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wonderwoman
Jun 15, 2010, 8:23 PM
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My cure has always been the ocean. It dries it right up. I don't know how effective a salt water bath is in comparison, though.
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adatesman
Jun 15, 2010, 8:54 PM
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ptlong
Jun 15, 2010, 9:40 PM
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adatesman wrote: ...you only have 30-60 minutes before the urishiol (PI oil) binds to the skin, so after that you're pretty much hosed.
Can you provide a reference for this?
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adatesman
Jun 15, 2010, 10:17 PM
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ptlong
Jun 15, 2010, 10:34 PM
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adatesman wrote: I seem to recall the bottle of Technu saying something to that effect, but I don't have a bottle handy to confirm. The website for Zanfel says it's either 2-4 hours or under 10 minutes, depending on which experts you ask.
The Tecnu label says it is "most effective when used within the first two hours after exposure or as soon as a rash appears". Then it goes on to suggest using it "within 2-8 hours after exposure". Is that clear?
The Zanfel website says "some experts claim that plain soap and water might wash it off the skin...if you catch it within the first two to four hours after exposure. Other experts believe that unless you wash within the first 10 minutes, the oil will bind to the skin."
I was hoping you actually had a solid source of information since the makers of these two products apparently do not.
In reply to: I've never actually heard of Zanfel, but looking over their site I'm intrigued... It works differently than Technu (i.e. not mineral spirits) and supposedly can actually unbind the urushiol from the skin after the rash develops. Anyone ever try it?
A couple people in this thread have.
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adatesman
Jun 15, 2010, 10:40 PM
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malcolm777b
Jun 15, 2010, 11:31 PM
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I haven't tried it, but a friend of mine swears by automotive hand cleaner. The stuff works miracles in getting grease off of hands, so I would imagine it would work in getting rid of the urushiol.
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ptlong
Jun 16, 2010, 12:34 AM
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malcolm777b wrote: I haven't tried it, but a friend of mine swears by automotive hand cleaner. The stuff works miracles in getting grease off of hands, so I would imagine it would work in getting rid of the urushiol.
There was a study ten years ago that compared the efficacy of three different cleaning agents: Tecnu, an automotive hand cleaner, and a dishwasher detergent. Their conclusion was that Tecnu costs more than it's worth when compared to other products.
Cost-effective post-exposure prevention of poison ivy dermatitis
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j_ung
Jun 16, 2010, 1:54 PM
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Jewel weed worked every time I used it, and it's free! Unfortunately -- or fortunately, depending on your perspective -- it tends to grow in many of the same spots as PI. The New (including my backyard) has a ton of both.
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bigjonnyc
Jun 16, 2010, 2:25 PM
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billcoe_ wrote: Jewelweed doesn't do jack S** for me, I even took the step of growing it in my backyard I get Poison Oak so bad. (Orange impatiens) It grows like weeds and regrows off of the seeds that it spews yearly. Zanfel, and the Walgreens equivalent - both of which are insanely overpriced but worth every penny when you are covered in Oak, work awesome.
I've never heard anything as to the effectiveness of jewelweed on poison oak or sumac, only poison ivy.
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bigo
Jun 16, 2010, 2:51 PM
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To prevent I have had very good luck using liquid dish soap (I've always used Crystal White) to wash with if I think I have been exposed. When I lived in poison oak country I would always keep a bottle in the truck along with a gallon of water. It will really dry the skin, but it is much cheaper than Technu which makes is easy to use liberally.
Once exposed, the best cure for me has been to get a prescription for Prednisone if I have a bad case - that sh!t works...
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ptlong
Jun 16, 2010, 3:41 PM
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j_ung wrote: Jewel weed worked every time I used it, and it's free! Unfortunately -- or fortunately, depending on your perspective -- it tends to grow in many of the same spots as PI. The New (including my backyard) has a ton of both.
How do you know it worked?
Double blind studies have shown that jewelweed is no more effective than placebo at preventating urushiol induced dermatitis.
(This post was edited by ptlong on Jun 16, 2010, 3:45 PM)
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darkgift06
Jun 16, 2010, 4:22 PM
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best to use rubbing alcohol asap on the area & cloths that might have come in contact to remove the oils. Then find some chalmine lotion spread it on thick & try not to itch.
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bigjonnyc
Jun 16, 2010, 5:43 PM
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ptlong wrote: j_ung wrote: Jewel weed worked every time I used it, and it's free! Unfortunately -- or fortunately, depending on your perspective -- it tends to grow in many of the same spots as PI. The New (including my backyard) has a ton of both. How do you know it worked? Double blind studies have shown that jewelweed is no more effective than placebo at preventating urushiol induced dermatitis.
I fell off a horse into a thick patch of poison ivy when I was a kid, wearing shorts and a t-shirt, and definitely getting exposed on my arms and legs. I remembered seeing a bunch of jewelweed near where we had camped the night before, and went directly there and more or less bathed myself in the juice from jewelweed stems. I did not develop even one blister, and I'm positive that I'm allergic to poison ivy.
