Facts about Poison Ivy

Facts about Poison Ivy

How do you get poison ivy?

From touching it, or touching something that has touched it, like your clothes or your dog. You normally get it from touching the leaves, but yanking the vine out by the roots - even in winter - will give you a rash.

And there are more unusual ways to get it, like breathing smoke from firewood burning with poison ivy on it.

What about immunity?

Some people appear to be immune, others become immune. HOWEVER, you can gain or lose immunity, so to assume you can't get it if you never have before is foolish. People change as they age. Never assume that you are immune at any time no matter what your past experience was.

 What it is like to get it?

At first you get a slight itchy spot, which gets worse and worse. It can be a small itchy area that will annoy you, or it can cover your whole body with giant red sores.

 What if you know you've been exposed to it?

Within a hour or so you should rinse with lots of cold water - like a garden hose. Hot water will open your pores and let the oil in.

For up to about 6 hours washing with alcohol may still help remove the oil.

The next day is too late. Check with your doctor to see if early treatment can prevent the rash before it really starts.

 What can you do once the itching starts?

Not too much without seeing a doctor. Drugstore remedies may help, but for severe cases you have to see a doctor for a heavy duty remedy.

 Is it contagious?

Once you have the rash the oil has been absorbed and you probably can't spread it to others or elsewhere on yourself. If you get big blisters filled with liquid it is mostly water and will not spread the rash even if they break.

 What causes the rash?

There is an oil, called urushiol, that causes an allergic reaction after the first sensitizing exposure. The oil is in the leaves, vines, and roots. That's why tearing out the vine is so dangerous - it releases lot of urushiol.

 How to protect against it?

 If at all possible don’t go near it (Leaves of Three, Let Them Be).  If you must work around it, wear rubber boots and gloves that can be easily rinsed off.  Also utilize barrier cream.  Once the job is done rinse your boots, gloves, and any exposed skin with cold water.

Poison Ivy has a three leaf configuration.  The three leaflets, around 2" to 4" in length, may be shiny or not (usually are) wavy-edged or slightly toothed, and are sometimes slightly lobed. The young leaves are green, often with a reddish cast that they lose as they mature.

Poison Ivy in Spring

Like many spring leaves, poison ivy leaves start out bright red, which seems to fend off insects.
New leaves can always be reddish even when they sprout in mid summer.

Poison Ivy in Summer

Classic poison ivy in full swing. Some leaves are notched, some leave are not.
New leaves are shiny and still somewhat reddish. Older leaves are duller.

Poison Ivy in Fall

Poison ivy turns all sorts of colors in the fall: yellow, red, orange. And you can still get itchy from it in the fall.

Poison Ivy in Winter

You can get poison ivy from working with the vine in winter and you can get it in your lungs if you burn it and breathe the smoke. 

Creeping Poison Ivy

It creeps along on the ground - usually at the edge of the forest or edge a field or road.
It's almost impossible to get rid of it, since the roots are very well established under the ground. 

Poison Ivy Grows at the Edges

You can almost count on poison ivy growing at the edge of every field within it's range.
And at the edge of every road, and the edge of every forest.
And wherever man has bulldozed a stable environment - like a new shopping mall or a housing subdivision.

Climbing Poison Ivy

Sometimes it's hard to tell poison ivy from the tree it's climbing on - it can branch out two or three feet.
When you cut down a tree for firewood you can get a good case of poison ivy from the vine stuck to the tree - even in winter.