View Full Version : Tradition Medicine - Treatment of Poision Ivy
Wise Old Owl
10-01-2011, 20:39
I generally think we have all come in contact with Poison Ivy... as a 10 year old boy I would go and play in the farmers fields of Chester County and come back covered head to toe and ready for the trip to the hospital. Three times I was covered 80 percent in blisters that burst. I had blisters where people should not scratch... But I started a year later an allergy therapy for all the things I was allergic too. I repeated this series of injections every ten years - getting scratch tested and injected weekly - in all three years of injections for lots of things like ragweed - oak and poison ivy... The last set was 14 years ago and I had lots of questions. turns out the oil of poison ivy is a tiny drop amongst other thing in the injection... So when you see advice like this....
Instructions
Things You'll Need
* Epsom salts
* Poison Oak-ivy Soap
* Calamine Lotions
* Baking Soda
* 1 Immediately wash everything that might have touched the plant. You may be able to remove the offending oil completely or at least reduce the impending rash.
* 2 Soothe itching with cool, wet compresses.
* 3 Add approximately 5 c. ground oatmeal or baking soda to a cool bath and soak for 15 to 30 minutes.
* 4 Add baking soda or Epsom salts to your bath, or make a paste of either of these and apply it to the rash.
* 5 Opt for lotions containing calamine, alcohol and zinc acetate; these will dry the blisters and help speed healing.
* 6 Leave the rash open to air. That will help it heal.
* 7 Talk to your doctor about taking an oral antihistamine if you are extremely uncomfortable or if the rash is covering a large area of your body.
I will add one more thing to that advice - if you are ever looking for a quick solution to that advice - For adults - two Prednisone Tabs and possibly two quick acting - allergy tabs of antihistamine. (Keep in mind this is from experience -consult with a doctor) this is how I avoid reactions on the first onset of hives and other reactions, I will try this before the Epi Pen and the 911 call.
So today I am on another page I actively look for poison Ivy and grab the leaves bare handed and rub a few leaves on the back of the arm and expose myself annually! Today I am not allergic - I get one scratch spot and life is good.
So lets take this to a new level - very recently a large group of kids allergic to milk were ask to eat one cookie a day (Study over several years)http://www.medpagetoday.com/MeetingCoverage/AAAAI/25448
The cookie or muffins had cooked or raw milk in small amounts & the kids get better.
How long does it take to get over an allergy?... How do we trick the immune system? In a blind test, my son who is allergic to dogs came home from college and we had a new dog here in house that we rescued from the pound. He coughed and sneezed himself silly for six months -and then he stopped! - so what are we actually allergic too when it comes to animals? -SALIVA! Most pets lick themselfs - in the case of Rugby -my dog.. he licks himself terribly, this is also a sign or doggie bordom... So you pet the dog and transfer the dried saliva to your eye when it needs a scratch... in the case of people visiting others with dogs and cats - you are touching objects that the dried saliva has been deposited - or in another situation the active presence of a lot of animals on a farm. The dried saliva is airborn and coming directly in contact with the water in the eyes. Why are you not allergic to Poodles & Lasa's? They do not lick themselves.
This is to open a discussion that I will revisit. Please post thoughts or questions....
WingedMonkey
10-01-2011, 21:11
My experience with poison ivy is that it does not build up an immunity like antigens do. Instead the body goes "oh crap there's that stuff again" and the reaction is worse each time trying to fight it.
BTW, those rabbits you love to eat, eat it regularly and if you contact it from their stomachs you will break out.
jeramie75
10-01-2011, 21:24
Preface: Im no doctor.
The bodies response to poison ivy is a related to ones immune system. As we age this system weakens and thus, so does ones response to the poison. I know i dont get it as bad as i did as a child but, maybe Im more aware of my exposure.
I was under the impression that poison oak/ivy is not an actual allergy. The response isn't to the poison oak/ivy but to the body's response to the poison oak/ivy. The urushiol does something to you that your body then attacks. So there's supposedly not really a way to make yourself immune since the body is fighting a secondary response, not the actual urushiol.
Skidsteer
10-01-2011, 23:31
Preface: Im no doctor.
The bodies response to poison ivy is a related to ones immune system. As we age this system weakens and thus, so does ones response to the poison. I know i dont get it as bad as i did as a child but, maybe Im more aware of my exposure.
I'm just the opposite. I was completely immune as a child. Completely.
