Poisonwood

[boulderjohn]

While I was on Abaco in the Bahamas, I helped a scientist by clearing out the trees and vines that fallen during a wind event and were covering the cave entrance she needed to work on (looking for bat fossils in the sediment). I thought I was careful with the bit of it that debris that was poisonwood, but evidently I got a minor case of it. It looks like the poison ivy I suffered in my youth but have not seen in years because it is so rare in Colorado. In fact, it could be poison ivy, since there was some of that near the cave as well. It doesn't appear to matter, since poison ivy, sumac, and oak all have the same poison as poisonwood.

Oddly enough, it has persisted for going on two weeks, which is very atypical of this problem, and it has even spread a little recently. In the early hours this morning it was too itchy for me to sleep. I thought I might have been recontaminating myself, but everything I took on that trip was thoroughly washed upon return.

So I have looked up what to do in a number of sources, including the Alert Diver magazine that just arrived. I looked at a number of Internet sources for this type of poison as well. Here is a sampling of what I found:

DAN says to apply Benedryl cream; an Internet source says absolutely never apply Benedryl Cream.

One source says to apply hot compresses--as hot as I can take it. Another source says to apply cold water only--never hot.

In general, if I find a source that tells me something to do, I will find another source telling me the opposite.

Is there anything authoritative on this topic anywhere?

 

[TSandM]

Looking up some medical references, it seems that there are no data suggesting that topical antihistamines are of use.

New lesions can occur up to 2 weeks or more, although there is some thought that these very late lesions may be recontamination. Even if you washed the clothes, there may be some residual oil.

If the reaction is significant, treatment is with steroids. Some authors seem to like high-concentration (prescription) topical steroids, and others go with systemic medications, but it seems clear that treatment must be at least 10 to 14 days or the problem may recrudesce once the patient is weaned off the meds.

 

[Peter_C]

As someone who gets poison oak way to often, I have been itching for 3 weeks so far from a case that somehow passed thru my thick jeans clearing the brush from the sides of our driveway with a chainsaw and hedger. Still itches today, as I noticed I was scratching earlier today. Best thing to do is not scratch. I have been clearing the poison oak for the past two years, using 12 gallons of spray as I can't ripe it out by hand, and I need to work in the woods around us for fire prevention.

The beginning is knowing you got into a patch and taking a cold shower with good soap and wash multiple times, as in three times. If I know I got it on a specific part of my body I use alcohol on it. I put my clothes thru two loads of laundry using hot water. If I get it, I have tried many topical fixes, and not one seems to work great. The first thing I do is gently rub it with alcohol to make sure no oils remain. From then on it can not be spread further, but may pop up in other places as the body reacts. The old Indian way is to use the oil extracts from the Manzanita bush. Ironically they always grow together. The extract can be purchased from stores that specialize in quality foods etc. Our local stores Olivers Market and Whole Foods, both stock it. Works okay, but not as good as a steroid like Prednisone.

 

[bletso]

The best treatment I have found is prevention. I have a tall hedge I have to trim a couple times a year and I always seem to get it on the arms or wrist from picking the clippings up. The last time I clipped though I used chemical full arm length gloves and avoided it.

I can usually feel something not right where exposed and if I wash with a product called "Tecnu", it seems to help. If you already have blistering, much less so.

Good luck