Sue Jennings on fri 12 nov 04

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Hi Laura, Dr. Weil says to take a very hot shower as soon as contact and if the itching comes back another hot shower.

On the other hand, my herbal references recommend Soapwort ( Saponaria officinalis ) - this is used to wash off the offending urushiol when you first make contact. You use this instead of soap ( better than ) when you wash with the hot water.

*** Another thing to do right away is to rub jewelweed (impatiens capensis) on it. I know it grows back East and is a succulent, orange-flowered annual that grows in moist meadows. You would crush the leaves and also the little red protuberances in your hand and rub it on the contact area and you don't get poison ivy, oak, sumac. This is supposed to be the best way to avoid getting a reaction.

But, you are way past that stage, so here are two herbs to use. One important one is aloe vera. Cut open the leaf and wipe the gel on the affected area. It is great for burns and other skin problems too.
Plantain (Plantago, various species ), you may think this is just a weed, but I treat it as a very special healer. Mash up the leaves to make a poultice to help control the itching. This is also great for stinging nettle. I just chew up alittle leaf and put right on the sting and it works like that - that is why they grow together. Isn't mother nature wonderful!

Then when your sores are drying up ( if it goes that far ) Vit. E will help keep you from scarring. Hey if anyone has jewelweed I sure would appreciate some so I can make an herbal tincture. Maybe next spring or summer as it is an annual. Thanks.
Hope this helps, Sue
Plant Spirit Herbals in No. Calif.

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Sue Jennings on fri 12 nov 04

--0-2121145335-1100287627=:33957

Dr. Weil says the absolute best treatment I know for poison ivy is to get in the shower and run hot water-- as hot as you can stand -- over the affected area for 5 to 10 minutes. This seems counterintuitive, because it will increase the itching. But after a few minutes, the nervous circuits seem to get overloaded and the itching stops for a long time. If you conscientiously repeat the hot water treatment whenever the itching returns, the whole reaction completes its cycle rapidly, and your skin will return to normal.

My herb references also say hot water. Cheers, Sue

Susan Setzler wrote:most people say to wash in cold water as soon as you can after
touching. Hot water just dissolves the oils and spreads them around on
your skin.

susan

> Dr. Weil says to take a very hot shower as soon as contact and if the
> itching comes back another hot shower.

--0-2121145335-1100287627=:33957

Patricia Ruggiero on fri 12 nov 04

> GSE used
> full strength( away from delicate skin areas around the groin
> and face) doesn't bother me either, but according to
> directions is a waste, as the stuff is so strong.

I've used the recommended dilution for topical problems on me and one of my
cats. Next time I get the PI rash, I'll try the GSE.

Pat

Mary Ann Mikulski on fri 12 nov 04

My family used to pick the leaves and some stems of the shrub "sweetfern",
Comptonia peregrina (L.) Coulter, and make a strong tea. Then apply the tea, as
hot as you can stand it to the poison ivy rash. It dried it up overnight.

http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/herbhunters/sweetfern.html

Mary Ann

Susan Setzler on fri 12 nov 04

most people say to wash in cold water as soon as you can after
touching. Hot water just dissolves the oils and spreads them around on=20=

your skin.

susan

> =A0Dr. Weil says to take a very hot shower as soon as contact and if =
the

Patricia Ruggiero on fri 12 nov 04

The cold water wash seems to apply to the initial washing to try to =
remove
as much of the oil as possible. The hot water wash, as I've read in
numerous articles, is for *after* the rash appears and is driving you =
crazy.
I forget the exact mechanism, but it has to do with the heat drawing the
histamine to the skin's surface. The sensation is intense as this =
happens,
but then the body calms down for several hours. Or so Howard tells me; =
I've
not done it myself.

Pat

Susan wrote:

william evans on fri 12 nov 04

http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:4VauzpAh_Y0J:www.ibiblio.org/herbmed/faqs
/medi-2-7-poison-ivy.html+urushiol+ammonia&hl=en

That's very interesting... i googled and came up w/ this explanaton:
"
The active ingredient in poison ivy and other plants in the same family is
3-n-Pentadecylcatechol, common name urushiol, which is a chemical in the
phenol family.

Dermatitis (skin inflammation and blistering) is spread by the act of
scratching which redistributes the urushiol over the body. While the normal
treatment for poison ivy does not include the suggestion below, a reasonable
approach would be to convert the urushiol into a water soluble material.
Phenols are acids so washing with a weak base like diluted house hold
ammonia or a paste of baking soda should do the trick."

Thanks for the tip, Robert.
bille
san diego

Behalf Of Robert Ottiano
Sent: Friday, November 12, 2004 12:55 PM
To: OGL@LSV.UKY.EDU
Subject: Re: poison oak/ IVY

Hello,

I'm constantly in woodlands and fields working and inadvertently pull a lot
of poison ivy. Whenever I suspect I've been in contact with it, I have a
solution of I part of ammonia to 9 parts water in a spray bottle ready and
apply to all expose areas. Arms and legs direct spray and wipe, and wet
cloth for face and neck. It's never failed!!!

