Subject: Re: Poison Ivy.... Preventative?

From: Liz Jones <[email-masked]>
Date: 4 Oct 1995 12:24:49 GMT

Oh, you poor thing. I sympathize heartily because this spring I got 
digusted with all the poison ivy growing between me and my blackberries 
and took the weed whacker to it. BAD idea. There is an excellent section 
on poison ivy remedies in the medicinal FAQ which I've had the 
opportunity to study in detail for the last several months. Best advice 
of all seems to be don't scratch. Although this is VERYVERY hard to do! 
Short of that, any product which makes the irritated area numb is great 
because it helps you stop scratching. Solarcaine works for me, and 
contains a bit of aloe to boot.
And one more thing-- Eul Gibbons may think it's a good idea to consume 
poison ivy, but it could _kill_ you. Systemic poison ivy goes far beyond 
irritating in its effects on your system, especially if you're allergic 
already.
Good Luck!
Liz

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From: [email-masked] (Powaqqatsi)
Date: Wed, 04 Oct 1995 08:43:21 GMT

On 3 Oct 1995 22:44:58 GMT, dusty <[email-masked]> wrote:

>Some friends of mine are suffering massive poison Ivy reactions after 
>clearing some land... 
>In addition to any helpful soothing substances you could recommend, I 
>wonder if anyone knows of an oil or salve that they can use the next time 
>they clear land, to try and prevent another reaction.
>
>
>Thanks!
>
>Diana
>
>
I have a sort of immunity to poison ivy,  Only if I handle it or walk
through it repetitively do I feel an itch and I just wash off the area
with soap and water to remove the irritating oils.  But.. I've been
told, that Jewelweed, crushed in your hands and rubbed on the areas
can relieve you of the problem.  Jewelweed often grows right alongside
poison ivy, so nature has provided a cure right next to the cause for
you.  They are also known as "Touch-Me-Nots" because if you touch the
ripe seed pods they explode and scatter seeds around.  Fun to show
them to kids when in the woods.  (Check your wild-flower books for a
picture and description.)

Another cure, though I've not personally known anyone to try it, came
>from  an old Eul (sp?) Gibbons book I once had.  He recommended that
people who live in highly infested areas of poison-ivy and need to
work around them all summer long should build up an immunity to them
by:

(If I remember right).... when the very first signs of poison-ivy
leaves appear in spring, just out of bud-stage, you should eat 3 of
the leaves.  Then in (was it the next day? 3 days later?...) you need
to eat three more leaves which have now grown a bit larger.
Basically, you eat three leaves each day (I think) as the leaves grow,
until you are actually eating three grown leaves.  Eat them as the
plant grows them.  By the time you've eaten a grown leaf, you are
immune, but ONLY for that year.

I KNOW I have the dosages and spacing of them wrong, but maybe someone
out there has an old Eul Gibbons book they can check to rectify this?

I'd just stick with the Jewelweed until you hear further on this
Gibbons' method. :)  Any other ideas?

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From: [email-masked] (RAVENDNCR)
Date: 4 Oct 1995 08:39:19 -0400

DO NOT EAT POSION IVY IF YOU ARE ALLERGIC TO IT!!!

I have heard this "remedy" so many times over so many years and guess
what,  a person can ACTUALLY DIE from ingestion (please no flames on this
statement).  It does not matter if the plant is old, young, stale, root,
rotted --------  DO NOT EAT IT.

I am sure that there are a few people who can actually eat anything
(including turnips) without adverse reaction --- however the rest of us
have to be careful.  There are several creams on the market now that can
be purchased and used --- a much safer method.

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From: [email-masked] (Powaqqatsi)
Date: Fri, 06 Oct 1995 10:12:07 GMT

On Wed, 04 Oct 95 17:05:14 GMT, [email-masked] (Callie) wrote:

>In article <[email-masked]>,
>   [email-masked] (Powaqqatsi) wrote:
>
>Have you ever seen poison ivy rash in the mouth, tongue, esophagous
>etc.   (not to mention what happend upon exit!)
>This could kill a sensitive person very quickly as the tissues swell!
>
>Callie
>
>[email-masked]      | The Write Page for genre fiction:
>http://www.writepage.com  | All the books that are fun to read.

Well, there you have it -- DO NOT EAT POISON IVY!!!  

After all, what did Eul Gibbons know? He actually died from an ulcer.
True story.  Yet, in the back of my mind, and with my immunity to the
stuff, it 'seems' plausible -- i.e. eat to build up an immunity.  But
the "nay"s have it here.  And as always, unless the situation is
immediately life-threatening, NEVER take any further risk that COULD
BE life-threatening to fix the first threat.  But then, we'd not have
digitalis as a cure if that philosophy was followed either ...
nevermind... just thinking out loud... :)  (Any old-wives or
old-husbands of old-wives to back up the "eating of ivy-leaves"
story/myth/fact here?  Would be interesting to hear about it from
someone that actually uses that method ..... ah, maybe they are dead
now.....  was it old-age?  Or poison-ivy leaves .... the world may
never know. 

Hey Eul??? About that ivy story....  Ooo, sorry... one too many
grape-nuts eh? Rest in peace guy, and thanks for starting me on
knowing plants and herbs.  And just WHAT are those things
anyway...."grape-nuts".... is this some form of detritus in the bottom
of a distillery-tank that they scraped off and dried and couldn't put
into a legal landfill?  Hey, tastes good, but I'll be danged if I ever
saw a "grape-nut" hanging off a branch somewhere... have you?  I'm SO
suspicious of anything that doesn't look it could have grown on a
branch or stem -- if there isn't visible, natural plant or animal
fibre in it, my mouth won't open for it.  :)

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From: cyli <[email-masked]>
Date: 5 Oct 1995 10:06:43 GMT

> they clear land, to try and prevent another reaction.
 
Wear covering clothing in poison ivy areas. Long pants, long sleeves,
gloves, etc.. Don't touch bare skin with anything that might have 
touched poison ivy (e.g. Don't wipe sweat off your face with your
gloved hand...).  Remove the clothing carefully afterward and wash it
with care. Have a good shower in case you did get some on you. 

I've heard that if you do* get some, scratching doesn't actually 
spread it. It just manifests first in the place most heavily touched
by the ivy's oils.  Nearby places were more lightly touched or are
less sensitive, so show later. Strong scratching, however, cannot be
good for the skin so some herbal onitments or commercial itch prepar-
ations would be adviseable. 
 
Burning poison ivy can spread the volatile oils into the air, generally
misting anything downwind, so be careful of that,too.  As well as
petting house pets that may have romped through any during their 
travels in the woods.

I used to be immune to the stuff.  But had read that immunity can 
vanish unpredictably, so tried to stay wary. Not wary enough, I guess.
Finally got some during a heated game of splattball (not enough time
to look where you're diving sometimes.) and I can assure you that
immunity can vanish suddenly.

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From: [email-masked] (Powaqqatsi)
Date: Thu, 05 Oct 1995 11:42:02 GMT