Poison Oak

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Wash area thoroughly.
Take an oral antihistamine.
Not sure if this one is really recommended but I also wipe down the area with rubbing alcohol (before applying the itch cream). I do this to try and dry the skin and remove more of the oils of the poison.
Apply hydrocortisone or calamine for any itch.
 
Wash area thoroughly.
Take an oral antihistamine.
Not sure if this one is really recommended but I also wipe down the area with rubbing alcohol (before applying the itch cream). I do this to try and dry the skin and remove more of the oils of the poison.
Apply hydrocortisone or calamine for any itch.
Yup.

Use a wash cloth and scrub thoroughly.

Ben
 
A paste made of oatmeal and baking soda, apply thick, wrap in gauze or clean cloth, leave overnight.
remove carefully the next day as it will be full of poison.
 
I had posted this earlier as part of a PM... Needs to be here...
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...Of course, this is the time of year to look for a tiny PI leaf just unfolding. Appalachian folk medicine - Take a tiny PI leaf early in the year and swallow it whole. Don't chew it, one quick motion, sallow it down.

It makes you immune to PI until the next year. I know several people who do this every year, people I respect. If they say it works for them, it does.

Also... swallowing 2 or 3 dried poke berries are said to have the same effect. My uncle who does controlled burns, out in PI often, uses poke berries. He has no problem with PI now...

I use poke tincture often already, haven't had PI in ages. But the swallowing a leaf? I couldn't bring myself to try it. As a kid I've had PI so bad my eyes swelled shut, just can't get past it.
 
I had posted this earlier as part of a PM... Needs to be here...
----------------------------------------

...Of course, this is the time of year to look for a tiny PI leaf just unfolding. Appalachian folk medicine - Take a tiny PI leaf early in the year and swallow it whole. Don't chew it, one quick motion, sallow it down.

It makes you immune to PI until the next year. I know several people who do this every year, people I respect. If they say it works for them, it does.

Also... swallowing 2 or 3 dried poke berries are said to have the same effect. My uncle who does controlled burns, out in PI often, uses poke berries. He has no problem with PI now...

I use poke tincture often already, haven't had PI in ages. But the swallowing a leaf? I couldn't bring myself to try it. As a kid I've had PI so bad my eyes swelled shut, just can't get past it.
Hmmm....

Just breathint burned PI is supposed to be dangerous so it not recomended to burn it.

Swallowing????

PI doesn't bother me much but The Princess... she can get PI rash from washing my clothes.

Ben
 
I actually wash down with Clorox Foaming spray for the bathroom after gardening and if exposed to Poison Ivy (PI) or Poison Oak (PO). I just spray it on in the shower CAREFULLY to my arms, or hands or wherever I think I touched something, wait a minute or 2, then wipe it off in the spray with a washcloth.
We are on 50 wooded acres loaded with all kinds of plants trying to KILL me and ticks. The ticks do not like the spray either.

Is this drastic - yes. But after multiple weeks each year with weeping PI or PO which Wakes me up all night, I now praise GOD, do not get it.
DH will not do this and suffers every year with multiple breakouts.
 
I recommend staying out of the poison oak!!😁

I should say "NO $hit sherlock" :oops: Seems like that stuff is everywhere around here. Some vines if left alone will exceed 2" diameter. And it seems the saw dust is what gets me. Seems like I do that every year or 2. I was paying attention today and jumped right on it.

Thanks everyone for the input. I came in and scrubbed my arms good with Dawn liquid soap and took 2 Benedryl within 30 minutes. When I came in I could feel the itch starting. By the time I went back outside the itch had ceased. Tonight after a shower I rubbed down with the Plantain Tinqure and will do that again before bed time. I think I got to it in time, no itching at this point and other than a ton of jabs and scratches from blackberry vines the arms look ok.
 
I should say "NO $hit sherlock" :oops: Seems like that stuff is everywhere around here. Some vines if left alone will exceed 2" diameter. And it seems the saw dust is what gets me. Seems like I do that every year or 2. I was paying attention today and jumped right on it.