As an adult I've gotten a few itchy bumps if I was walking through a big patch but still not a big deal.
Wise Old Owl
10-01-2011, 23:42
Interesting thoughts - so far, thanks about the heads up on the rabbits.... lately I just buy them at the farmers market - the earlier posts were to learn how to butcher in the woods... after a few tries I got it down cold- and would not do that unless absolutely necessary.
Sb poison Ivy causes an allergic reaction. Wiki-The reaction caused by poison ivy, urushiol-induced contact dermatitis (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urushiol-induced_contact_dermatitis), is an allergic reaction (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allergy). Around 15%[9] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poison_ivy#cite_note-8) to 30%[10] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poison_ivy#cite_note-9) of people have no allergic response, but most people will become sensitized with repeated or more concentrated exposure to urushiol. Reactions can progress to anaphylaxis (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anaphylaxis). Over 350,000 people are affected by poison ivy annually in the US.[11] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poison_ivy#cite_note-10)
Trail Bug
10-02-2011, 07:43
Jewel weed is supposed to work good. Usually can't find it when needed.
Chaco Taco
10-02-2011, 08:29
stinging nettles will help with the itching.
In 2008, I walked out of Damascus with a severe case of PI and had open lesions on my legs for 2 weeks. Denatured alcohol was a help but I ended up getting some sort of steroid cream from my dad's gf (nurse). I was only given that stuff and took it because of the severe nature. I had to throw out all of my clothing and get new stuff because of the severity. Washed my bag 2-3 times with down wash then treated it with Denatured.
Wise Old Owl
10-02-2011, 08:37
Good Morning Chaco - I think what I was looking for was posts about the fact that if we are taught to avoid it, would you do small exposure to build immunity its against traditional medicine - appears to be a modern approach.
I have read some stories about this and strangely I am guessing it works.
Chaco Taco
10-02-2011, 08:40
Good Morning Chaco - I think what I was looking for was posts about the fact that if we are taught to avoid it, would you do small exposure to build immunity its against traditional medicine - appears to be a modern approach.
I have read some stories about this and strangely I am guessing it works.
If this means anything, after my bout with it, I came in contact with it pretty often since and have had no issues
I used to play in woods where PI was common when I was a kid with no effects. Then, at 12years old, I had a huge outbreak (maybe puberty plays a role?). We tried everything from clorox to alcohol with no real relief for weeks--that was a pretty sucky summer. Now, I regularly clear/mow sections of the Trail with only a few blisters on exposed skin here and there probably from leaves flung up by the string trimmer (for better or worse, I'm at the age where my testosterone level is diminishing). On the latest outing a couple of weeks ago where we cleared boundary through a lot of PI, I washed with Technu Extreme as soon as we ended the day and never experienced a single bump.
I've always worried when out hiking for a couple of weeks that I'll get some on my hiking poles or bootlaces and spread the oil all over my tent. However, for me it seems that there needs to be a certain threshold concentration of the oil to set off my reaction. I really don't think I have the nerve to deliberately put the stuff on my skin.
Cosmo
Also from wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urushiol-induced_contact_dermatitis :
The toxic effects of urushiol are indirect, mediated by an induced immune response. Urushiol acts as a hapten, chemically reacting with, binding to, and changing the shape of integral membrane proteins on exposed skin cells. Affected proteins interfere with the immune system's ability to recognize these cells as normal parts of the body, causing a T-cell-mediated immune response.[2] This immune response is directed towards the complex of urushiol derivatives bound in the skin proteins, attacking the cells as if they were foreign bodies.
In other words, the urushiol causes a chemical reaction which secondarily causes the immune response.
I suppose if you could find a way to interfere with the initial chemical reaction you could stop the immune response. Perhaps that is what Technu or similar products attempt to do.
My mother used to take drops that supposedly contained urushiol as an ingredient. She swore they worked, however, she's is still very reactive to poison oak and avoids it.
What I do is as soon as I've touched it I wash the area immediately, even if I have to use my drinking water to do so. That seems to be the most effective thing I've ever found to prevent it.
jeramie75
10-02-2011, 20:01
If i know i have been exposed, I will wash with Tecnu just in case. This seems to work really well for me. They also sell these in single serve packs which are great for the trail.
MuddyWaters
10-02-2011, 20:29
As a child I was immune too.
Got to be about 35, and one day while hunting had to pee, and apparently had some on my hand from moving the hairy vines that were keeping my climbing tree stand from sitting level and stable on the tree.
