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# Poison ivy rash

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There are lots of references about poison ivy and poison oak on the web. Some even with pictures. But there is no reference that gives you all the information like: how to identify it, how to prevent it, how to treat a rash, how to kill it. This page attempts to be THE reference on dealing with poison ivy.

### Background

Poison ivy and oak (hereafter referred to as poison ivy collectively) contain a sticky compound all over the leaves and stems called "urishiol". It is an oil that causes severe dermatitis 4-48 hours after contact with the skin. There was some research done after WWI on using urishiol in a gas form on enemy troops. But the effects were so horrible on the lungs of people that it was banned from warfare. Archaeologists discovered some poison ivy in a 2000 year old tomb, and it still caused a rash on one of the scientists.

### Where is it found?

Poison ivy is found all over the midwest and eastern US, from Michigan down to Florida. Poison oak prefers warmer climates and is limited to the southern states and southwest. Poison oak and poison ivy ARE different, though some botanists might argue they are variations of the same species.

### Identify it

Poison ivy looks like ivy. Each tendril of ivy ends in 3 leaves which are almond shaped. Color ranges from light green (usually the younger leaves) to dark green (mature leaves). Leaves can be as long as 10 or 12 inches long, but are usually 4-6 inches long when they are mature. Each leave has a FEW teeth along its edge, and the leaf surface is SMOOTH. To compare, blackberry and raspberry leaves also come in threes, but they have MANY teeth along the leaf edge, and the top surface of their leaves are very wrinkled where the veins are. The stem and vine are smooth, brown and woody, while blackberry stems are green with thorns.

[Virginia creeper]? vine can look like poison ivy. The younger leaves can come in groups of 3 but have a few more serrations along the leaf edge, and the leaf surface is somewhat wrinkled. Virginia creeper and poison ivy very often grow together, even on the same tree.

Poison oak leaves also come in threes on the end of a stem, but each leaf is shaped somewhat like an oak leaf.

Poison ivy likes shady areas with only a little sun. They tend to climb the trunks of trees, and can spread rapidly along the ground.

If the poison ivy is growing up a tree look at the fine. It will be smooth with no ladder like roots clinging to the tree. A source I read said poison ivy does have these ladder like roots, but when I closely inspected poison ivy vs. Virginia creeper, the ivy did not have them, while the creeper did.

### Treatment: if you get a rash

Urishiol is an oil and is not washed off by plain water. People have had success in lessening the rash by wiping the area clean with alcohol, or mild soap, in order to break down the oil. If you are desperate, you could also try wiping the area with other solvents, like acetone (nail polish remover). Some article advise against this because it will deprive your skin of moisturizers to protect you from the oil. However, the oil is obviously having an effect on your skin, and you can always put lotion on the area later.

Rash from poison ivy develops 4-48 hours after it contacts the skin. The rash will look like red bumps, or raised red patches on the skin and it will itch terribly. Some people are more or less allergic to poison ivy thus reactions will vary from person to person. Severe cases will have small (1-2mm) white fluid-filled blisters on the skin.

There is no cure and treatments focus on the symptoms: itching. One treatment is steroids, as a shot or pills, to control the itching. Another treatment is calamide lotion over the affected area, apply as needed. Other topical treatments include: liquid Benedryl or any other anti-itch cream/oil. A bath with baking soda also helps some people. Soak in a warm (not hot) bath for 30 minutes. You don't want a hot bath to open your pores and let more urishiol under your skin.

The juice of the [jewelweed plant]? (a wild impatiens) does wonders and some people swear by it. Crush some jewelweed stems in a container, and use a cotton ball to soak up the juice. Spread it on the rash as soon as possible. Jewelweed grows in sunny wet areas, like ditches on the roadside. The 1/2 inch long flowers are shaped like a shoe. Some plants have orange flowers with dark spots. Some plants have plain yellow flowers.

### Prevention

Preventing exposure to poison ivy involves ways of preventing the oil from getting on the skin. - Wear long clothing, avoid any plants that look like poison ivy. - If you must wear short clothing, put thick lotion on areas that may be exposed to poison ivy, like the legs. A suntan oil may work even better. - If you handle tools that have touched it, wear gloves, then wipe the tools with alcohol immediately after using them, or throw them away.

### Killing it

Poison ivy is EXTREMELY hardy and very resistant to poisons. You must use a systemic killer to kill the whole plant, roots and all, or it will just grow back the next year. Roundup and other grass killers do not affect poison ivy, it just keeps growing happily. You must use a brush killer. I like Ortho Brush killer as it is less expensive than other brands.

Make a solution of 1 part concentrate to 1-2 parts water. (The directions call for about 1 table spoon per gallon of water, but this usually does not work with poison ivy.) Spray it on all the leaves of poison ivy you can find. It will take about 2 weeks before they start wilting, and 4-6 weeks before the plant is dead and brown.

You can also physically pull up all the vines and roots but you must wear gloves and pants and long sleeve shirt. DO NOT BURN poison ivy. The smoke is a strong irritant to the lungs and people that are more sensitive to poison ivy could die. Wrap it up in a good garbage bag and throw in the trash.

Another solution is mixing 1/4 cup salt in 1 quart of water and put in a spray bottle. Spray the leaves of the poison ivy with this solution. NOTE: this will possibly kill any surrounding plant life if it gets a significant amount of salt water on it.

Yet another solution which has worked is sprinkling Borax on the leaves. It will take about 3 weeks for the leaves to die back. I do not know if it kills the whole plant, but the area I sprinkled with Borax did not show any poison ivy this year.

chuckr30@netzero.net

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Last edited July 16, 2001 5:42 am (diff)
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