Thanks everyone for the input. I came in and scrubbed my arms good with Dawn liquid soap and took 2 Benedryl within 30 minutes. When I came in I could feel the itch starting. By the time I went back outside the itch had ceased. Tonight after a shower I rubbed down with the Plantain Tinqure and will do that again before bed time. I think I got to it in time, no itching at this point and other than a ton of jabs and scratches from blackberry vines the arms look ok.
Maybe you are not getting into it enough, you know, to build up immunity!!😁😉
 
Oh Great! The botanists have been at it again... Re-naming species. They change the names of several dozen plants a year, most annoying. Usually plant dna is a big factor so getting it right is a good thing... But those naming new species have a vested interest in doing so, $$$.

Anyway...

Once there was Poison Ivy. Poison Ivy is now 3 different species. One grows in Asia (Toxicodendron orientale). The other two grow over much of the US and Canada, Toxicodendron radicans and Toxicodendron rydbergii

So now when people ask me what PI looks like I have to ask "which one?"
 
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For future events…Tecnu solutions seemed to work well. I also used plantain and chickweed. Benadryl. I kept the skin areas that I felt had been exposed to the poison covered with bandages and…a tincture, forget what. It was a very mild reaction.
 
Are the dried poke berries dried on the vine or do you pick and dry them yourself?
Hubby use to drink the poison ivy. It was called Oral Ivy. Not even sure they make it anymore. But we found when we are out in it, we immediately was down with dawn dish liquid in a cool shower. Seems to work everytime
 
Dried is dried, doesn't matter if it happened on the bush or in your dehydrator. But, the berries tend to fall off the bush before they are dry. So I recommend drying them, lots of videos on Utub that deal with all the ways to prep Poke Sallet. Warning... the juice from the berries was once used as ink, they stain anything they touch. Ever see what an ink pen can do in a clothes dryer?
 
Since so many survival books mention it I thought I'd post about Jewel Weed. A warning... about 15-20% of the population are sensitive to Jewel weed. It'll cause, basically a chemical burn on skin, far worse than PI.

Before using any plant there's a simple check. Break/tear a leaf and rub it on your skin. It only takes a few minutes to know if a particular plant is right for you. Or a bad idea!

Me, I won't use jewel weed. Mainly, around here it's a pain it the butt to get to and grows where cottonmouths live.

Again, plantain works great and is far easier to find.
 
That time of year for those who wish to partake. I know 3 people who do the following and swear by it. This time of year, when PI puts on new leaves... they pick a tiny leaf and swallow it whole (do not chew). They are then immune to PI for the rest of the year.

(I had severe reactions to it as a kid, can't get past that. So I haven't tried it.)

To each his own I guess, the people I know who do this are solid people, not given to rash or dumb behaviors. I don't doubt their word... but it's not for me. I will warn, there are documented cases where this practice didn't turn out so well.

20230323_152501a.jpg
 
If you boys don't straighten up ya'll will not be allowed to play in the woods!!😁
Sorry, but this reminds me of a....

Funny Story:

My older brother used to beat us younger boys relentlessly:mad:....until we found his weakness:oops:.
He was horribly allergic to that stuff!
Since I was among the 'chosen-few' that was completely immune to the stuff, it was my job to harvest our 'weapons'.
Let me tell you, Luke Skywalker's light-saber couldn't hold a candle to the awesome power of ours!
If one of us even grazed the side of his face, his whole head swole up to the size of a basketball for days!:oops:
He didn't bother us much after that:D:LOL:.
 
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That time of year for those who wish to partake. I know 3 people who do the following and swear by it. This time of year, when PI puts on new leaves... they pick a tiny leaf and swallow it whole (do not chew). They are then immune to PI for the rest of the year.

(I had severe reactions to it as a kid, can't get past that. So I haven't tried it.)

To each his own I guess, the people I know who do this are solid people, not given to rash or dumb behaviors. I don't doubt their word... but it's not for me. I will warn, there are documented cases where this practice didn't turn out so well.

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I nominate Supervisor 42 to give it a try!!😉😁
 
I nominate Supervisor 42 to give it a try!!😉😁
Why? It already has no effect on me. I can smear it all over my skin and not even a single itch. :)
 

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