I second the Tech-Nu product and Benadryl to releve the itch. If going the perscription drug route, I highly recommend Predeisone (spelling may be wrong). It is a hard duty drug, a steroid, but is very effective. Rex >Be sure to check out a product called Tech-Nu. I learned about it years ago >from National Park Service folks, who told me it has cut employee lost time >due to poison ivy exposure by up to 90 percent. Tech-Nu comes as a lotion. >It breaks down erushiol chemically, on contact--even subcutaneously--and >it's effective when applied to exposed skin as long as 3-4 hours after >exposure. It's possible that I may be part of the 15 percent who are immune >to poison ivy, however, I use Tech-Nu when I know I've been exposed--and >that's pretty often!--and I haven't had a problem. I've not seen Tech-Nu >advertised, but I have seen it for sale at Wal-Mart, of all places. > >--Bill Witt > >-----Original Message----- >From: Iowa Discussion, Alerts and Announcements >[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Ericka >Sent: Tuesday, June 12, 2001 9:08 AM >To: [log in to unmask] >Subject: Poison Ivy, Oak & Sumac - Resources & Relief? >Importance: High > >I'm working on an article re: "Irritating Plants"- would love to receive >personal experiences and/or comments on the information below... >Thanks - >Ericka >---------- >http://www.healthy.net/asp/templates/article.asp?PageType=article&ID=1320 > >For weeping blisters: >* Mix 2 teaspoons of baking soda in 1 quarter (4 cups) of water. >* Dip squares of gauze in this mixture. >* Cover the blisters with the wet gauze for 10 minutes, four times a day. >(Do not apply this to the eyes.) > >* Make sure you wash all clothes and shoes with hot water and a strong >soap. Also, bathe pets who have come in contact with poison ivy, oak or >sumac. The sap can stay on pets for many days. >* Keep your hands away from your eyes, mouth and face. >* Do not scratch or rub the rash. >* Apply any of these to the skin rash: >* Calamine (not Caladryl) lotion >* Zinc oxide ointment >* Paste made with baking soda - mix 3 teaspoons of baking soda with 1 >teaspoon of water >* Take a bath with lukewarm water and an over-the-counter product called >Aveeno colloidal oatmeal >* Take an over-the-counter antihistamine such as Benadryl, as stated on >the label > >If self-care/first aid measures don't bring relief, call your doctor. >---------- >http://www.aad.org/pamphlets/PoisonIvy.html > >Poison Oak >In the West, this plant may grow as a vine but usually is a shrub. >(pictured). In the East, it grows as a shrub. Hair grows on its fruit, trunk >and leaves, which have three leaflets. > >Poison Ivy >In the East, Midwest and South, it grows as a vine. In the far Northern and >Western United States, Canada and around the Great Lakes, it grows as a >shrub. Each leaf has three leaflets. > >Poison Sumac >Grows in standing water in peat bogs in the Northeast and Midwest and in >swampy areas in parts of the Southeast. Each leaf has seven to 13 leaflets. > >Poison Plants: Ivy--Sumac--Oak > >Those nasty weeds - poison ivy, poison sumac and poison oak - are the single >most common cause of allergic reactions in the United States. Each year 10 >to 50 million Americans develop an allergic rash after contact with these >poisonous plants. > >Poison ivy, poison oak and poison sumac grow almost everywhere in the United >States, except Hawaii, Alaska and some desert areas of Nevada. Poison ivy >usually grows east of the Rocky Mountains and in Canada. Poison oak grows in >the Western United States, Canada and Mexico (western poison oak) and in the >southeastern states (eastern poison oaks). Poison sumac grows in the eastern >states and Southern Canada. > >For the sake of convenience, poison ivy in this pamphlet will refer not only >to ivy but to sumac and oak as well. > >Poison Ivy Rash > >Poison ivy rash is an allergic contact rash (dermatitis) caused by contact >with an oil called urushiol (you-ROO-shee-ol). Urushiol is found in the sap >of poison ivy, poison oak and poison sumac. It is a colorless or pale yellow >oil that oozes from any cut or crushed part of the plant, including the >roots, stems and leaves. After exposure to air, urushiol turns >brownish-black, making it easier to spot. Contact with urushiol can occur in >three ways: > >* Direct contact - touching the sap of the toxic plant. >* Indirect contact - touching something to which urushiol has spread. The >oil can stick to the fur of animals, to garden tools or sports equipment, or >to any objects that have come into contact with a crushed or