Bob

Sue Jennings on fri 12 nov 04

--0-777968746-1100300499=:64485

Laura, from that same FAQ this is important to you now. I don't think you want to do #3 but here are all your choices. Hope you didn't go out there today. Bille, this was good. This is a web site/group I am associated with so I know that it is good info.
Thanks, Sue

How to get rid of poison ivy in your yard

Planting catnip should get rid of poison ivy.
Goats. They are very effective, but in the end will be a bigger bother than the poison ivy. (Be suspicious if someone offers you free goats!)
Poison ivy again: buy the super concentrated form of Round-Up and dilute to 3 times the recommended strength. (Well, hot damn! It killed off nearly every piece of PI in one application and only a few (about a dozen) plants returned a year later.)
Pull it, but protect yourself (big plastic bag, disposable suit...) Immediately wash all clothes you used two-three times. Do not touch the plastic bag / disposable suit from the outside. Do not touch your clothes / boots / whatever from the outside before washing.

******Once you get the oil on clothing, it can sit for months and still cause a rash upon contact with your skin. For example, lets say you get some poison ivy oil on your boots, then put the boots away for the winter. Next spring you get out the boots and go for a walk - but not in the woods. A few days later, voila - your hands are breaking out from putting on your boots and tying the laces. As long as you've washed the original oil off your skin, the exudate from the blisters should not re-infect your skin. It's just exudate, and does not contain urushiol.

*******One thing a lot of folks don't seem to understand, especially now that a lot of laundry detergents are available for cold water use, is that HOT water is a good element for elimination of the oily residue that causes the allergic reaction. I noted several anectdotal comments about reinnoculation that could have been prevented if the contaminated clothes were washed in hot water (not warm, not warm/cold, HOT!) and alone so as to avoid cross contamination to other clothing. I've had good result with this in our family as well as in the folks I have advised with the problem. Me? I'm one of those who so far has not manifested an allergy despite a lot fo time in the woods!

william evans wrote:
http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:4VauzpAh_Y0J:www.ibiblio.org/herbmed/faqs
/medi-2-7-poison-ivy.html+urushiol+ammonia&hl=en

--0-777968746-1100300499=:64485

1. Planting catnip should get rid of poison ivy.
   
2. Goats. They are very effective, but in the end will be a bigger bother than the poison ivy. (Be suspicious if someone offers you free goats!)
   
3. Poison ivy again: buy the super concentrated form of Round-Up and dilute to 3 times the recommended strength. (Well, hot damn! It killed off nearly every piece of PI in one application and only a few (about a dozen) plants returned a year later.)
   
4. Pull it, but protect yourself (big plastic bag, disposable suit...) Immediately wash all clothes you used two-three times. Do not touch the plastic bag / disposable suit from the outside. Do not touch your clothes / boots / whatever from the outside before washing.

******Once you get the oil on clothing, it can sit for months and still cause a rash upon contact with your skin. For example, lets say you get some poison ivy oil on your boots, then put the boots away for the winter. Next spring you get out the boots and go for a walk - but not in the woods. A few days later, voila - your hands are breaking out from putting on your boots and tying the laces. As long as you've washed the original oil off your skin, the exudate from the blisters should not re-infect your skin. It's just exudate, and does not contain urushiol.

*******One thing a lot of folks don't seem to understand, especially now that a lot of laundry detergents are available for cold water use, is that HOT water is a good element for elimination of the oily residue that causes the allergic reaction. I noted several anectdotal comments about reinnoculation that could have been prevented if the contaminated clothes were washed in hot water (not warm, not warm/cold, HOT!) and alone so as to avoid cross contamination to other clothing. I've had good result with this in our family as well as in the folks I have advised with the problem. Me? I'm one of those who so far has not manifested an allergy despite a lot fo time in the woods!

http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:4VauzpAh_Y0J:www.ibiblio.org/herbmed/faqs
/medi-2-7-poison-ivy.html+urushiol+ammonia&hl=en

Robert Ottiano on fri 12 nov 04

Hello,

I'm constantly in woodlands and fields working and inadvertently pull a lot
of poison ivy. Whenever I suspect I've been in contact with it, I have a
solution of I part of ammonia to 9 parts water in a spray bottle ready and
apply to all expose areas. Arms and legs direct spray and wipe, and wet
cloth for face and neck. It's never failed!!!

Bob

Laura McKenzie on fri 12 nov 04

Thank you so much to all the list. Hot water really helps and I think I'll
walk around with a paste of Baking soda tonight. After that I'll apply the
aloe or the plantain or trade back and forth : ) I can't try the rest
because we don't live near a store that carries it and I just made the 60
mile round trip drive today to stock up on groceries.

I also remembered while reading all these great suggestions that when my
best friend's son came down with poison ivy while visiting friends in
Cherokee NC, one friend made a tea of elderberry and had the boy drink it
and apply it to the rash with great results. I'm going to check and see if
it was leaves or berries (I have fresh leaves and dried berries) and try
that out too.

Thanks again and again!
Laura

kathryn marsh on sat 13 nov 04

Since we don't have poison ivy or poison oak in Ireland I should keep out
of this one but elderberry tea is good for skin inflammations and a paste
of fresh elderberry leaves works wonders on eczema - my very prone adult
son surprised his neighbours by planting a bush right outside his door in a
tiny garden in the middle of a major British city - elder is seen as weed
in the UK and Ireland, so I can see how it might work on poison ivy rash.
One experience in Oklahoma and it made me very, very careful after that!

kathryn