..it will get you whether it's alive, dead, green, dried up etc... any season of the year....don't swing from any fuzzy vines ...lol..

Ashevillian
02-18-2011, 09:23
Just to clarify an earlier post a "z-pack" is azithromycin an antibiotic and won't help contact dermatitis at all. A "pred-pack" or a similar steroid taper is usually what is prescribed.

Doc Mike

You're right Doc Mike, my err, I looked at the last one I had it is prednisone or a pred-pak. I guess that's why I couldn't get into medical school.

Buzz Saw
02-18-2011, 10:04
http://www.preckshotpharmacy.com/seasonal_remedies.htm I personally do not have the problem, but my son does and this place has the solution that works for him. I'm not involved with this outfit just sending out suggestions.

Buffalo Skipper
02-18-2011, 10:15
A few months ago, I read that DAWN dish detergent is extremely effective for posion ivy when treated quickly. It is the oils of the plant which cause the outbreaks. Dawn is a strong enough to detergent to remove 85% or more of these oils, limiting the reaction.

I don't know if this is fact or myth, but it seems to make sense to me.

Not ever having had to deal with PI, my biggest question is if these oils get in contact with your clothing, are you a risk of transferring this to your hands or to your gear?

Buzz Saw
02-18-2011, 11:18
The link I put in the above post is a preventative maybe you won't need the dawn, but if I had the issue at all I would do both. On a canoe trip one of the girl got out of the tent in the middle of the night and squatted in the wrong place, would not want that to happen to anyone. her life was he** for a couple of weeks.

LoneRidgeRunner
02-18-2011, 12:38
Not ever having had to deal with PI, my biggest question is if these oils get in contact with your clothing, are you a risk of transferring this to your hands or to your gear?

Possibly if you are very sensitive to PI and if it has just recently came into contact with your clothing or gear. I was very sensitive to PI in my younger years and it almost seemed like the wind could blow it on me if I even got close to the stuff but don't seem quite so sensitive since my last major infestation with it in 1987. Possibly I developed a sort of immunity to it with that outbreak but no one should ever count on being immune to it. The Urishiol oil that causes the rash is very potent.

Berserker
02-18-2011, 12:55
Well, I have only walked 600 miles of the trail so far (in GA, NC, TN, VA, MA and VT), and no portion of the trail was even close to rivaling the amount of poison ivy in GA. Seems as though they have 2 types there, ground cover and vines. There are areas where all the foliage covering the ground as far as you can see is poison ivy...I've never seen anything like it. Here's a couple of pics for your enjoyment. In the first one you can see it lining the trail. In the second one it's all over the forest floor as well as the tree trunks (all those leaves on the trunks are from poison ivy vines). Just try not to touch it, and you'll be good to go. I've had a bad rash from poison ivy before, and I had no issues when I hiked GA.

Buffalo Skipper
02-18-2011, 12:58
The link I put in the above post is a preventative maybe you won't need the dawn, but if I had the issue at all I would do both. On a canoe trip one of the girl got out of the tent in the middle of the night and squatted in the wrong place, would not want that to happen to anyone. her life was he** for a couple of weeks.

Thanks for the tip. I will certainly keep that in mind. On the other hand, having a 1/2 oz of Dawn would go a long way and have multiple uses in different situations.


Possibly if you are very sensitive to PI and if it has just recently came into contact with your clothing or gear. I was very sensitive to PI in my younger years and it almost seemed like the wind could blow it on me if I even got close to the stuff but don't seem quite so sensitive since my last major infestation with it in 1987. Possibly I developed a sort of immunity to it with that outbreak but no one should ever count on being immune to it. The Urishiol oil that causes the rash is very potent.