broken plant. >* Airborne urushiol particles, such as from burning plants, may come in >contact with your skin. > >Once urushiol touches the skin, it begins to penetrate in minutes. In those >who are sensitive, a reaction appears as a line or streak of rash, usually >within 12 to 48 hours. Redness and swelling occur, often followed by >blisters and severe itching. In a few days, the blisters may become crusted >and begin to scale. The rash takes 10 days or longer to heal. > >The rash can affect almost any part of your body, especially where your skin >is thin, such as on your face. A rash develops less often on the soles of >your feet and palms of your hands, where the skin is thicker. The rash does >not spread, although it may seem to when it breaks out in new areas. This >may happen because urushiol absorbs more slowly into skin that is thicker, >such as on your forearms, legs and trunk. > >Who's Sensitive, Who's Not > >We are not born with a sensitivity to poison ivy. Sensitivity develops after >the first direct skin contact with the oil urushiol. An allergic reaction >seldom occurs on the first exposure. A second encounter can produce a >reaction, which may be severe. About 85 percent of all people will develop >an allergic reaction when adequately exposed to poison ivy. > >This sensitivity varies from person to person. People who reach adulthood >without becoming sensitive have only a 50 percent chance of developing an >allergy to poison ivy. However, do not assume that you are one of the few >people who are not sensitive. Only about 15 percent of people seem to be >resistant. > >Sensitivity to poison ivy tends to decline with age. Children who have >reacted to poison ivy will probably find that their sensitivity decreases by >half by young adulthood without repeated exposure. People who were once >allergic to poison ivy may even lose their sensitivity later in life. > >Some people are very sensitive to poison ivy. They can develop a severe rash >with blisters and extreme swelling on their face, arms, legs and genitals. >Such severe cases need medical treatment. > >Treatment--A Poison Ivy Primer > >A typical case of poison ivy > >If you think you've had a brush with poison ivy, poison oak or poison sumac, >follow these simple steps: > >* Wash all exposed areas with cold running water as soon as you can reach >a stream, lake or garden hose. If you can do this within five minutes, the >water may keep the urushiol from contacting your skin and spreading to other >parts of your body. Within the first 30 minutes, soap and water are helpful. > >* Wash your clothing with a garden hose outside or in a washing machine >with detergent. If you bring the clothes into your house, be careful that >you do not transfer the urushiol to rugs or furniture. You may also dry >clean contaminated clothes. Because urushiol can remain active for months, >wash camping, sporting, fishing or hunting gear that was in contact with the >oil. > >* Relieve the itching of mild rashes by taking cool showers and applying >over-the-counter preparations like calamine lotion or Burrow's solution. >Soaking in a lukewarm bath with an oatmeal or baking soda solution also may >ease itching and dry oozing blisters. Over-the-counter hydrocortisone creams >are not strong enough to have any effect on poison ivy rashes. > >In severe cases, prescription cortisone can halt the reaction if used early. >If you know you have been exposed and have developed severe reactions in the >past, consult your dermatologist. He or she may prescribe cortisone or other >medicines that can prevent blisters from forming. If you receive treatment >with a cortisone-like drug, you should take it longer than six days, or the >rash may return. > >Scratching poison ivy blisters will spread the rash. False. The fluid in the >blisters will not spread the rash. Before blisters form, the rash is spread >by urushiol on your hands, for instance, by scratching your nose or wiping >your forehead. Avoid excessive scratching of your blisters. Your fingernails >may carry bacteria that could cause an infection. > >Poison ivy rash is "catching." False. The rash is a reaction to urushiol. >The rash cannot pass from person to person; only urushiol can be spread by >contact. >---------- >http://www.yourhealth.com/ahl/2343.html > >AudioHealth Library Topic 2343 > >Poison Ivy/Oak/Sumac > >Poison ivy, poison oak, and poison sumac plants can cause a severe skin >reaction when their leaves come in contact with human skin. > >The result of contact with one of these plants is a red, bumpy skin