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wonderwoman
Jun 16, 2010, 6:04 PM
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I just want to drop a line of thanks for all of you who jinxed me. I seem to currently have poison ivy, and I haven't even been anywhere it could possibly grow. Maybe it's just a public transportation rash...
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ptlong
Jun 16, 2010, 6:06 PM
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bigjonnyc wrote: I fell off a horse into a thick patch of poison ivy when I was a kid, wearing shorts and a t-shirt, and definitely getting exposed on my arms and legs. I remembered seeing a bunch of jewelweed near where we had camped the night before, and went directly there and more or less bathed myself in the juice from jewelweed stems. I did not develop even one blister, and I'm positive that I'm allergic to poison ivy.
You're allergic to PI now, but were you allergic to it then?
Did you wash with anything besides jewelweed?
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bigjonnyc
Jun 16, 2010, 6:41 PM
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ptlong wrote: bigjonnyc wrote: I fell off a horse into a thick patch of poison ivy when I was a kid, wearing shorts and a t-shirt, and definitely getting exposed on my arms and legs. I remembered seeing a bunch of jewelweed near where we had camped the night before, and went directly there and more or less bathed myself in the juice from jewelweed stems. I did not develop even one blister, and I'm positive that I'm allergic to poison ivy. You're allergic to PI now, but were you allergic to it then? Did you wash with anything besides jewelweed?
I don't think I had a chance to wash with anything else for hours afterward. You have a good point though, I don't recall ever getting a poison ivy rash when I was a kid. I may not have been allergic then, though I am now. That is not at all, however, the only time I've used jewelweed after positive exposure to poison ivy, and seen no rash.
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ptlong
Jun 16, 2010, 8:05 PM
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bigjonnyc wrote: I don't think I had a chance to wash with anything else for hours afterward. You have a good point though, I don't recall ever getting a poison ivy rash when I was a kid. I may not have been allergic then, though I am now. That is not at all, however, the only time I've used jewelweed after positive exposure to poison ivy, and seen no rash.
Okay, fair enough. Now let me ask you a few more questions.
Why do you suppose that when jewelweed is tested in a lab it doesn't prevent the rash from happening? Do you think you are you doing something differently in how you apply it? Is it possible that it only helps some people and none of them happened to be in these studies?
Given that it didn't work in controlled tests, whereas various degreasers have been shown to work, would you recommend it as the first course of treatment to everyone?
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j_ung
Jun 17, 2010, 1:37 PM
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bigjonnyc wrote: ptlong wrote: j_ung wrote: Jewel weed worked every time I used it, and it's free! Unfortunately -- or fortunately, depending on your perspective -- it tends to grow in many of the same spots as PI. The New (including my backyard) has a ton of both. How do you know it worked? Double blind studies have shown that jewelweed is no more effective than placebo at preventating urushiol induced dermatitis. I fell off a horse into a thick patch of poison ivy when I was a kid, wearing shorts and a t-shirt, and definitely getting exposed on my arms and legs. I remembered seeing a bunch of jewelweed near where we had camped the night before, and went directly there and more or less bathed myself in the juice from jewelweed stems. I did not develop even one blister, and I'm positive that I'm allergic to poison ivy.
Yup, just anecdotal evidence here, too. I watch for PI constantly, and I think I do a pretty good job of knowing when I came into contact with it -- I haven't had an outbreak of PI in the last ten years or so that surprised me. When I came into contact with it and used jewel weed immediately after, I have never once suffered an outbreak. This is the case somewhere in the neighborhood of 100+ times. On the flip side, when I know I've come into contact with PI, but either forgot to use jewel weed or just couldn't find any, I've gotten it every single time.
Still, perhaps an experiment is in order. In the interest of science, I volunteer to wipe a little PI on myself... hang tight.
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j_ung
Jun 17, 2010, 1:46 PM
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Okay, it's on. I rubbed a little PI on both my forearms right next to the elbow, where I'm not likely to touch anything else and skew the results (or get f-ing PI all over everything I own). I then scrubbed the spot on my right forearm with jewel weed. I've done nothing at all to the left. I'll let it sit for the next 8 hours. I generally don't break out in the rash until a few days later, so this could take a while.
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j_ung
Jun 17, 2010, 1:48 PM
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Oh, after I break out, I'll try that jewel-weed "tea" method for the cure.
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adatesman
Jun 17, 2010, 1:50 PM
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cfnubbler
Jun 17, 2010, 3:12 PM
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That looks like a a quick trip to the ER in the making...
As a kid, I was once down wind of someone burning a patch of PI. After the ensuing hospital visit for some respiratory support, significant courses of oral and injected steroids, and much general misery, I'm highly skeptical of any advice to actually ingest poison ivy.
(This post was edited by cfnubbler on Jun 17, 2010, 3:17 PM)
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ptlong
Jun 17, 2010, 3:33 PM
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Toast_in_the_Machine wrote: An idea even older than this thread is the Euell Gibbons trick of eating it.
Jay, are you up for another experiment?
I knew a wilderness firefighter who took an extract years ago (before it was pulled off the market) and told me that the resulting internal rash was a really weird feeling. Plus severe pruritis ani.
(This post was edited by ptlong on Jun 17, 2010, 3:34 PM)
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