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chaingang
Jul 11, 2007, 3:14 AM
Post #51 of 61
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I've had poison ivy rashes many, many times. Quite severe in some cases. Short of a doctor visit, the best solution for me is once the rash develops get in a hot shower, scrub the "blisters" with a course sponge or scrubbing pad, breaking them open. Then wash good with soap, rinse and repeat. Pat dry and wipe with alcohol. The itching will stop almost immediately and the rash/blisters will dry up within a day or two. Call me crazy, but this works for me. Haven't tried it on the face though, and don't think that I would.
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cracklover
Jul 11, 2007, 1:35 PM
Post #52 of 61
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jt512 wrote: Wow, this thread is even lamer than the typical training thread. Jay
How can you say that about a thread where a guy in Virginia just advertised that he pours corn whiskey all over his body when he gets home?
Plus, I shared a few interesting and truthful facts!
GO
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j_ung
Jul 11, 2007, 2:40 PM
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jt512 wrote: Wow, this thread is even lamer than the typical training thread. Jay
Perhaps I can help.
I met a guy last year who claimed he was immune to poison ivy. I'm not saying such people don't exist. I'm just saying that I tend to be skeptical when somebody tells me he is one.
He was a friend of a friend, twice removed, and, like most people in Fayetteville during climbing season, he was from out of town. I had never known him prior to that night. Sometime during the evening, after much alcohol was drunk and voices were raised, the subject turned to poison ivy. Poison ivy stories flowed like the beer, slick and fluid, and we called bullshit on most of them.
Then he spoke. "I'm immune to it," he said. And he proceeded to regale us with tales of his poison ivy heroism. "I've literally rolled in the stuff," he claimed, "and not gotten a single itch. I even chewed on some once," he continued, "and wasn't bothered in the slightest."
So, I challenged him to put up or shut up. "I want to see you roll in it, then," I dared him. "I want to see you chew a wad of it up, and then I want you to rub it all up in your armpits, between your fingers and toes and all over your face. Then, I want to see you rub the biggest shiniest leaves of poison ivy we can find all down your pants. I want you to fondle your balls with it and then I want you to wipe... your... anus... with poison ivy leaves. Unless," I added, "you're not really immune to poison ivy, in which case I'd rather you not do any of that stuff."
"Well, he stammered, if we had some poison ivy..."
"Oh, but we do." I interrupted. "I have a tree covered with it right out back."
So... he did. We all had a huge laugh over it and, eventually topics of conversation turned in other directions. I never saw him again after that night, nor did I ever see the friend's friend who brought him along. I wish I could tell you for sure what became of him, whether or not he really was immune like he claimed, or if he died from PI over exposure. But the truth is, I don't know.
I do know this, though. Some nights... in the woods around Fayetteville... if you're so quiet you can't even hear your own breath... you might hear sounds of scratching.
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yekcir
Jul 11, 2007, 4:11 PM
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I guess I shouldn't mention that I towel off afterward with a rebel flag, then take my sister to the races, get her good and drunk on Busch beer, and put the moves on her...
off topic? Not if you've had poison ivy!
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billcoe_
Aug 2, 2007, 4:01 PM
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Well, I went back to start up the cleaning stuff @ a week ago and the poison oak that had been ripped out by Jim (with his bare hands) is growing back. I got it on me, so I booked out of there and washed off with cold water I'd stashed in my car for just such an event.
Didn't get any.
But, I believe that it made me sick last time. It felt systemic, inside my body inside my system. Everything I've read says that doesn't happen, but it felt like it to me.
It made me sick.
I was just reminded I need to go back and finish cleaning up the routes to both sides (and this route as well, you need to clean off the top and then rap down cleaning) ....sigh...I'm going to spray first and hope it's all dead...
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billcoe_
Jan 26, 2008, 6:01 AM
Post #56 of 61
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Update: the Zanfel product, for when you get it and later develop blisters and uncontrollable itching, is amazing.
The itching ends right there, and it clears up in a couple of day instead of a week or more. Great advice up there.
Thanks!
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throb
Jan 26, 2008, 1:24 PM
Post #57 of 61
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drfelatio wrote: I've used the hair dryer trick and it does relieve the itch temporarily. A hot, hot shower will too. Seems like the heat is the common denominator here. I'll try baking soda and Zanfel next time. Thanks guys! Really though, someone needs to invent a medication that you can put on BEFORE exposure so you don't get it in the first place. That would be fantastic!
There is poison ivy extract you can drink to increase your resistance. It comes in tiny vials and you drink one vial once a week for six weeks at the beginning of the season. I discovered it from phone company linemen 20 years ago and only one course of tx has helped me for all that time. I spoke with a state forester once who told me that everyone in his department takes a course of it at the beginning of each season. You can find it at forestry supply companies.
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redsox5945
Jan 26, 2008, 5:27 PM
Post #58 of 61
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That's kind of something I heard once. Someone told me that if you eat a poison ivy bud early in the year, you are immune to it for the rest of the year.
I am massively allergic to it and I am not daring/stupid enough to do this. Even if people tell me it works, I probably won't. But I have to ask, has anyone tried this?
Also, if you can find it, Lava Soap is probably the best commercially available soap for removing the oils. I wish I had known that when I was six and climbed an apple tree. I got it all over my calves and thighs. Absolutely horrific.
*Side note* What do the "ethics" say about encountering PI on a route? I climb in two places notorious for their PI. I knew a guy who would biner a bottle of Round up onto his gear loops and blast the PI. Is that considered bad ethics? Personally, I hate the shit so if it was up to me I would napalm it.
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Fenst
Jan 26, 2008, 11:35 PM
Post #59 of 61
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Take a soapy hot shower, wash you clothes, don't touch your shoes until they are washed. I hiked the PCT last summer and never got the stuff. I was always aware of where I brushed up against the nasty stuff and made sure I never touched it. Alcohol prep pads were helpful when I wasn't able to take a shower within 48 hours of exposure. And yes ivy and oak are two totally different plants. The look similar and have similar potency and the both make you itch. People who say they are immuned to it are not. They are actually spreading the oil to others by carelessly being macho around the plants. I've seen it, "look I am rubbing it all over my arms, it doesn't affect me" meanwhile that person is contaminating everything he/she touches with the oil.
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lonequail
Jan 28, 2008, 6:49 PM
Post #60 of 61
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Registered: Jun 8, 2004
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Ice it.
A good icing will give you several hours of near absolute relief. A good way is to freeze a Dixi cup of water then peel off the paper as the ice is used.
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bigo
Jan 29, 2008, 8:31 PM
Post #61 of 61
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Registered: Mar 11, 2002
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I have had good luck in preventing a break out by washing with cheap liquid dish soap if I think I have been exposed. Dish soap really pulls the oil out/off of your skin similiar to technu. The key is to have it handy so you can react to exposure immediately. The advantage of dish soap over technu is it is cheap, so you can really lather it on and use it profilactically.
The few times I got a severe dose of the oak, I got a prednisone (sp) prescription from the doctor which worked really well.
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