rash, >usually on areas of the body where the skin is thinnest, like the arms, >shins and face. There may be swelling near the rash, which usually >progresses to itchy blisters that ooze, harden and then crack. The rash may >appear as early as a few hours or as late as 2 weeks after exposure. What >determines how soon a person reacts after exposure is how sensitive he or >she is to the plant and the number of previous times the person has been >exposed to it. > >The rash reaches its peak about 5 days after it begins. The blisters break >open, releasing a watery liquid. Healing usually takes 1 to 2 weeks. > >Most cases of poison ivy, oak or sumac can be cared for at home and don't >require a trip to a doctor. However, a small percentage of people are highly >allergic. If you break out in a rash within 4 hours of exposure and your >eyes swell shut and blisters form, seek medical attention immediately. > >To care for poison ivy, oak or sumac at home: > >* wash the area thoroughly with lots warm water. If the skin is washed >immediately after exposure to the poisonous plant, a rash may not develop, >* to relieve itching: apply cotton cloths soaked in cool water or >colloidal ointment like Aveeno bar to the area, or sponge the skin with >alcohol, >* try soaking in a slightly warm bath with Aveeno or baking soda added to >help with healing, >* apply calamine lotion or a paste of baking soda and water over the >rash, and >* take an antihistamine like Benadryl or Chlor-Trimeton. > >Pregnant women should consult their physician prior to taking any >over-the-counter medication. Other people, including those with medical >conditions are advised to read product labels carefully and consult a >pharmacist if they have questions about use. > >Clothing exposed to the poisonous plant should be washed. Shoes or clothing >that can't be washed should be kept isolated in a well ventilated area for 3 >weeks. > >If the rash becomes extremely severe and painful, making normal activity >difficult, or if any of the following symptoms appear, you should consult a >doctor: > >* the blisters continue to ooze longer than two weeks >* a fever develops, or >* lymph nodes in your neck, under your arms or in your groin area become >swollen and sore. > >Any one or more of these symptoms could signal an infection, which may >require antibiotic treatment. > >A doctor should also be consulted if the medication prescribed for the >poison oak, ivy or sumac causes any of these side effects: > >* insomnia, >* nervousness or irritability, >* stomach upset, or >* weight gain. > >In rare cases involving people who must come in contact with poison ivy, oak >or sumac on a regular basis-like firefighters or park rangers immunization >treatment is available. The procedure is difficult, since treatment is >needed over a long period of time and requires continual maintenance. Also, >immunization treatment can often have uncomfortable side effects. Therefore, >the best advice is to try to avoid getting the rash in the first place. Here >are some preventive tips: > >* learn what each of the three plants looks like and avoid any contact >with them. A poison ivy plant that grows in one area of the country may look >different from one grown elsewhere. Learn what each plant looks like in your >area, >* when in wooded areas, wear protective gloves, long sleeves and long >pants tucked into socks, >* don't turn pets loose in the woods, since they may rub against the >plants and pass the irritant along to other humans or animals, >* be careful not to touch dead branches from a poisonous plant since the >chemical irritant on them lasts up to several years, and >* do not burn these plants. You could inhale the oil from the plants >through the smoke and infect your lungs. > >### > >- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - >For SC email list T-and-C, send: GET TERMS-AND-CONDITIONS.CURRENT >to [log in to unmask] > >- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - >For SC email list T-and-C, send: GET TERMS-AND-CONDITIONS.CURRENT >to [log in to unmask] -- ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Rex L. Bavousett Photographer The University of Iowa University Communications & Outreach - Publications 100 OPL, Iowa City, IA 52242 http://www.uiowa.edu/~urpubs/ mailto:[log in to unmask] voice: 319 384-0053 fax: 319 384-0055 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Mitakuye Oyasin - We are all One People ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - For SC email list T-and-C, send: GET TERMS-AND-CONDITIONS.CURRENT to [log in to unmask]