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bigjonnyc
Jun 17, 2010, 3:39 PM
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j_ung wrote: 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.
A true scientist, sacrificing his own well being for the sake of a scientific investigation. My hat's off to you Jay.
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Toast_in_the_Machine
Jun 17, 2010, 3:43 PM
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cfnubbler wrote: 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.
There was another link I didn't include that had a further detailed discussion on the risks of this approach. I didn't include it because I didn't think anyone would take the suggestion seriously.
Mostly I wanted to bring up Euell Gibbons..
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ptlong
Jun 17, 2010, 3:46 PM
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bigjonnyc wrote: j_ung wrote: 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. A true scientist, sacrificing his own well being for the sake of a scientific investigation. My hat's off to you Jay.
Science?
No, still anecdotal.
It could be a joke.
Even if it's not a joke the initial application and/or subsequent evaluation of the results may be unintentionally biased.
N=1.
Still interesting, though, if it's for real.
Post up pics!
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cfnubbler
Jun 17, 2010, 3:49 PM
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Toast_in_the_Machine wrote: cfnubbler wrote: 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. There was another link I didn't include that had a further detailed discussion on the risks of this approach. I didn't include it because I didn't think anyone would take the suggestion seriously. Mostly I wanted to bring up Euell Gibbons..
Lol, my comment wasn't directed at you, or meant to suggest I thought you were actually suggesting Mr. Gibbon's approach! It was prompted more by the involuntary shudder I experienced when reading that nonsense!
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j_ung
Jun 17, 2010, 4:06 PM
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Oooookay... gonna say no to that one. I've also heard of people eating it, but I don't think I'm interested. Plus, all the eating advice I've heard says you need early spring shoots. Maybe next year. 
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gmggg
Jun 17, 2010, 4:44 PM
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Be careful, you can always develop allergies.
I had extensive exposure to Poison Oak for most of my early years and never had any serious reactions, for the most part I was careful about contact but I wouldn't worry too much if I happened upon some.
Then one time in Sunny San Diego my leg brushed up against some poison oak and thought little of it.
Later that day I thought the blistering was pretty odd since I had never had a severe reaction before.
Then the next day I had similar blistering on my forehead. Then the next day I had more severe blistering on my face and leg.
Then I went to go to the bathroom and discovered that poison oak allergies can cause genital swelling. Not lymph node selling, or swelling of the surrounding area, but of the actual genital tissue.
This was really really funny for the first day. I had a massive hog living in my pants for about a month, a steady dose of prednisone coursing through my veins, constant dried and chapped facial skin. Walking around hurt, going to the bathroom was almost impossible (luckily I didn't need any surgical assistance), and I learned that there is actually a limit to how much penile skin can stretch and that when you pass that limit the skin starts to tear.
I've believed ever since that I developed the allergy from relative carelessness and frequent exposure over many years.
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wonderwoman
Jun 17, 2010, 5:03 PM
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That just sounds plain horrible! You can develop allergies from over exposure to chemicals, so it's not too far of a stretch to think the same would be true with plants.
I just followed through with my salt water remedy by walking down my street and sticking my arm in the ocean. Scared & scattered all the little hermit crabs, but hoping it dries it up.
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gmggg
Jun 17, 2010, 5:19 PM
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But it still was really really funny in the end.
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ptlong
Jun 30, 2010, 2:54 AM
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j_ung wrote: 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.
j_ung wrote: Oh, after I break out, I'll try that jewel-weed "tea" method for the cure.
And... ?
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j_ung
Jun 30, 2010, 10:35 PM
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ptlong wrote: j_ung wrote: 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. j_ung wrote: Oh, after I break out, I'll try that jewel-weed "tea" method for the cure. And... ?
Thanks for reminding me! Okay, I did not try the jewel-weed tea thing, but I have other stuff to report.
First off, it looks as though the jewel weed was effective, though not 100% so. I gooshed that PI leaf in pretty good to make damned sure I was getting it, and get it I did... on both arms. However, I have some observations:
1. The rash on the jewel-weed side was noticeably less intense than the non-jewel-weed side. At a guesstimate, I'll say it was half as intense. It's entirely possible that, had I simply brushed against it, the jewel weed would have wiped it off completely. I guess I'll have to try that next.
2. There was very little difference in time between both arms from when I rubbed the PI on and when I first noticed the rash. In fact, I itched on the jewel-weed arm first, about two hours before the non-jewel-weed arm. This means that jewel weed does not in any way delay the reaction.
3. The jewel-weed arm's rash appeared to be more spread out than on the non-jewel-weed side. This may mean that, even though it appears to be at least partially effective, rubbing jewel weed in might also spread the oil over a larger area.
It's clear that more testing is required, this time with a light brush of PI to better simulate the way we most often come into contact with it. Stay tuned.
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ptlong
Jun 30, 2010, 10:53 PM
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So you scrubbed the area that contacted poison ivy immediately with jewelweed and, in your estimation, it is about half as bad as the area you did nothing to.
Suppose you'd washed the other area with Tecnu? Or even soap and water? Or just water?
There's no way to tell if the jewelweed is any more effective than the simplest of treatments, only that it is possibly a little better than doing absolutely nothing.
