Poison Ivy is one of the burdens of American terrier work -- it's out there and you will get it if you work enough hedgerows.
Poison ivy, poison oak and poison sumac are all in the Rhus family of plants, and these plants produce more cases of contact dermatitis than all other substances combined. Plant-caused rashes can affect any part of the body, but commonly affect the forearms, face and back of the hands.
Poison ivy skin rashes are not contagious -- only the toxic oil of the plant (urushiol) causes the poison ivy reaction, and generally it has to be on your skin for an hour or more before it takes effect.
You can reduce or eliminate your chance of getting poison ivy in the field by wiping off your arms with soap and water if they have been dragging around in poison ivy during a dig. A very easy way to do this is with a packet of "handywipes" designed to clean off oils, such as Kimberly-Clark's Professional Heavy-Duty Hand Cleaning Wipes.
Tecnu is a special outdoor skin cleanser that removes Poison Oak and Ivy Oils from your skin. This product stops the irritant from spreading and can also decontaminate pets and tools. Small bottles are at many camping stores and pharmacies, such as Walgrens -- just apply with a small hankerchief.
2 comments:
Hello Mr. Burns, i would like to share with you something useful i found out about poison ivy. All the preventives you mention are just grand, but if the first you know about it is when you break out with that demon itch, there is actually something simple, cheap, and nontoxic you can do about it. If the spots are on your hands, immerse the itching part in hot water just as hot as you can stand to put your hand into, and it will immediately kill that itch for 6 to 8 hours, when another application of the same will disconnect it once more. If the spots are on some area you do not particularly wish to immerse in near-scalding water [don't ask], then the low heat from a hair dryer will do the same thing. The spots will heal in about a week, instead of the usual 2. This treatment itches like crazy for a fraction of a second, and then it feels like you finally scratched that itch. Wonderfull. Incidentally, i have tried this same treatment on other causes of annoying itch [chiggers, skin fungi] and it works just as well. The chiggers seem to be killed by one application [cooked, maybe?], but dermatophytes are not killed by this treatment and must be addressed with the usual athlete's foot remedies to be got rid of. Best to you.
Peggy Merrill
Did you know that the active ingredient in Tecnu is plain old-fashioned mineral spirits?
A bit of chemistry (I worked as a geochemist before I 'retired' to be a dog trainer): Oily substances like urushiol are typically insolubly or only sparingly soluble in water. Water is a polar solvent, oils are nonpolar. Heating the water helps a bit, as heat excites the electrons and makes it a better solvent.
But - much better just to use an oil to remove another oil. In a pinch you can coat your hands in cooking oil, rub it in good, then wash the oil/oil mixture off with a strong soap like Fels Naphtha. But, since Tecnu works so well I'm guessing that urushiol dissolves better in a lighter oil, so if you aren't sensitive to it, rub your hands with mineral spirits or kerosene or diesel fuel or any other mid-range petroleum distillate; then wash that oil/oil mixture off with strong soap.
I am HORRENDOUSLY sensitive to poison ivy. I can get it from my dogs after they walk through it. Cripes, some days I think I can catch it from the wind... In the summer I keep mineral spirits and Fels Naphtha at my utility sink for regular washing and I only rarely have problems with outbreaks now.
And - before anyone posts horror stories - please note that Fels Naphtha is no longer made with naphthalene. Its just an old-fashioned rendered fat and lye soap.
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