Do you get poison ivy?

[Cantw8]

I have never had it...I'm not complaining but I do find it odd. I do a ton of gardening which involves being ankle deep in weeds and I have never had a reaction to it. Anyone else???

 

[Jennasis]

Are you sure you are actually coming into contact with POISON IVY (and not just some random weeds)? There are some plants that look similar to poison ivy.

 

[LBIJim]

Nope, poison ivy doesn't bother me. I have plenty of it in my yard and trim it back occasionally.

I read years ago that poison ivy only bothers about half the population.

 

[Art 1]

I get it very easily, can't get near it.

 

[Colleen27]

I don't react to it either... which unfortunately made clearing it all out when we moved into our current home my department! I know I've encountered it on several occasions, not often but at least 3 or 4 separate times over the years, and I've never had a reaction to it.

 

[SandiR]

Nope, never had it. A week ago, I went for a walk with DH. I was wearing flip flops and DH told me that I was standing in a bunch of poison ivy. Nothing happened to me.

 

[low-key]

just a little bit on my arm, you barely notice

 

[Cantw8]

Are you sure you are actually coming into contact with POISON IVY (and not just some random weeds)? There are some plants that look similar to poison ivy.

Yep, my neighbor who gets it bad when the wind blows the wrong way, rubbed it all over me one time because she didn't believe me There may have been some drinking involved that day

 

[Diznygrl]

It affects people in different ways, some not at all. I've never had it, but then I'm not really sure if I've ever come in real contact with it. My dad could probably roll in the stuff and not even develop the slightest rash, but my mom on the other hand, it seems like all she has to do is LOOK at poison ivy/oak and she will get it.

 

[TLSnell1981]

Not allegergic

 

[kimblebee]

I don't think I've ever touched it but I bet I'd react to it. I have pretty sensitive skin to that type of stuff.

 

[TipsyTraveler]

I've developed an immunity to it but it took years of exposure to get to this point. As a kid I got it all the time. Once I realized, as an adult, that I didn't react to it anymore I've made a point to handle it bare-handed at least once a year to keep my immune system "familiar" with it.

**And now for an embarrassing confession. I grew up in the country. Poisonous plants at my beck and call. When I was about 8, I had the brilliant idea that I wouldn't have to go to school the next day if I got poison ivy. I walked out to the woods and, well, I didn't stop at poison ivy. I gathered that, poison oak, and poison sumac. Rubbed all three all over my face and ran back to the house to see if I'd been successful. Looked in the mirror...nothing. Forgot about it.

When my mother woke me up the next morning she shrieked. My red swollen face was covered with every rash, bump, oozing blister, weeping welt, and sebaceous fluid imaginable. I couldn't even open my eyes. I looked like the Elephant Man. Mom freaked. "What happened to you?! We're going to the doctor right now!" I played dumb. Never have told her the truth. Did I mention that day was a Saturday?

On the bright side, that was the very last time I reacted to poison ivy.

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

just a little bit on my arm, you barely notice

I got Poison Sumac once. This is what my legs looked like.
Every time a blister popped it would spread. One day I got in the shower and just popped all of the blisters and scrubbed my legs clean. It was gone in a week

There's my gross story.

Yes, I react to Poison Ivy.

 

[Stinkerbell92]

Yes, I have had it several times. It seems if I even get near the stuff or the wind blows it on me , I end of with it.

 

[bcla]

We don't have poison ivy around here. I don't think I'd recognize it if I saw it.

Now western poison oak is another matter. I know how to recognize it so as to avoid it, even when there are variable leaf shapes, colors, forms, etc. The leaves can look lobed, round, dark green, light green, reddish, speckled, mottled, shiny, matte, bush, like a vine, etc. It often grows hidden in Himalayan blackberry around here, and although it doesn't look the same it does kind of get camouflaged because the colors are similar. This photo I found shows a grouping of different plants with different leaf shapes.

My mom had it in her backyard and got some pretty nasty rashes as a result, including something similar to that photo of big blisters that look almost like tumors. She was on prednisone for months. I avoid it like crazy. The other thing is that there's one front yard in my neighborhood where it's growing right against the sidewalk. I don't get why the homeowner doesn't do something to remove it other than perhaps being antisocial. That house has the highest hedges (that hide the house) in the neighborhood, and it's like the owner doesn't want to be bothered by anyone.

 

[BlueStarryHat]

just a little bit on my arm, you barely notice

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Other than the giant bubbles, my arm will look similar to the picture low-key posted. Also burned some brush in the dead of Winter that included poison ivy, and got it on my face from the smoke.

My dad has horrible reactions to it. If he gets it on even his arms or legs, his eyes will swell shut.

 

[bcla]

Other than the giant bubbles, my arm will look similar to the picture low-key posted. Also burned some brush in the dead of Winter that included poison ivy, and got it on my face from the smoke.

The toxic oil can be vaporized or clings to soot if it's a smoldering fire. It's especially nasty when inhaled. A really high heat (like an incinerator) is supposed to destroy the oil, but a burning pile slowly catching on fire is another matter. There are warnings that the oil (which is very persistent) clinging to firewood can be dangerous when the wood is burned.

http://www.teclabsinc.com/blog/2011/11/9/beware-of-burning-poison-ivy-and-oak/

According to the Wildland Firefighter Magazine website, inhalation of burning poison ivy and oak plants is common among firefighters although much less common among the general population. The heavy particles of the smoke contain urushiol, which will fall down in soot form and can be inhaled. The lungs can swell, cause coughing, and extreme irritation and swelling in the throat. It can also cause blisters that break and run.

Know where your firewood is coming from. If you have freshly chopped firewood that may have been growing near poison ivy or oak, be careful and think twice about burning it. Also if you have broken out in a poison ivy or oak rash after handling firewood, that may be because the plant's oil is on the surface of the wood.

- See more at: http://www.teclabsinc.com/blog/2011/11/9/beware-of-burning-poison-ivy-and-oak/#sthash.pQfhn0SY.dpuf

I guess the one saving grace is that once you determine there's contact, it's pretty easy to wash it off before it penetrates into the skin. You've got maybe 15 minutes to wash it off. Any soap or detergent is supposed to be effective at washing it off, although there's this stuff called Tecnu that's claims to be more effective, especially when there's no/little water for rinsing. Once I walked into the stuff wrapped around a tree branch over my head, and I washed my hat and hair with soap maybe five minutes later.

Also - anyone with a dog should monitor where it's going. Most dogs won't be sensitive to the oil, but I've heard of a lot of people who have gotten rashes from dogs or contaminated clothing.

 

[Jaime4004]

Not everyone is allergic... just most! I've never had a reaction, but haven't consciously come in contact with it either. We have poison ivy in our yard and I garden, though haven't noticed myself plucking any out. My brother is very allergic - swollen face.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

Definitely. I am allergic to poison ivy, poison oak, poison sumac. I have gotten it from smoke if someone is burning it. I can't touch clothes or gloves used by a person who touched it. I've had to get shots and take some drug whose name I can't remember but really should several times because it spread everywhere on me.

The last time my doctor asked me if I knew what it looked like so I can avoid it - I told him yes but I was outside when my neighbor was burning brush and the smoke was going in my yard. I figure that's where I got it from this go around since there isn't any in my yard right now.

So far my kids haven't shown any signs of being allergic. My husband isn't allergic to it so he gets to be the lucky one to get rid of it if it shows up in our yard.