Hi all, Been reading the posts concerning the poison ivy and poison oak causes and cures...thought I might add one more cure in there. We noticed, after being in the field, that when we worked in areas with high concentrations of poison ivy and poison 'what-ever-else' that obviously we would catch it. Everyone would scrub up and the stuff would clear up after a week or so. We also found that several people would continue catching poison ivy weeks after we were out of areas that contained any of the plants and found that the oils in the ivy will stay on tools, especially wood, weeks to months after using them in the original areas with poison ivy. For us, the best cure was using Fels-naptha, a type of soap heavy in lye and used in olden days for clothing (I believe socks and stains mostly). It dries out the skin, but it sure clears up the area quickly; and, you just have to make sure to use some kind of skin moisturizer on the second day or you skin will itch a lot more. We also made sure that our equipment was washed with the same type of soap, or with the bleach water like some mentioned in previous e-mails, to help clear up any future outbreaks. Russ in LaPorte

FYI from the American Academy of Dermatology: "Wash all exposed areas with cold running water as soon as you can reach a stream, lake or garden hose. If you can do this within five minutes, the water will neutralize or deactivate the urushiol found in the plant's sap and keep it from spreading to other parts of the body. Soap is not necessary and may even spread the oil. Urushiol begins to penetrate skin in a matter of minutes, and a rash may appear w/i 12-48 hours. The rash usually takes about 10 days to heal. ........when you get home,............wash everything, clothes, gear, with a water hose before bringing inside as urushiol can contaminate household furnishings and remain active for months. Cool showers will help ease the itching. Soaking in a lukewarm bath with an oatmeal or baking soda solution is often recommended. Over-the-counter hydrocortisone creams will not help because they aren't strong enough to have any effect (must use prescription strength). The urushiol in dead poison ivy plants can remain active for up to several years." While I found the above interesting as some of you may, it was still a pretty miserable experience even w/prescription strength cream. Fels-naptha is great for any kind of greasy or oily stains on clothes. Couldn't live w/o it. Wish I had known to try this w/poison ivy. ----- Original Message ----- From: Russ Hapke <rhapke@adsnet.com> To: <INPCRP-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, April 30, 2002 2:56 PM Subject: [INPCRP] Saw the posting on poison ivy > Hi all, > > Been reading the posts concerning the poison ivy and poison oak causes and cures...thought I might add one more cure in there. > > We noticed, after being in the field, that when we worked in areas with high concentrations of poison ivy and poison 'what-ever-else' that obviously we would catch it. Everyone would scrub up and the stuff would clear up after a week or so. We also found that several people would continue catching poison ivy weeks after we were out of areas that contained any of the plants and found that the oils in the ivy will stay on tools, especially wood, weeks to months after using them in the original areas with poison ivy. > > For us, the best cure was using Fels-naptha, a type of soap heavy in lye and used in olden days for clothing (I believe socks and stains mostly). It dries out the skin, but it sure clears up the area quickly; and, you just have to make sure to use some kind of skin moisturizer on the second day or you skin will itch a lot more. We also made sure that our equipment was washed with the same type of soap, or with the bleach water like some mentioned in previous e-mails, to help clear up any future outbreaks. > > Russ in LaPorte > > > ==== INPCRP Mailing List ==== > Cemetery: (n) A marble orchard not to be taken for granite. >