I don't know if I am sensitive or not. I have spent plenty of time in the outdoors since I was a kid. I estimate I have camped in a tent or hammock for 5-600 nights, and I have never had an issue with PI. In fact, I believe I have only seen (identified) it on 3 or 4 occasions. Just being cautious in my approach.

full conditions
02-18-2011, 13:16
Knowing what sort of habitats support Poison Ivy and which ones don't might help with contact avoidance. Poison Ivy tends to grow best in basic soils (like over a limestone strata) and in that sense can be considered a calciphile - it grows second best neutral soils (fairly common on the AT) and not at all in acidic soils. Acidic soil conditions can be easily recognized by the high abundance of heath family plants like rhododendron, dog hobble, mountain laurel, azalea, etc.. as well as an abundance of hemlocks. Also, poison ivy is very rare at elevations above 5,000 feet - yet one more reason to love the high country.

TheChop
02-18-2011, 13:40
The other issue to keep in mind is that the rash from PI is actually your own immune system going slightly nuts which means PI exposure works differently from what common sense would say. Instead of developing an immunity to it through exposure you actually develop sensitivity to it after repeated exposure because your immune system becomes more and more adept at "fighting" it. So there are a lot of people out there that believe they're not effected by it and start exposing themselves more and more and then one day the immune system has enough of a response built up that it goes absolutely nuts. So even though you might not become symptomatic avoid exposure.

V Eight
02-18-2011, 20:51
In the spring of ’85 I was working with International Paper with a reforesting project
just south of Natchez, MS. I swear I never got closer than 3 or 4 feet from any PI that
I had seen. One hot night lying in my tent, I got a little itch on my right forearm, by 3 that
afternoon I was in the hospital with around 80% coverage :eek:
One of the most horrific experiences of my life.

When it was all said and done (almost 3 weeks) my Doc told me about a treatment that
would make me very nearly immune. Twice a week for 6 or 8 weeks I would go get a
shot and took a pill twice a day for the same time. It seems to have worked for me. I am
still very carful. I did come in contact with some PI in Ga last year.
Just one of those daydream fades to the edge of the path and there I was knee high.
I washed the area immediately with Dr Bonners. That night and the next morning I finely knew that the $600 for that treatment so long ago, just might have paid off. I did not get one itch from
that exposure at all. :banana

4shot
02-18-2011, 21:28
look young Jedi...we know but cannot tell. What "Skull and Bones" is to the institute of higher learning for the Great Gatsby set, so is the "Society of the Poisonous Leaf" to the trail. As is it's auxillary branch, the "Society of the Sweet Leaf". Both types of leaves can be found wherever the white blaze illuminates the footpath from Georgia to Maine. Take care and go forth forewarned. Stay safe and may you remain itch-free upon your quest.

Driver8
02-18-2011, 23:05
I don't recall seeing poison ivy or poison oak on the parts of the trail I've done in CT, MA and VT, but it does occur on other trails in CT and so may be on parts of the trail even this far north. I've no doubt it's far more prevalent the further south one goes on the AT, but I would counsel against complacency about the noxious vine in the northerly stretches.

SunnyWalker
02-19-2011, 00:36
poison-ivy.org Go there. It'll help you learn to deal with it and to i.d. it.
I wear long pants and am on the lookout all the time. You just have to be constantly aware. You will once you have a good case of it. I mean, I hope you won't but chances are you will.

emerald
02-19-2011, 01:22
You could walk down the trail holding a weed whacker in front of you! LMAO local trail crews would thank you!

Maybe they wouldn't and whomever did what you suggest would end up with the worst case of poison ivy they ever had! It would serve them about right too.


It's everywhere - birds eat the seeds and spread the vile vine everywhere ...
Why shouldn't they? It's preferred bird food!:welcome

Learn how to identify jewelweed ...

http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=IMCA

aaronthebugbuffet
02-19-2011, 01:26
I'm still not sure how I made it through Ga without getting poison ivy. It was everywhere but I tried to remember to scan every time I put my pack down.
Be careful roaming in to the woods for bathroom breaks too.

moldy
02-25-2011, 14:21
It's not a matter of where, it is however a matter of when. I'm quite sensitive. I hiked 2 Octobers in a row and had no problems in GA.