Poison Ivy Can Be an Irritating Downside of a Fun Outing

First posted on 05-07-2010

What is the most common negative factor associated with an Arkansas outing? Ticks, chiggers, mosquitoes? Many people will point to poison ivy.

It is everywhere in Arkansas, all counties, in cities, rural areas and also into the densest forests.

Staff members of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission deal with poison ivy on a daily basis, and they pass along the key to combating it – avoid it. Forget the claim you’ve heard about “I can get within a hundred feet of poison ivy and got to breaking out.” It doesn’t work that way.

Poison ivy’s unpleasant agent is oil from the plant, especially leaves, called urushiol. It’s a potent chemical, but it’s not deadly, just extremely irritating. The oil is primarily transmitted by touch but can also be carried in smoke, so burning clumps of poison ivy is not a good idea.

You are not likely to catch poison ivy from another person, even after touching the rash on that person. What is more likely is you get a dose of poison ivy unknowingly.

Walk in the woods and never touch anything, then a rash shows up somewhere the next day. Chances are good that your shoes are the culprit. Poison ivy’s oil is on your shoes, you take the shoes off at home, and the oil is transferred to hands and other areas. The logical precaution is to wash off the soles and heels of footwear when you come home.

Dogs and other pets can bring poison ivy to you even when you stay indoors. They romp through some of it, the oil sticks to their hair, then you pet or rub the animal.

It is true that some people are much more susceptible to poison ivy that others. The oil affects them more. Once poison ivy has attacked, though, over-the-counter products can ease its effects. Caladryl, a mix of calamine lotion and Benadryl, is available all across Arkansas at drug, grocery and sporting goods outlets. It provides relief to most poison ivy victims.

If the case is severe and especially if difficulty in breathing follows an attack of poison ivy, a trip to a doctor is needed. The physician may use an injection of cortisone or prescribe cream of cortisone to apply to the rash.

Recommended is a thorough shower soon after coming in from an outdoors activity. Also highly recommended is knowing what is poison ivy by a quick glance. The old axiom of “leaves of three, let it be” is a good yardstick. Poison ivy plants grow leaves in groups of three, and the plants can be at ground level, chest high or many feet up a tree.

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