I didnt mind the swelling so much, that was kinda cool. But the itching......
Tipi Walter
10-02-2011, 20:53
stinging nettles will help with the itching.
Surely you jest? Nettles, uh, sting. I never tried walking thru a batch of nettles and letting my poison ivy rash rub up against them---crazy thought though it just might work. I know, I know, you're probably talking about a tea of stinging neetles applied liberally to the rash. What's that called? An infusion?
Poison ivy is an annual occurrence for me, in varying degrees of hellishness. One time I squatted down to deliver a fresh turtlehead and got poison ivy in and around my bunghole. For about a week I looked like a dog scooting his butt across the ground, or a monkey scratching for pinworms. Not fun.
I had a mild reaction once, as a kid, but that's it, even though I spend plenty of time around it. My grandmother swears she's immune, and I hope I have whatever gene she has for that. However, I've never felt up to aggressively testing it out.
As for exposure and allergies, I've spent my weekends for the last 2+ years at a house with three cats. I'm crazy allergic to cats. Now, I'm only sort of allergic there, but it's specific to those cats. Any other cats still make me very sick.
I've heard of stinging nettles being applied to the skin for treatment of arthritis but not for poison oak/ivy. Maybe I'll suggest it to one of these paranoid types on one of my Sierra Club hikes and see what happens.
Shutterbug
10-04-2011, 12:01
Preface: Im no doctor.
The bodies response to poison ivy is a related to ones immune system. As we age this system weakens and thus, so does ones response to the poison. I know i dont get it as bad as i did as a child but, maybe Im more aware of my exposure.
I am not a doctor either, but I have opinions based on personal experience. When I was younger, I would occasionally get a rash which could be treated with calimine lotion. Now that I am in my 60's I can't get rid of the rash without steriods. I seem to be a lot more sensitive to the poison than I was when I was younger.
Interesting thread which reminds me of an encounter I had decades ago.
As a young kid, I use to visit a farmer who at the time was in his 80's. One day I drove up his driveway and saw him standing by his back porch hunched over with his bib overalls unbuttoned and down at his waist exposing his bare back. He had one hand on his lower back and the other on his knee.
When he saw me he yelled for me to come over and help him. When I approached I saw he had a live honey bee between his fingers and pressed against his lower spine. He told me to put my finger on the honey bee and not to let it go until it stung him. We went through this exercise 3 times in a row, bees stinging him in various parts of his lower back and always near his spine.
Afterwards I asked him what the hell just happened and he explained how he used the bee's poison to help relieve his rheumatism. I guess it was his version of Chinese Acupuncture....
I've never forgot that experience.
icemanat95
10-07-2011, 00:31
I found the sweat and dirt and skin oils from a thru-hike are actually pretty good protection against poison ivy. But I also washed up after exposure just in case. these days I am exposed to poison ivy on a very regular basis in the course of my professional duties. I rarely get a reaction. However, I am wearing long pants and often long sleeves. My boots are perpetually coated with the oils and I don't react anymore.
I strongly recommend pre-exposure lotions to those who react strongly, then use a good scrub after exposure. Caution, the scrubs have abrasives in them that exfoliate rather nicely. Rinse well and pay attention to start at the top and work down.
shelterbuilder
10-07-2011, 19:38
"To the devil" with traditional medicine - wash the oil off with lye soap, and if any bumps appear, spot-treat those areas with Technu Extreme. That stuff is the absolute best for PI.
That weed no longers gets a reaction. However, I can see the roots anyway and long ago avoided that issue. Neddles are more painful up North to see. Watch out and do not rub either.
Wise Old Owl
10-08-2011, 16:04
Would you do small exposure to build immunity? -its against traditional medicine - and appears to be a modern approach.
Example - You are allergic to dogs - so go get a puppy and train it well.
Example - You're child is allergic to milk - so eating cookies with small amounts of milk for a whole year would build immunity.
I have read some stories about this and strangely I am guessing it works.
Toolumpy
10-09-2011, 15:49
I have had poison ivy as much as 14 times one year and preventive lotions have not worked for me. Jewel weed worked best for promoting the itching and breaking out to go away.
Wise Old Owl
11-06-2011, 22:11
Because building immunity to a reaction takes more than 6 months. Small amounts over a two year period - and then you would react as little as I do.
the inside of a banana peel rubbed on affected area dries it up pretty quick. Read that in a foxfire book some time back and never have had to use anything else.