Big Boys Hobbies

Got my first poison ivy!

Diabolik

Diabolik

Elite Member
Joined
Apr 26, 2020
Messages
638
Location
Pittsburgh, PA
So it took 49 years but I finally managed to get some. Just a few spots on my left hand. Not really bothering me if I don’t t mess with it. I really need to start wearing gloves every time I go out. Anyone one else tangle with poison ivy or oak in their travels?
 
I got it so bad all over me from taking off my pants. I had it all over my left leg, back, arms, shoulders. Lost a few nights sleep over it I had it so bad. Glad I had a tube of cortisone cream.
 
Fortunately I'm not allergic to it. However my wife is very allergic and often gets it from me. More than once I've had to strip on the back porch and bag my cloths.

I always wear Kevlar gloves when digging. Don't like slicing the fingers on broken glass or rusty metal.

Cheers,
Ken
 
Totally surprised I’ve never gotten it before. I’m pretty foolhardy when it comes to trudging though and kneeling in brush. I’m a bit more careful about sticking my hands into stuff. Most of my injuries come from the brush. Came home with two thorns in my hand the
last time I was in the woods.
 
Your sensitivity to poison ivy can change during your life. You may just be more allergic or received a higher exposure.
 
KenG said:
Fortunately I'm not allergic to it. However my wife is very allergic and often gets it from me. More than once I've had to strip on the back porch and bag my cloths.

I always wear Kevlar gloves when digging. Don't like slicing the fingers on broken glass or rusty metal.

Cheers,
Ken
Click to expand...

They say you can’t pass it to another person. Can’t tell my wife that !
What happens to me is, I work outside, use any old bathroom (tree) , no washing facilities, next thing I got it in the worst of spots. Can’t even scratch there in public !
 
Diabolik said:
So it took 49 years but I finally managed to get some. Just a few spots on my left hand. Not really bothering me if I don’t t mess with it. I really need to start wearing gloves every time I go out. Anyone one else tangle with poison ivy or oak in their travels?
Click to expand...
I am highly allergic to it, I got it in MA with snow on the ground! Early February and I had to go to the Dr. to get a Cortisone shot. Doc could not believe I caught in Feb!

Sent from my S48c using Tapatalk
 
It's the oil that causes the irritation and yes you can spread it to others. My son was very allergic to it. We used to use lye soap when I was young. Now the best way to wash the oil off is a product called Tecnu.
 
I got small spots on 3 fingers on my left hand. Guess I am lucky it is very contained.

Yes, you can spread the oil around but once that is washed away you are good. I read that people think it spreads because it can continue to “spread” on your body or at least appear to because it doesn’t all surface at the same time. That’s what happened to my hand. It took 4 days or so to show up after I had been out.

Been using rubbing alcohol on it. Seems to be keeping it at bay and hopefully drying it out.
 
Wom 27 said:
They say you can’t pass it to another person. Can’t tell my wife that !
What happens to me is, I work outside, use any old bathroom (tree) , no washing facilities, next thing I got it in the worst of spots. Can’t even scratch there in public !
Click to expand...

You can move the oil that causes the reaction. If it's on a glove you can transfer it to multiple, multiple places.... Your wife can get it from touching your clothes, shoes, tools. You can pet your dog and get it from the fur. Once the oil is washed from the skin, even if you have a rash, touching the inflamed area will not spread the contamination. I am very sensitive to the oil, and get it every year from my dog who I don't seem to be able to keep out of the stuff, as hard as I try. We have what seems like an endless supply of it here.
 
Ugh - sorry to hear that, man.

Happened to me. Poison ivy never affected me when I was young, then suddenly a few years ago I got a poison ivy rash after detecting in the woods. It's happened a few times since, and each time has been a little worse. Now I try to be extremely vigilant about the stuff when I'm outdoors, soap and rinse up promptly after getting home, and avoid hunting the woods during most of the Spring and Summer.

For me Tecnu lotion (found at the pharmacy) helps reduce the itch somewhat, but it still takes a solid week or more for the rash to clear up. Hope you heal up soon - good luck.
 
iI was hunting Groundhogs with a 32 caliber black powder rifle. We knew where one lived but he would catch us every time we tried to get in range. I got smart and figured out a way to crawl to where i could see and wait for him. I laid there watching him for close to an hour before he gave me a shot.

Next morning i was a blister from my chin to my belt. So bad that i went to the Doctor. He prescribed an item called Lidex. Put it on that evening and next morning the blisters were vastly improved. Three days and you could not tell that i have had ever had a problem.
 
I worked telecom cable in the boondocks so I was in the ditches a lot, I could practically roll in the stuff and not get the rash; my wife might though after doing the laundry.

I thought I had a bad case a few years back, but turns out t’was the shingles...which left scars on my chest. Shingles really mimicked poison ivy.
 
I've tangled with it on too many occasions. I found mineral spirits actually does wonders for taking out the itch, switch between that and some apple cider vinegar. The vinegar with sting for a minute or 2 but gives relief for hours after.
 
Used to end up in the doctors office when I was a kid. Haven't gotten it for over 30 years now. Since then I've walked through forests of it with no ill effects. I've heard you can build up an immunity to it and vise versa.
 
Root system

Roots from PI plants can spread 10 to 12 feet from a plant. To make things worse they are seldom below 6 to 10 inches deep. If you pop a root there will be spatter on you. Be careful out there.
 
Mikey48 said:
........, and get it every year from my dog who I don't seem to be able to keep out of the stuff, as hard as I try. We have what seems like an endless supply of it here.
Click to expand...
I had the same situation with my son. Living in the country surrounded by woods, the boys and dog got into it all the time. Ended up gridding the area once or twice a year with a sprayer full of very concentrated roundup spot treating the ivy. Yeah, it was a pita but every year there was less and less of it and he seldom got it after I started doing it.
 
It doesn't bother me. In the Army they quit putting me on point because i would lead the whole platoon through it. I never paid any attention to it.
 
The worst bout I ever had was retrieving a muskrat trap in the late spring. It was a stream at the bottom of a steep hill and when it got frozen in, I was able to snap the trap and leave it but couldn't retrieve it at the time because the chain was frozen in the ice.

I was 16 and didn't know any better so I slid down the hill that spring to collect it and proceeded to claw my way back up the hill through the new greenery on my hands and knees. Stopped at the top to take a leak. Enough said...

Edit: (spelling)
 
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