Poison Ivy?

[PRB]

Ok, plant experts, can anybody ID poison ivy/oak/sumak leaves in any of these pics? I googled images of this stuff and I'm leaning towards no, but I wouldn't bet a dollar either way at this point...

- Paul

[Dangerousdave26]

Looks like poison oak to me.

Could be Sumak as I believe it grows as a vine

[Jagdflieger]

The west coast species of Poison Oak often has a glossy-brownish-oak looking leaf in the summer. In the Columbia River valley and in the dryer highlands south of that river it can be seen and identifed from quite a distance.

I've never got into Poison Ivy (than God) so I'm unable to help there.

[AckAck]

Easy way to find out is to roll around in it, then wait a few days. Is you get a rash, it is poisonous, if not, it isn't.

Poison Ivy and Poison Oak are supposed to have leaves in triplets (Leaves of three- let it be), Poison Sumac has branches of 7 to 13 leaves.

On the other hand, I checked that out before I removed some stuff from around our house, and it didn't match any of the descriptions. I did it, washed thoroughly afterwards, and still had awful rash, blisters and itchy EVERYWHERE for a month after, so don't listen to me - I can't identify it even when I check it out first.

[Daveroo]

id stay away from the stuff in the third pic myself....just by the shape of the leaves,,the pointieness of the edges,,,,but all three pics look suspicious to me

[PRB]

Easy way to find out is to roll around in it, then wait a few days. Is you get a rash, it is poisonous, if not, it isn't...

Unfortunately for me, I've already conducted that test, in the form of removing much of that stuff from around the trees in the back yard. It's only on my arms, but that's bad enough. The thought of poison ivy/oak never even crossed my mind, not even after the rash broke out. It was only after looking up these symtoms on google... Mine match that of the "active ingfredient" in ivy/oak/sumac perfectly. The leaves just don't look right though. Besides, I've come into contact with this stuff before, on camping trips, where others got nailed and I never suffered any effects.

[modelr]

Having grown up around plenty of Poison Ivy and Poison Oak, I don't see either in those pics. As for Poison Sumac, I've never seen it, so can't help there. Most of what I see in your pics grows naturally around my area, and I, personally have never been bothered by it. However, some people only have to get downwind of some of the stuff, and they break out. My grandfather was that way, while my grandmother and myself could go weed the stuff out with just light gloves and shirts, and never got it. So everyone's different. If you are alergic to anything, best stay out of it.

That stuff hides a lot of little insects, also, which can mimic some of the effects.

[cheezyflier]

i'd avoid the shiny leaves in the first 2 pics. the thing about poison ivy/oak/sumac that makes everyone get a rash is something called urshoil (iirc) it used to grow real heavy in my yard as a kid. the best way to get the oil off of your skin is rubbing alchohol. don't forget to wipe your shoes down with it as well, and wash your clothes in hot water and use bleach. the more of that oil you spread around, the better chance you have of a reaction later on. people do that to themselves all the time with those cheap gardening gloves. the oil can be potent over the winter

[luckydog]

Having grown up around plenty of Poison Ivy and Poison Oak, I don't see either in those pics. As for Poison Sumac, I've never seen it, so can't help there. Most of what I see in your pics grows naturally around my area, and I, personally have never been bothered by it. However, some people only have to get downwind of some of the stuff, and they break out. My grandfather was that way, while my grandmother and myself could go weed the stuff out with just light gloves and shirts, and never got it. So everyone's different. If you are alergic to anything, best stay out of it.

That stuff hides a lot of little insects, also, which can mimic some of the effects.

I agree with Modelr............no, no and no. I don't see any sumac either.

[Dangerousdave26]

go to the Doctor the cure for Poison Ivy and poison oak is pretty simple.

It used to be a seven day steroid regiment that would clear it right up. You started by taking seven pills and reduced the number of pills by one each day until they were all gone. By the fourth day it should be looking pretty good.

My brother is also one of those people who can stare at Poison Ivy from 30 feet and get the rash. Myself I walked bare foot threw it in a woods as a kid and only realized where I was when I was in the center of the patch.

I never caught it.

I don't think I will be tempting fate to see if that condition still holds true.

[PRB]

go to the Doctor the cure for Poison Ivy and poison oak is pretty simple.

It used to be a seven day steroid regiment that would clear it right up. You started by taking seven pills and reduced the number of pills by one each day until they were all gone. By the fourth day it should be looking pretty good.

My brother is also one of those people who can stare at Poison Ivy from 30 feet and get the rash. Myself I walked bare foot threw it in a woods as a kid and only realized where I was when I was in the center of the patch.

I never caught it.

I don't think I will be tempting fate to see if that condition still holds true.

Doc says I got poison ivy. He put me on the steriod program. Poison ivy sucks. Next to figure out how to kill it and remove it from the back yard...

[cheezyflier]

ours was unkillable. it took over the embankment behind the yard. every summer i pulled it all up, put it in bags, tore up the roots, put salt in the ground. i had poison ivy so bad i was covered with it.
every summer for years. about the time it would heal, all the ivy would be well on it's way to growing back.

