Poison Oak

Some people are lucky enough not to get the crap, I unfortunately am not one of those people

I thought I'd heard every single remedy know to man but now I've heard of a couple more...

One I heard just last night was to scratch it with a fine wire brush and then apply acetone to it. Sposed to kill it dead! :eek1 (sorry Peterman, my ballz are not THAT big)

Here's another remedy I was told just today from a friend:
(He lives out in the sticks and has it growing on his property I'm sure)

OK, as a former Poison oak hater I know this for a fact! It's called CERTO, liquid pectin, take a spoon full one a day for five days, then a booster spoon full every couple of months!!!!! That's it! no more poison oak!

You may have been joking...but avoid acetone, vapor or liquid...really bad stuff..toxic and a cause of cancer..

Years ago, in a land far-far away..my employer used to issue ImmuOak [sp?] to employees..as I remember three little vials taken one at a time over several days for a seasonal immunity to the PO...

You will have to ask Peterman about that


I used to get shots when I was a teenager, like a series over a few weeks. Only shot I ever had that hurt, and it hurt like hell! Nurse always said it would be better in my butt cheek but I always opted for the arm (thought I was tough)

I've used these before,


I thought they seemed to help but it could just be in my head

I'm currently using this stuff



I was itching like crazy this morning, so I took a long hot shower and lathered myself up three times

So far so good...

Yeah, avoid the acetone unless you want to mutate your DNA.

Prevention: use Ivy Block. This lotion is effective at preventing a skin reaction. Wear long sleeves and pants, gloves and boots.

Treatment: if you have any, the best thing is to wash the exposed area with rubbing alcohol immediately after exposure (within ten minutes). There are commercial poison ivy wipes available if you don't carry the rubbing alcohol.

Wash thoroughly with copious amounts of water; NO SOAP! Soap can spread the urushiol, the chemical in poison oak, ivy and sumac that causes the reaction.

Next, wash thoroughly with soap and water (preferably in a shower). The poison ivy soaps as mentioned above are a good choice here.

Put on rubber gloves and wipe down all your clothing, shoes, etc. with rubbing alcohol and water.

Benadryl taken orally as well as a cream applied to the affected area may provide relief, as well as hydrocortisone cream applied to the rash. The rash is actually an allergic reaction, so the Benadryl (diphenhydramine) taken both orally and topically can really help. In a bad reaction (I've had these), your doctor can order oral steroids.

You CANNOT spread poison ivy/oak/sumac once the rash appears. The fluid in the blisters will not carry the rash elsewhere, as the urushiol has already been absorbed into your skin by the time the rash appears.

I don't have a reaction to east-coast poison oak (Toxicodendron pubescens) or posion ivy... but I still have the scars from last year's Toxicodendron diversilobum exposure. I don't know how you people live out here. :eek1

I know it is the same chemical, but I am assuming there is something different about it's concentration or where in the plant it is concentrated.

I was hiking a popular trail in the gorge. Came upon some Japanese tourists. One of them was holding a gorgeous bouquet of POISON OAK! Gawd! The red leaves were so pretty and perfect.

I tried to communicate with them about it, but they were true Japanese and spoke no english at all. Didn't even understand the word 'no!'

The cute little Japanese woman walked off down the trail with a fistfull of the stuff.

I wondered later which PDX hospital she wound up in.

I think I heard that story before. Possibly around a campfire

Definitely something about the stuff out here that is kick ass - makes poison ivy/oak from the midwest seem light a light case of the sniffles.

Sabre is correct on all counts (thanks, Sabre!) but my home remedy is to run water as hot as I can stand it over the area and then scrub it with Comet cleanser, rinse, and sprinkle on Comet cleanser and let it dry. Seems to sop up the oils

Prevention...


When I ride my dirtbike, I wear long sleeve shirts (2 layers) long underwear bottoms, 3 pairs of socks, knee guards, pants, boots, gloves, chest protector, neck brace and helmet

when I get back to the truck, I usually clean up neck face and hands with Technu

3 days later first place I break-out is my shins, ankles or back of my knees, every stinkin time

If you can find it up North, you should really try that Marie's soap

I'm still itch free and have not used any hydracortisone all day

I've been walking around Fred Meyer in my riding jacket, I swear it was cooler outside than it was inside

Eat it

May never know if Certo works or not

I bought some, but to be honest it looks like something you'd see a porn star slurp from a martini glass




:eek1

Jewel weed works great!
Crack the stem and rub it on or boil down the plant and make your own soap.

Marie's soap has it almost all cleared up!

I'm hypersensitive to the stuff and usually have to go with a full dose of prednisone

Doesn't the Technu work on you? I was at a horse show this weekend in Philomath and one of our riders had it all over her stomach. She was freaking out. Some technu and it was completely gone by the morning. I was amazed.

I have been waist deep in it and not gotten it. But I will get a few bumps on my hands from time to time

Sorry Wibby, that sucks.

Technu, if I use it in time might prevent it, trouble is sometimes when I'm riding dirt, I'm away from the truck for 10hrs or so.

I've never had luck using it to get rid of a rash I already have

My brother in law swears that oxygen, like from a welding kit, dries up the rash almost instantly. I watched him do it to my niece and was amazed. He turned just the oxygen on and blew it on the rash for a bit and it turned white and a few minutes later she wasn't iching and the rash was totaly gone the next day.

I used to get it alot. I would take a knife and scrape it real good then pour rubbing alcohol on it. Burned like wild but the itch relief was worth it. Later I discovered applying a paste of Alum would dry it up quickly. you can get Alum in the spice section at the grocery store.

Blow dryer medium heat on the rash tends to help with the itching. Seen it done.

Doesn't affect me. Have ridden through it 7' high on Boomer Hill horseback and never got it.