Hi CC,
I’m not a parent (incoming college freshman), but I’m looking for some advice about poison ivy. I figured this problem isn’t one that college students usually deal with which is why I’m posting here.
At the school I’m going to, I have a mandatory “service day” as part of this program I signed up for. This service day takes place a few days before classes start.
Every year, they assign a program to a random site to do community service. It’s supposed to be a team-building experience so you can meet other people in your specific program.
This year, my program was assigned to a place where there is a lot of poison ivy. We’re supposed to pick weeds, but they say that we’ll probably be in contact with poison ivy. My program is the only one that actually has a warning - all other programs are safe except this one.
This is making me incredibly paranoid - I’m afraid that I’m going to get infected and have to deal with it while I’m in college. I’m not allowed to back out of this service day (or this program) so I have no choice but to prepare for the worst.
I’m planning on wearing a long sleeved shirt, pants, long socks, sneakers, and gloves and when I get back to the dorms, I’ll change, put everything in a plastic bag and dispose of it immediately. I won’t wear my glasses or my contacts. Beyond this, I don’t know what other precautions I should take…
What precautions should I take before going on this service day?
What should I do if I actually get infected with poison ivy?
What's your advice for dealing with clothes that came in contact with poison ivy (that you aren't allowed to throw out)?
Have you ever had poison ivy before? Is it something you know you are allergic to (not everyone is)? I know that I am severely allergic to it and would get a letter to that effect from my Dr so I could request reassignment.
All of this is a little bit of overkill, but if you’re highly allergic to PI it could save you a lot of misery.
Adding in response to takeitallin’s post-
Good idea about a doctor’s note if you’ve had a severe reaction to PI in the past.
As to not being allergic, I wasn’t allergic to PI…until I was. I spend half my childhood running barefoot through a wooded lot filled with poison ivy and never got it. Then one summer as an adult I was weeding around my house, pulled up one PI vine and ended up with a horrible PI rash.
I’m guessing the school will also tell you how to take precautions. Not likely not that they want all of the folks in your program at the health center upon return.
A family member is severely allergic. Here is what you do: Wear long clothing with EVERYTHING covered. Never once scratch your face or move your hair while you are working. Do whatever you have to do (headband?) to make sure that doesn’t happen. Take a large bottle of rubbing alcohol with you, along with some paper towels, and a couple of trash bags. Have it ready for when you are done, sitting outside (or outside your car, if you drove).
When you are finally done handling everything, strip off the gloves and toss them into the trash bag. Using a paper towel, pick up your rubbing alcohol and POUR it down (NOT rub!) each arm/wrist (as much as uncovered. DO NOT touch the outside of your clothing, like the arms).
This removes the urushiol, which is what causes the reaction. Then, with those clean hands, throw down a trashbag on which to sit to drive home. If not driving, go to your apartment. Step inside, and take everything off including shoes, dropping it into an open trashbag. Clean hands again with the rubbing alcohol, and then wash. Tie up the bag and toss it if you don’t care about those clothes. If you do, hot, water and only this stuff immediately. Wash it twice.
Go straight to the shower and let rubbing alcohol run down arms and legs around ankles, where it might have come uncovered. Stand in the hot water for a couple of minutes rinsing.
When you get out, pick up the rubbing alcohol with a fresh paper towel and then pour some out and run it over the bottle.
Done (unless you need to wipe down every part of your vehicle that you touched with rubbing alcohol. No poison ivy in 20 years here. The last time nearly ended in hospitalization for the affected member so I am hardcore about this.
(I had a ranger tell me this so I believe it to be true).
All leaves, brush, etc. in a poison ivy area can have the urushiol on them, so contact with any leaves, brush, etc. not just poison ivy can cause a reaction.
The thinking is that animals, such as deer or other wildlife, get the urushiol on their hides from poison ivy and then transfer it to other plants by rubbing against them.
Everyone, thank you for your responses and advice. I’ll definitely consider and look into what was posted here.
I haven’t ever been infected with poison ivy before (although some of my family members have before), so I don’t think I’ll be able to get a doctors note to excuse myself from this.
I do restoration horticulture, and occasionally we will run into poisonous plants, but it really isn’t a big deal.
Himalyan blackberry is much more of a PITA.