In other words, in addition to all of the other flaws in your experiment, it also lacked an appropriate control.
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j_ung
Jun 30, 2010, 11:03 PM
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 You're welcome for rubbing poison ivy all over my body. 
Yours is certainly one way of looking at it. Another is that I just wanted to test if it was effective at all, which it was. Maybe the next round, I'll test it against soap and water and Technu, too. Good lord, I'm going to be covered in PI by the end of all this! It'll have to wait till tomorrow, though, so the PI has time to set in and I can scour it all off before bed.
(This post was edited by j_ung on Jun 30, 2010, 11:05 PM)
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ptlong
Jun 30, 2010, 11:31 PM
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"effective at all"
This might equally be true of a little water, or a swipe with a towel. Who knows?
"this time with a light brush of PI to better simulate the way we most often come into contact with it"
If you're going to start trying to minimize the amount of PI you apply you're only going to worsen one of the problems of your test. You'll never know how much of an innoculant each area received. Unintentional bias and/or placebo effect is also a possibility since you are self-applying and already have a belief that it works.
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j_ung
Jun 30, 2010, 11:46 PM
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ptlong wrote: "effective at all" This might equally be true of a little water, or a swipe with a towel. Who knows? "this time with a light brush of PI to better simulate the way we most often come into contact with it" If you're going to start trying to minimize the amount of PI you apply you're only going to worsen one of the problems of your test. You'll never know how much of an innoculant each area received. Unintentional bias and/or placebo effect is also a possibility since you are self-applying and already have a belief that it works.
Point taken. I hereby turn over my PI testing to you. Have at it.
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billcoe_
Jul 1, 2010, 4:01 AM
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Jung, you might try the boiling Jewelweed and applying the ice cube thing they describe in the article. It could be possible that the Poison Ivy is down into the pores and that the Jewelweed hit the peaks of the dermatitis but not the valleys?
Meantime, I had forgotten, but for years I did the Euell Gibbons eat the poison oak in the spring time. It did seem to give me an immunity for a couple of months for many years, but at some point it seemed to not work and I ceased doing it. The trick was to take a new leaf, smaller in size, roll it in a ball between your index finger and thumb and swallow it by drinking lots of water. Then cleaning your finger and thumb profusely.
My current technique is to carry standard Technu in my car, and if I even see Poison Oak during the day, find a puddle or use the gallon of water I'm carrying to wash the oak off. Then if I do get a breakout, using the Zanfel or Walgreens store brand equivalent to do in the and reduce th infection. It's been working great.
Be careful that the Technu isn't exposed to anything over 90 degrees as they say it ruins it, so keep the car parking in the shade and the windows cracked or make some arrangement if you are in the warmer climates. Maybe put it in a cooler.
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kobaz
Jul 1, 2010, 12:44 PM
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What about disinfecting poison ivy from crash pads?
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gmggg
Jul 1, 2010, 1:54 PM
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kobaz wrote: What about disinfecting poison ivy from crash pads?
Retire that crash pad from conjugal duty now, boy! That's an order!
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booboy
Jul 1, 2010, 4:58 PM
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PUSSY
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kobaz
Jul 1, 2010, 5:18 PM
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j_ung wrote: kobaz wrote: What about disinfecting poison ivy from crash pads? That's an easy one. Remove the cover, wash it in hot water with a color-safe bleach, air dry.
Oh yeah... the cover. Here I was thinking I had to wash the whole thing.
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catwithno
Jul 2, 2010, 2:12 AM
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Pee on it.
You think I'm kidding.
South Americans might be crazy but they have more home remedies than you can shake a stick at.
Portland Cement also works REALLY well on PI or Poison Oak rashes. Spritz the area with water and apply cement dust.
Drys the area out so viciously it'll be gone by morning
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reno
Jul 2, 2010, 3:11 AM
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j_ung wrote: kobaz wrote: What about disinfecting poison ivy from crash pads? That's an easy one. Remove the cover, wash it in hot water with a color-safe bleach, air dry.
Am I losing my memory, or does including a cup or two of vinegar in the wash cycle help as well?
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milesenoell
Jul 2, 2010, 6:28 AM
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Wow, Jay you have really laid it on the line for this one.
Out here in Oregon we have poison oak rather than poison ivy, but it's basically just a regional variation (we actually have several forms of it as well). Urishiol is the active agent in both plants, but it's the allergic reaction that about 45% of us get, rather than the poison itself, that makes it so bad.
In my experience, scrubbing the hell out of yourself with some regular soap (first with one washcloth, and then with another, to avoid spreading anything) in cold running water anytime you think you may have touched some is at least as effective as anything else. I use Tecnu too (great stuff), but mostly on areas that have started to react and that you no longer can scrub the hell out of with out tearing up the skin.
The main thing I have found that helps is prevention. If you think you may have touched any poison oak avoid touching your shoes, change and shower as soon as possible.
PS--Regular wash cycles DO NOT reliably decontaminate clothes, and can spread the toxic oils.
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pacman529
Jul 2, 2010, 6:31 AM
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i've always been a fan of calamine lotion when i get poison ivy. as a ppoint of interest, it works for bug bites pretty well too.
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adatesman
Jul 2, 2010, 1:16 PM
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