Subject: Poison Oak remedies

From: [email-masked] (JMWhite)
Date: 19 Jul 94 21:13:07 GMT

I have some (new?) twists on the treatment of rashes from poison oak (we 
don't have poison ivy where I live but I assume one could achieve similar 
results)

***WARNING:  The following comments are based on personal experience and 
observation.  No guarantees, try at your own risk, take with a grain of salt, 
consult your physician, etc.***

During college I worked for the Forest Service as a wildlands firefighter 
stationed in central California.  We had to contend with poison oak (po) at 
nearly every fire.  We waded through it, cut it with chain saws, stood in 
burning patches of it - we were subject to every route of exposure you could 
imagine.  I had a constant po rash the entire length of most every summer.  
In fact I am to the point where I actually like a little po (like skunk juice 
- a little goes a long way)

The most common method among my fellow crew members of dealing with the itch 
of po was to take hot showers - as hot as you could stand.  "YOU DID WHAT?   A 
HOT SHOWER?  Everyone knows hot water spreads the oil and gets it in your 
pores" is usually the first reaction I get when I tell people this.  But it 
works.  No creams, no steroids, no gels.  I can get more than eight hours of 
relief from one hot shower.

As far as oil getting in your pores, it is likely already there.  Usually 
exposure occurs when you're active (hiking, gardening, etc.)  Your pores are 
open already.  If anything, you need to get it back out of your pores.  The 
key is to remove the oil.  Once the oil is off your skin then you need to deal 
with the developing rash.  But the oil is extremely tenacious and it takes 
special attention to remove it.  We used tincture of green soap to remove the 
oil.  Tecnu also works well.  Laundry soap, hand soap, shampoo and the like 
did not seem to work well (or as well)  The sooner you wash, the better. 
 
After cleaning, we only had to worry about the rash.  Hot water, directly on 
the rash, made it feel as though you were scratching it without touching it.  
It is an otherwise indescribable feeling of pleasure.  I was skeptical at 
first but soon was converted.  As I said before, the effect would last for 
hours.  I  just continued this treatment until the rash quit itching - usually 
a little over a week.

Another thing I noticed is that the rashes developed in the same places - 
regardless of where I was exposed.  This was explained to me as the reaction 
of my lymph system.  This is not because of oil being spread.  In fact, this 
occurance may have lead to people believing the oil was spreading or that the 
rashes are contagious (which they aren't).

Just my two (thousand) cents.  

I am not sure why this works.  I have been told it has something to do with 
histamines being released.  Also, I don't get severe cases of po.  Some bumpy 
and red areas but usually no severe weeping or blisters.  I don't know how 
pleasant hot water would be on severe po cases =:O 

James White
e-mail: [email-masked] or maybe just [email-masked]

"Who am I?  Why am I here?" - Adm. Stockdale, 1992

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From: [email-masked] (ChuckS5188)
Date: 20 Jul 1994 13:20:02 -0400

In article <[email-masked]>,
[email-masked] (Charlie Johnston) writes:

you might pick up something called armour (made by the same people as
tecnu. protects you from getting the oil on the skin and washes off. 
haven't tried it myself but heard forest service in calif uses it.
available at long's drugs but probably available from tecnu people.
also you can get desensitizing shots over a 3 month period from your
dr or county immunization program.  from pharmacist in calif.