Get some calamine lotion beforehand if you are worried, and ask the folks in charge of the site to point you toward the area with the least ivy.
Its ironic that other things like the euphorbias, which can be more problematic/toxic are still sold in nurseries.
The best and most effective plan is avoidance of the plant. Before you touch or walk through any given shrub, stop for a moment and look and see whether it has all its leaves growing in groups of three. If it does, do not touch it. It is very likely poison ivy (or poison oak).
EK–it depends on the person. I get incredibly painful, itching, long-standing cases of PI when I have been unfortunate enough to run into it. I missed two weeks of work the last time I had it. Between the huge patches down my legs, and the propensity for infection, it was a major health event. Way more than a PITA.
I second all the precautions, and use of Tecnu for cleaning up afterward. It’s the best thing I’ve found. Tecnu also has a medication for soothing a case of PI that I found to be far more effective than calamine.
Gosh I hate these forced volunteer service days. Isn’t that what we force prisoners to do? NO problem whatsoever if you volunteer on your own. That said, I might get a note and try to get reassigned. My mom had poison ivy so bad a few years ago that she ended up in the emergency room. I had a terrible case as a child and could barely see out of my eyes because my face was so puffy. I avoid it like the plague and currently have a mild case on my legs. Getting it at the start of the school year would be miserable. I’m sure your doctor would be willing to give you a note or you can find a doctor who will. If you do end up going wear glasses as we tend to touch our eyes a fair amount during the day.
Watch out for the sumac too.
I have terrible reactions to poison ivy now but wasn’t so affected when I was younger. I read somewhere that it’s common for the reaction to get worse every time you’re exposed.
Whatever you do, avoid touching your face. I learned that the hard way. I got it dangerously close to my eyes once.
How many different groups are there? It seems to me if they coud find a non-hazardous activity for all the other groups they could find one for your group.
We have some Fels Naptha soap at our house specifically because it cuts through the oil from poison ivy and can reduce the spread from the affected area to other parts of the body.
My entire family get very bad poison ivy reactions - I would get reassigned if it were me. A life saver is a product called Technu Poison Ivy Wash (can be found in Walgreens or on-line). You wash with it immediately after contact with poison ivy and it washes away the bad stuff so you don’t get a reaction. I use it on all exposed areas every time I garden.
I have bad reactions just from washing my hands too much, even just with water, so believe me, I know what it is like to have sensitve skin, but if you do not have any exposed skin, its unlikely you will have a reaction.
Its unlikely the college wants to incur the liability involved by exposing the students to an area that is infested with unavoidable toxins. im sure she can find an alternate position that wont involve direct contact with any green material. She could be in charge of the tools or wheelbarrows.
Poison ivy produces a delayed hypersensitivity–in other words, you have time to wash the oily substance off before you start to react. About 25% of people will not have any reaction to the plant at all(lucky people!). You don’t have to fork over the money for things like Tecnu. Get a tub of Goop, Gojo, Fast Orange, etc–mechanics hand cleaners–and use it. It cuts the grease and you wash it away. Regular soap won’t work. Remember the oil will be on everything–shoelaces, clothes, tools, and everything you touch. It can keep affecting you for months if it gets on things like your steering wheel or tools. That was sound advice to cover up with old clothes and toss them if you are in a really bad area. I have huge amounts on my property. We have had vines with 4" trunks. As someone mentioned, the oil is on the vines as well.
As a master gardener I learned that poison ivy can be dead for one year and still have enough urushiol to give someone a rash. If you contact the green leaves, the rash should show up within 12 hours. If you contact something more like the dry root (they climb up trees), it may take a day or two to show up.
The last time I had it, I had washed my hands thoroughly but didn’t wash my face. That’s where the rash showed up, as well as on one ear and between my fingers - you can’t wash too much! This was from handling a dry root.
A friend had a bad case and washed her clothes afterwards. USE HOT WATER AND A LONG CYCLE! Her H got poison ivy from urushiol in the wash that got on his boxer shorts and undershirts.
This is the best drug to treat it if you get a rash. I felt relief after a few hours and it went away in 2 - 3 days. It is a prescription drug but you should tell your program that you want them to get some samples in case anyone gets a reaction. You don’t want to wait for a student health appointment, wait for your prescription, wait for the druggist - all while itching horribly. The drug is called fluocinonide.
