A poster at BAHIKER.com wonders if the poison oak is worse this year, and if there’s a product that can prevent the wonderful itchfest that ensues when you brush up against it. It doesn’t bother me all that much so I don’t dwell on it, though I do avoid the shiny leaves-of-three on general principles. I’ve gotten itchy ankles a couple times and that was it.
Others have been less fortunate. Steve Sergeant is fond of telling the story about a poison oak reaction that put one of his Sierra Club backpacking companions in the hospital for several days. Happened to a guy who hadn’t had an outbreak in decades and assumed he was immune. If only. The rash, as I understand it, is an immune-system reaction, and the more you come in contact with poison oak, the worse the reactions get.
The folks who make Technu Extreme, a scrub that removes the oils from poison oak lives, have a nice page of poison oak tips. Their product, designed to be applied after you’ve come in contact with the stuff, gets rave reviews at amazon.com. Notable among the tips: wash your dog when you get home from the woods.
Another excellent page of tips is here — it tells how you’ll know when it’s bad enough to see a doctor. As for prevention:
IvyBlock is an over-the-counter lotion with an ingredient called bentoquatum that can be used to prevent exposure. It produces a clay-like barrier on the skin that protects against the oily resin in poison ivy, oak, and sumac. It must be applied at least 15 minutes before coming in contact with the plant. It should then be applied every 4 hours for continued protection. It should not be used if you already have a rash. And children under 6 should not use it.
Kinda like sunscreen. This guy says it works, but he says you have to bathe as soon as possible and clean all your clothes/gear/etc to get rid of the oils, which you’d do anyway. If your outbreaks are bad enough, though, it might be worth a look.
(Previous poison oak-related blog post here).
I can personally attest to the “wash your dog” tip. Two summers ago I was exposed to poison ivy while waking my dog in a local off-leash park. I knew that I hadn’t gone off-trail, and couldn’t figure out how I managed to get a rash on the inside of my calves. It wasn’t until a few days later that I remembered that my dog had run between my legs. He must have run through some poison ivy, then rubbed it off on me when we were playing.
That same rash later spread to my chest. The best I can figure is that when I took a shower after walking my dog I didn’t get all of the residue off my legs, and spread it onto my towel, which in turn deposited the resins on my chest. (I’m lucky the resins weren’t deposited in more…ummm..sensitive spots).
The resin from poison ivy can stay active for over a year. So, be sure to wash *everything* that may come in contact with poison ivy or poison oak.
Any good grease-cutting detergent will fix you up if (and this is the big IF) you get to it soon enough. Dish soap works, camp suds are OK, but a more powerful degreaser like 409 or Simple Green is best.
I usually carry a 1/4 oz. bottle of the Technu soap with me this time of year, but try hard to avoid needing it. On some of the overgrown trails in the Ventana or Ishi Wildernesses, it’s pretty unavoidable.
I’ve never tried the Ivy Block before. I think, though, if I did another early spring trip into the Ventana Wilderness, I would give thought to taking some. Otherwise, I’d rather just walk slower and be observant.
And yes, the story about my trip participant in the Ventana did happen. We were near the bottom of Miller Canyon. It didn’t look like there had been trail work there in years. It was supposed to be an on-trail trip that turned into a bush whacking trip.
Anecdotally, I’ve heard that, if a stream or lake is nearby, immedately rinse / wash affected areas in the water and it will mitigate against the rash. Also, why not try the old Native American remedy to gain immunity – drink poison oak tea!
All easy for me to say, since I can roll in patches of it and not get even a whiff of a rash, but will defnitely pass along to po’ Gambolin’ Gal if I’m not careful with clothing and bathing!
I’ve heard that sea water helps to neutralize the oily resins, provided that there is an ocean handy. I suppose you could pack some, but the wash pads are lighter.
Drinking poison oak tea will NOT give you immunity. It very well could give you poison oak inside the mouth and throat.
Even people who are currently immune to the effects should be careful with the plant, as immunity wears off with repeated exposure.