Poison Ivy

[Peacemaker]

Hey guys and gals. Long time no see. I hope you had a good summer.

Summer was good for me, and fall has started nicely with a doe (with help from my new-ish matrix 380) in the first week of our early season.

Got a seemingly rookie question. While setting up my stands in an area with lots of poison ivy, I have learned that I seem to have recently developed a severe allergy to poison ivy. I have been exposed many times over the years...I always take the usual precautions (long sleeves, tall boots/socks careful taking on and off, etc) and have never had more than minor itching. This time I got it BAD, and don't ever want to deal with that again.

So I am obviously amping up my precaution strategies (aside from staying out of the stuff). So my question for all you experienced woodsmen and woodswomen: What do you do with your boots when you have walked through poison ivy? I can't afford to throw away my boots every time they touch poison ivy...but can't afford to spread the PI oil (urioshol) all over everything that touches them.

Is a thorough hose down enough? Any thoughts?

35+ years in the woods.....and I have never had to worry about this before.

Thanks in advance.

[Starvin' Hillbilly]

you wear leather, leather/ cordura or rubber boots? . . . regardless of what you wear i use a non- scented dish soap and a soft bristled GI brush. it will definitely cut the oil and get rid of it, but you might have to re oil your boots cause it pulls the tanning oils and water proofing oils out of your boots causing them to crack and will give them a half-life

depending on how allergic you are to it you might need some type of rubber gloves, if you got a hook up w/ an ambulance crew, hospital or even funeral home ( ) that'll work. keep benadryl on hand and if you can find the old fashioned lye soap get some of that. It's got an high ph, 8 or more and will dry it up quick, faster than a dr's prescribed soap! (as it bumps up take a scrubber pad and as you wash scrub them to get it to leak and use the lye soap, thats what i do)

ken

No animals were harmed while testing said product

[Pintail]

Just remember its a plant oil. Treat EVERYTHING including yourself like your were covered in oil. Use anything that breaks down oil, dish washing detergent works well only because of the surfactants in it. 409 spray works well too for rubber boots. Always use a wash cloth as just soaping up don't cut it.

[Peacemaker]

you wear leather, leather/ cordura or rubber boots?

Real leather and synthetic leather (waterproof, in theory).

I do also have some ballistic nylon (I think) boots but I don't usually wear them into the woods.

[nchunterkw]

Urushiol can be washed off with soap and water but it absorbs into the skin very quickly, so the sooner the better. Washing your boots and clothes will do the trick.

[Peacemaker]

thanks for the suggestions. Will wash the boots as recommended. If it happens again I might have to get some disposable cleanroom "bunny suits" to use. I wonder if I can get them in RealTree camo

[Nightstalker]

Hey guys and gals. Long time no see. I hope you had a good summer.

Summer was good for me, and fall has started nicely with a doe (with help from my new-ish matrix 380) in the first week of our early season.

Got a seemingly rookie question. While setting up my stands in an area with lots of poison ivy, I have learned that I seem to have recently developed a severe allergy to poison ivy. I have been exposed many times over the years...I always take the usual precautions (long sleeves, tall boots/socks careful taking on and off, etc) and have never had more than minor itching. This time I got it BAD, and don't ever want to deal with that again.

So I am obviously amping up my precaution strategies (aside from staying out of the stuff). So my question for all you experienced woodsmen and woodswomen: What do you do with your boots when you have walked through poison ivy? I can't afford to throw away my boots every time they touch poison ivy...but can't afford to spread the PI oil (urioshol) all over everything that touches them.

Is a thorough hose down enough? Any thoughts?

35+ years in the woods.....and I have never had to worry about this before.

Thanks in advance.

Have you ever tried "Oak‑N‑Ivy Tecnu Outdoor Skin Cleanser" people claim it works great on your skin to stop the rash. You can buy it at MEC.ca or online.

[Boo]

I react terribly as well. I use laundry detergent when I can and if not, I use dish soap. Anything that cuts oils.
Can you go at the poison ivy with round up?

[racking up points]

I am afflicted with a horrible allergy to poison ivy, to the point where my dad or a buddy needs to do my summer stand prep. I cover head to toe and remove all my outer layers and immediately launder them. I then shower in dish soap. Nothing seems to help. I am always looking for it and avoiding it as much as I can but I'm very sensitive to it.

I have seen many skin specialists and all of them agree...can't prevent it, just stay out of the woods. That'll never happen! So once I can feel it coming on, I open my spare script of prednisone and I begin a pretty aggressive cycle that weans down over the course of 1 month. It cuts recovery time by a lot. Creams like hydrocortisone will help with the itching but it won't shorten recovery time.

[Doe Master]

This helped for me to understand poison ivy a little .
Since watching this and vigorously scrubbing . No more problems .
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oyoDRHpQK0

[racking up points]

Thanks for the link DM. Makes sense!

[newbie]

guess im one of the lucky ones. i can roll around in it and it wont bother me. so i dont worry about it.

[rayman]

First started working in the woods 30 years ago and broke out bad a couple of times. Then seemed to develop somewhat of a tolerance to it, but still have to watch out. Some things i have learned:

it can be worse when exposed to blooming plants or if there is sap coming out, like if you are trimming around a stand. It can get in your blood stream.

Creek or river water is bad news for poison ivy. If you are exposed and there is a creek close by, submerge exposed areas in creek. Like if you walked in it, stand in the creek for a couple of minutes with the water running over your boots. If you think your hands touched it, rinse hands really good.

If you break out, go for a good long swim in the creek. Probably too cold for most of you guys, but it works.

Hydrocortisone cream combined with strong antihistamine drug can help a lot with bad breakouts.

[Waif]

Once your boots have been cleaned I would go to wearing rubber ones only till no ivy exposure. Just easier to clean them after. Better scent control may be a bonus. Keep disposable gloves in a sealed bag for handling deer ,they can carry oil too. With cation used gloves can go back in the bag afterwards.

[evaughan]

I've had Pi probably 20 times. The Woods I used to hang out in as a kid were infested. Most commonly, in between the fingers from tying boot laces after walking through it.

I'Ve taken to wearing nitrile gloves in those areas may-sept. Interestingly, I never clean my boots with anything and find after the boots dry out completely for 48 hours they don't seem to pose a problem anymore