[TeaSea]

From what I can see of your phloto's the first two are likely poison ivy. Poison ivy can look very different depending on the soil and time of year. Incidentally, if you get into poison ivy you generally have an some time before the oil works it's way into your skin enough to cause damage. Simple soap and water will clean you up, and get naked....wash those clothes!

Many people are not allergic to poison ivy or oak. I'm one of those. Oddly enough there seems to be a relationship to having hay fever. If you have other seasonal allergies You tend not to be allergic to poison ivy or poison oak, or so my allergist informed me....

The third photo is muscadine. If your muscadine is fertile it will produce nice dark sweet tart berries which make really good jelly and is often made into wine.

Muscadine vines are either male or female, so you need an opposite nearby to get grapes.

[PRB]

Interesting. Thanks TeaSea.

Well I'm sooo glad I was wearing work gloves while I was playing with that stuff... Was talking with the pharmacy lady and she said her son got it on his hands, and since it can take days to develop, he got it everywhere he subsequently put his hands, including his eyes. Ouchie...

Went Googling for "home remedies" for the itch and rash, and found a long list of amazing things people say work. The one I tried, since I had the ingrediants at hand, was to wet the affected area and viggorously rub in ordinary table salt. It's not 100%, but both the itch and the rash appearance was significantly reduced. Amazing. Evidently the key is to remove the toxic resin "stuff" that's on the leaves, and "normal" soap won't do it. I guess salt absorbs moister as well as the urushiol. Also, degreaser soap, like "GoJo" is supposed to work well at removing the urushiol.

- Paul

[TeaSea]

Interesting. Thanks TeaSea.

Well I'm sooo glad I was wearing work gloves while I was playing with that stuff... Was talking with the pharmacy lady and she said her son got it on his hands, and since it can take days to develop, he got it everywhere he subsequently put his hands, including his eyes. Ouchie...

Went Googling for "home remedies" for the itch and rash, and found a long list of amazing things people say work. The one I tried, since I had the ingrediants at hand, was to wet the affected area and viggorously rub in ordinary table salt. It's not 100%, but both the itch and the rash appearance was significantly reduced. Amazing. Evidently the key is to remove the toxic resin "stuff" that's on the leaves, and "normal" soap won't do it. I guess salt absorbs moister as well as the urushiol. Also, degreaser soap, like "GoJo" is supposed to work well at removing the urushiol.

- Paul

The salt thing actually makes sense to me. You can use salt to clean up any oily substance. I use it on my old cast iron skillet instead of water (okay, I use water too--I'm not that much of a traditionalist).

[AckAck]

Plus, it feels really great in that you can scratch and still pretend you are cleaning up the poison ivy. Personally, I think that is mainly why salt is effective (aside from drying). Even the commercial poison ivy remedies have granules (polyethylene or other material) in them, which probably are only there to feel good.

I like tumeric powder and lemon juice, although it turns you yellow. It dries your skin out, and the lemon juice stings and in cool, which feels good after crazy itching. Also baking soda - it dries you out too. But I didn't find any of them particularly effective - even the $30 remedies at the drug store (no I didn't buy them - someone had some left over that I used up.) Of course, I didn't find that the steroid treatment worked particularly well either, in this last episode.

[srgalahad]

Hey Paul...

perfect timing :kilroy:

was doing the crossword puzzle in the paper before dinner this evening...

six-letter word: "had poison ivy"






ITCHED :icon_eek:

[PRB]

Evil psychic Canadian crossword puzzle cunjures! :icon_lol:

[Willy]

When I was a little kid, I used to get into that stuff all the time and not be bothered by it. Then as a teenager, several us had the idea to go cut down some trees and make a log cabin. A couple of the logs were covered in it and I was elected to peel the vines off as it didn't bother me. It ate me up that time and has ever since. Back then the treatment was some kind of creme you smeared all over the affected areas.

Don't get me started on the darn seed ticks that I got into yesterday while working on the chicken pen. Mrs Willy lost count after 150 of them on my feet and legs.

[hey_moe]

When I was a kid and a teenager I used to get poison ivy covered from head to toe. I used to take a hard scrub brush and go to town on the bumps...lol.As an adult I am highly allergenic to it now. It will break me out in hives to a point I have to get a shot and put on steroids. If I see it now I use Round Up and Vine Killer to get rid of of it. I also cover myself completely up.

[TeaSea]

My evil dark nemesis was chiggers.

Anytime you're around livestock....better watch out! I've had my crotch, armpits, inside of my elbows and behind my knee's infested in the damn things. 3 - 4 days of agonized itching. Again, something you can simply spray off with soap and water.....

My last encounter was Ranger School in North Georgia where we were helicoptered into an LZ on a farm. We moved through a couple of pastures and then up a ridge in the woods. When we stopped I promplty stripped all my clothes off and doused myself in water, as well as shake my uniform and T-shirt out. Everyone just sort of stared....but a couple hours later I was much happier than they -- even though I still had some, not nearly as many.