Poison Ivy/Oak/Sumac

Big_Holla · May 29, 2014

OK, who's got it already this year?? First trip down to Ohio since Spring has sprung and sure enough I came home with a good batch of either poison oak or perhaps sumac. Definitely not poison ivy this time. I have it all over the back of my neck and left hand and arm some. Started my usual bleach and Benadryl Lotion but it wasn't cutting it much so I decided to give that Zanfel a try since I won't have time to get to the doc this week. I was reluctant to pay the $43 at CVS but figured it was worth the try. I thought it was more of a cream or lotion you put on but it's not, it's a scrub with chemicals to remove the oils. Not much in the tube but boy does it seem to work.

Who else is itchy?!?! :smiley_clap:

bowhunter1023 · May 29, 2014

Zanfel is stupidly expensive, but it is like Abreva for people with cold sores: WELL WORTH THE $$$!!!

I have been lucky so far as I've been around a bunch of ivy and oak thus far. AEP is covered in both. I carry paper towels and alcohol in the truck at all times so that I can wipe down with need be. I walked 3-4 miles through ivy/oak filled fields this weekend and left unscathed.

Knock on wood!

Mike · May 29, 2014

I did. I looked at it and bam. Not sure wow it got on my ankle...

cotty16 · May 29, 2014

It's only a matter of time for me. And when I get it, I get it everywhere! My poor wanker...

MK111 · May 29, 2014

I feel for you poor guys. I've never had it as my oldest grandson never had. Everyone else in the family it's a terrible case when they get it.
My Doctor said if my system ever stops protecting me it'll be terrible. I'm sorta careful around it but really don't even think of it when I work in it. I always tell my wife if I know it's on my clothes.
I remember over 55 yrs. ago my brother's close friend never got it either. He burnt some poison ivy and got it in his lungs and almost died.
Be damn careful if you think about burning it. Don't burn poison ivy or anything that is poison.

Big_Holla · May 29, 2014

Funny thing is, my son was right alongside me all along the way as we planted trees, updated minerals, etc. and he doesn't have any at all. Sure hope he takes after my dad who can grab the vine of ivy or oak and not have much of a reaction if at all. He get's annoyed when I keep asking him if he has any 'itchy spots yet' LOL!!

cotty16 · May 29, 2014

Big_Holla said:
Funny thing is, my son was right alongside me all along the way as we planted trees, updated minerals, etc. and he doesn't have any at all. Sure hope he takes after my dad who can grab the vine of ivy or oak and not have much of a reaction if at all. He get's annoyed when I keep asking him if he has any 'itchy spots yet' LOL!!

That'll change. I never used to get it either. Around age 35 things changed for the worse :smiley_blackeye:

finelyshedded · May 29, 2014

I owe JB a big thanks for recommending Zanfel for my run ins with these oils sent from hell. It's expensive but well worth it IMO.

teej89 · May 29, 2014

cotty16 said:
That'll change. I never used to get it either. Around age 35 things changed for the worse :smiley_blackeye:

yup I never got it as a kid and last fall I got it like nobodies business. Chest, arms, stomach, legs, neck, face... 2 bottles of Zanfel and a trip to urgent care to get a shot in the bum just to get rid of it. Man I had that crap for weeks. I'd wake up in my sleep to me itching myself.

Big_Holla · May 29, 2014

cotty16 said:
That'll change. I never used to get it either. Around age 35 things changed for the worse :smiley_blackeye:

teej89 said:
yup I never got it as a kid and last fall I got it like nobodies business. Chest, arms, stomach, legs, neck, face... 2 bottles of Zanfel and a trip to urgent care to get a shot in the bum just to get rid of it. Man I had that crap for weeks. I'd wake up in my sleep to me itching myself.

Yeah I bet you are right, hope not for his sake. I never used to get it much when I was younger, even after walking through the fields and bottoms in tennis shoes back then. As I have gotten older it seems like every year I get it, almost every time I head down there. Rubber boots and gloves are the best thing when you know you are in it. I ended up having a tick crawling on my neck the first morning and every time I thought I felt something I'd brush the back of my neck. Figure that's how I got the bulk of it there this time....damn tick.....

MK111 · May 29, 2014

I think you guys didn't get it when you were younger because you might have been too damn mean or just tougher.
Now when you are older you have gotten softer and mellowed out some.
Sounds good anyway.
Be save out there.

Beentown · May 29, 2014

Sumac is the only one that effects me.

Big_Holla · May 29, 2014

Beentown said:
Sumac is the only one that effects me.

I'm thinking that's what I ran into this time. We planted a bunch of trees in and around sumac and I really didn't pay much attention to any of it to see if it had the white flowers or not.

Joel · May 29, 2014

I hate poison ivy.

I know exactly what the crap looks like so I stay clear of it but I still get it a little every year somehow. If I ever actually got into it, like had a bunch touch my bare skin, I would be in the hospital and it's happened before. I think the little spots I get here and there are from the weed eater or maybe pollen blowing in the air when I'm outside. It sucks cause I'm very allergic to it, love the outdoors and the shit is EVERYWHERE. lol

Interestingly I have never been bothered by poison oak or sumac.

Bigslam51 · May 29, 2014

I'm lucky, I don't get any of that shit.

dante322 · May 29, 2014

I usually dont get it, when i do it goes away pretty quick.

Huckleberry Finn · May 29, 2014

What Jesse said about wiping down with alcohol...that's a key. Another is washing your skin in laundry detergent in the shower after you've come in contact...dries it out and washes it away

Diane · May 29, 2014

Knock on wood, I don't get any of it.

Hedgelj · May 29, 2014

I look at poison ivy and get that shit. Normally end up getting either the shot or a steroid pill pack to get rid of it. I've had good success with the wipes that seal your skin and with the technu wash if I know I got into it. The problem is you really only have 30 minutes or so before it absorbs in.

I have used with some success a homeopathic remedy for it.

This weekend I was weedeating some around our house in the brushy woods area down near the creek. Didn't see any but damned if I don't have a decent amount on my one arm and now spreading to my other. I'm going to give it till tomorrow to stop showing up in new places or else I'm getting the pills/shot.

Cotty...are you sure that comment wasn't just an excuse to have your hand down your pants?

Big_Holla · May 30, 2014

I think the one thing that drives me NUTS about it is just when you get one area to start healing other spots pop up!! I had it mostly on the back of my neck and left hand...now I've got spots on my cheek, side of my nose, forehead and now a big spot on my right shoulder... Wish that tube of Zanfel was bigger now... :tantrum:

Poison Ivy/Oak/Sumac

Senior Member

Owner/Operator

Dignitary Member

Dignitary Member

"Happy Hunting Grounds in the Sky"

Senior Member

Dignitary Member

You know what!!!

Senior Member

Senior Member

"Happy Hunting Grounds in the Sky"

Dignitary Member

Senior Member

Senior Member

Dignitary Member

*Supporting Member*

Senior Member

*Supporting Member*

Senior Member

Senior Member

Supporting Member

Supporting Member