I spent the last few days out in the yard working, we bought the house this past winter and the guy we got it from didn't take good care of the yard, so I have been pulling the poison ivy down off of the trees hand over fist, there wass enough to kill 4 10 inch locust trees even with shirt, hat, pants, gloves and rubbing alcohol I still got a little on my arms and legs which as long as you can not scratch it wont get you so bad. Ah I love spring
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"when a person is prepared to die for a cause, and indeed to glory in such a death, it impossible to supress him or the cause it represents." Jawaharlal Nehru
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My brother is a wildlife biologist, avid hunter, the whole "Great American Outdoorsman" thing. He is allergic to poison ivy. He doesn't even have to touch it. He just walks near it and he's got it. Poor guy suffers a lot in the summer.
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Cheers! Todd
Normal is a relative term. For some reason it is not a term my relatives use to describe me.
i spent 6 years in the Army in the South and 4 years Surveying here in the North Carolina mountains. I got it every year several times a year. I would be in a field with it growing everywhere to above my waist. Here in my yard some of the vines are thicker than my wrist.
Realm: The rolling green hills of North Carolina's Piedmont region.
Yuck! Poison Ivy is terrible!! I had it all the time when I was little and would spend all my free time in the woods with my brothers. I even had it in my eye once. My one brother never seemed to get it though... lucky boy!
When I was young I got it in both my eyes, and on my hands really all over my body, my eyes would swell shut while I slept and after being awake about 10 hours they whould start to look almost normal but soon it would be time for sleep again. My hands I couldn't close they were so swollen and the skin was pulled so tight. My mom didn't have health insurance so I just had to suffer. This was the worst that I have ever had it but not much worse. In the past few years I have learned not to scratch. But it is still best to just cut your nails short just incase.
I am so allergic to posion ivy that you can just write the words on a piece of notebook paper and I'll break out. Down in Pensacola where I grew up, the poision ivy oil was in the dirt. Everytime I tried to help out in the garden I would break out with it and mom would have to take me to the Dr and get a shot immediately or I'd swell up to the point I couldn't see. So I only cut grass on a 5610 diesel tractor now. No gardening in flower beds either...isn't worth the pain.
I spent the last few days out in the yard working, we bought the house this past winter and the guy we got it from didn't take good care of the yard, so I have been pulling the poison ivy down off of the trees hand over fist, there wass enough to kill 4 10 inch locust trees even with shirt, hat, pants, gloves and rubbing alcohol I still got a little on my arms and legs which as long as you can not scratch it wont get you so bad. Ah I love spring
Birddog get some Ivy Rest cream, if they have it there, it works real well and I think its better than Calamine lotion. Its also clear and doesn't smell bad so you can wear it where ever you go. Poison ivy usually lasts 14 days, if you don't keep getting reinfected. I usually go to my Dr. and get a shot of cortisone and its gone in two days. good luck.
Kid
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Slainte Cho Sona ri radan ann am muileann and Gus an coinnich sinn a rithisd Clan Lamont
I usually don't put anything on it except a little rubbing alcohol. I don't even bother with calamine anymore unless it is really bad. I usually feel better after about 5 days or so, Alot of the old timers around here used to pick a small leaf in the spring and eat one every few days for about 2 weeks they say the body builds a tolerance to the ivy I say damn that. They aslo used to market an extract of poison ivy for consumption. I had one friend in highschool when he was young 5-8ish he got into it real bad his dad (a certifiable fool and not the good kind) told him to go out and eat a few leaves well he did and got it down his throat and ended up in the hospital
The oil from poison ivy is an acidic type oil, if one knows that he has been in contact with poison ivy the best thing to do is immediatly wash with soap and warm water, or even better would be wash with laundry detergent. Laundry detergent (the cheaper the better) is formulated with a high alkaline content that should help neutralize the poison ivy oil.
Long ago when I was working hard and often in poison ivy my remedy was to immediatly slap on some wet concrete as soon as the little blisters would appear. They immediatly stopped itching and start to dry up, of course depending on the amount of concrete one slaps on it would be advisable not to go swimming.
Leo
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Consistency. It's only a virtue if you're not a screwup.
Ita erat quando hic adveni.
Time is a great teacher, but unfortunatley it kills all its pupils. - Hector Berlioz
"No matter where you go, there you are." - R. Young
I used to work for the town I grew up in for the Parks Department and we used to get Poison Ivy all the time. The director of our department at the time told use there was a shot State employees could get that would prevent Poison Ivy for 1 year, unfortunately for what every reason we could not get it, so we stayed miserable all summer. Nothing worse that a 90 degree day chain sawing trees with PI all over it and you already have it over you entire body (((. Actually I would not have traded those days for anything.
Maybe the shot is available to everyone now ????
Our cure when we got it was to rub it with a credit card and pour bleach on it. I did not say it was smart but it killed it in a day.
Realm: The rolling green hills of North Carolina's Piedmont region.
I hear that it takes 48 hours for the rash to develop, and if you wash with a strong anti-grease soap, like Dawn dishwashing liquid, after you have been hiking or gardening in the woods then you will be ok. This has worked so far for me! Also, it must be mentioned that no one should ever ever burn Posion Ivy. The chemical irritant can get into the air and be inhalled. Posion Ivy in the lungs can be very dangerous, let alone uncomfortable!
Group: Celtic Nation
Posts: 265
Joined: 17-Jan-2004 Zodiac: Oak
Realm: Flushing Michigan USA
Fortunately, I have never had a problem with poison ivy and considering how many years I have literally crawled through the stuff it's a good thing. And with all the years I've spent outdoors I have become immune to mosquitos also. Another plus.....but bees and hornets are my fear.
I've been stung a total of three times and with each sting the results are much worse. After the last time I was stung the doctor told that I should be prepared for a trip to the hospital on the next one. I now carry an Epinephrine injector in my car and on my person while outdoors. I also tell whoever is with me what needs to be done if I'm stung.
It drives my brother crazy, we were camping one year and had a bear pass by our tent so close it's shoulder was pressed against the tent side right above our heads. After it left I rolled over and went right back to sleep. The next day we were near a bee hive and I freaked.
When we lived in North Georgia (pronounced jo ja), my 12 year old daughter hung out in the woods a lot. One day she needed to use the restroom, so she did it in the woods. Guess what the TP was......You can imagine how unhappy she was for some days after.
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"If you want to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the universe." Carl Sagan
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