I am allergic to Poison Oak. The way I got it was this: I
was in the front seat of a pickup truck with a German
Shepherd mix dog. We got out in the woods. I was careful and
didn't touch any vines or shrubs. But we all got back into
the truck and the dog had the stuff on it and I petted and
dealt with the dog in my lap. I had it all over me before I
knew it.
I had to go get shots for it. And a OTC topical product
called DomeBoro or Domesboro worked great to neutralizing it
and drying it up.
Dan
[mailto:Organic_Gardening@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of
plantlady Angie
Sent: Monday, June 19, 2006 4:41 PM
To: ME2
Subject: [Organic_Gardening] Angie's Plant Profile #27 - The
3 Ps (Poison Ivy, Poison Oak, Poison Sumac)
POISON IVY (information also applies to Poison Oak and
Poison Sumac)
Photos available at: (cut and paste)
http://ca.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/plantladywithcfids/album?.d
ir=/ca9are2&.src=ph&.tok=phDH_CFBnmb9ajsx
Gardening the other day sent me to the shower ... twice.
First, to remove soil smudges and sweat from planting
annuals in 90-degree heat. The second time, 20 minutes
later, following several surprise encounters with vigorous
poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans, formerly Rhus) emerging
from unnoticed nooks and crannies. Thought I'd spotted every
visible PI plant but missed the cluster BEHIND the huge pot
containing a shrub. I lifted and carried that pot. So
chances were good that PI leaves touched the pot surface and
left oily sap that rubbed onto my shirt and legs.
Mumbling, I cursed urushiol, the allergenic oil that turns
smooth skin into maddeningly itchy red rashes. Poison ivy is
the plant that keeps on giving -- via specs of resin on bed
sheets, shoes, gloves -- long after the first rash is gone.
One of Batman's most interesting foes was Poison Ivy,
alias Pamela Isley, not least of all because of her colorful
outfit. She wore green garb studded with poison ivy leaves
in her 1966 debut, and I remember thumbing through the pages
of that comic book again and again, intrigued by the
portrayal of the toxic temptress.
