Article: Outsmarting Poison Ivy and Its Cousins

[Guest guest]

Just a public service article since we are going into the big Poison Ivy

Season (and this holiday weekend annually has the most reported Poison

Ivy outbreaks)

 

*Smile*

Chris (list mom)

 

http://www.alittleolfactory.com

 

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http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/796_ivy.html

 

 

Outsmarting Poison Ivy and Its Cousins

 

 

[illustrations of poison ivy, poison sumac, and poison oak]

<http://www.fda.gov/fdac/graphics/1996graphics/poisnivy.gif>

 

Pamela Lillian Isley can manipulate plants in unexplained ways. They

bend to her will, growing and threatening the environment and

society--at least in Gotham City. In the world of Batman, the fictional

Isley is better known as the beautiful criminal Poison Ivy. Her alias is

fitting. Just as she is the bane of Batman's existence, in the real

world the poison ivy plant--along with its cousins poison oak and poison

sumac--is the bane of millions of campers, hikers, gardeners, and others

who enjoy the great outdoors.

 

Approximately 85 percent of the population will develop an allergic

reaction if exposed to poison ivy, oak or sumac, according to the

American Academy of Dermatology. Nearly one-third of forestry workers

and firefighters who battle forest fires in California, Oregon and

Washington develop rashes or lung irritations from contact with poison

oak, which is the most common of the three in those states.

 

 

Usually, people develop a sensitivity to poison ivy, oak or sumac only

after several encounters with the plants, sometimes over many years.

However, sensitivity may occur after only one exposure.

 

 

The cause of the rash, blisters, and infamous itch is urushiol

(pronounced oo-roo-shee-ohl), a chemical in the sap of poison ivy, oak

and sumac plants. Because urushiol is inside the plant, brushing against

an intact plant will not cause a reaction. But undamaged plants are

rare.

 

 

" Poison oak, ivy and sumac are very fragile plants, " says William L.

Epstein, M.D., professor of dermatology, University of California, San

Francisco. Stems or leaves broken by the wind or animals, and even the

tiny holes made by chewing insects, can release urushiol.

 

 

Reactions, treatments and preventive measures are the same for all three

poison plants. Avoiding direct contact with the plants reduces the risk

but doesn't guarantee against a reaction. Urushiol can stick to pets,

garden tools, balls, or anything it comes in contact with. If the

urushiol isn't washed off those objects or animals, just touching

them--for example, picking up a ball or petting a dog--could cause a

reaction in a susceptible person. (Animals, except for a few higher

primates, are not sensitive to urushiol.)

 

 

Urushiol that's rubbed off the plants onto other things can remain

potent for years, depending on the environment. If the contaminated

object is in a dry environment, the potency of the urushiol can last for

decades, says Epstein. Even if the environment is warm and moist, the

urushiol could still cause a reaction a year later.

 

 

" One of the stories I tell people is of the hunter who gets poison oak

on his hunting coat, " says Epstein. " He puts it on a year later to go

hunting and gets a rash [from the urushiol still on the coat]. "

 

 

Almost all parts of the body are vulnerable to the sticky urushiol,

producing the characteristic linear (in a line) rash. Because the

urushiol must penetrate the skin to cause a reaction, places where the

skin is thick, such as the soles of the feet and the palms of the hands,

are less sensitive to the sap than areas where the skin is thinner. The

severity of the reaction may also depend on how big a dose of urushiol

the person got.

 

 

Quick Action Needed

 

 

Because urushiol can penetrate the skin within minutes, there's no time

to waste if you know you've been exposed. " The earlier you cleanse the

skin, the greater the chance that you can remove the urushiol before it

gets attached to the skin, " says Hon-Sum Ko, M.D., an allergist and

immunologist with FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.

Cleansing may not stop the initial outbreak of the rash if more than 10

minutes has elapsed, but it can help prevent further spread.

 

 

If you've been exposed to poison ivy, oak or sumac, if possible, stay

outdoors until you complete the first two steps:

 

 

* First, Epstein says, cleanse exposed skin with generous amounts

of isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol. (Don't return to the woods or yard the

same day. Alcohol removes your skin's protection along with the urushiol

and any new contact will cause the urushiol to penetrate twice as fast.)

 

 

* Second, wash skin with water. (Water temperature does not

matter; if you're outside, it's likely only cold water will be

available.)

 

* Third, take a regular shower with soap and warm water. Do not

use soap before this point because " soap will tend to pick up some of

the urushiol from the surface of the skin and move it around, " says

Epstein.

 

* Clothes, shoes, tools, and anything else that may have been in

contact with the urushiol should be wiped off with alcohol and water. Be

sure to wear gloves or otherwise cover your hands while doing this and

then discard the hand covering.

 

 

Dealing with the Rash

 

 

If you don't cleanse quickly enough, or your skin is so sensitive that

cleansing didn't help, redness and swelling will appear in about 12 to

48 hours. Blisters and itching will follow. For those rare people who

react after their very first exposure, the rash appears after seven to

10 days.

 

 

Because they don't contain urushiol, the oozing blisters are not

contagious nor can the fluid cause further spread on the affected

person's body. Nevertheless, Epstein advises against scratching the

blisters because fingernails may carry germs that could cause an

infection.

 

 

The rash will only occur where urushiol has touched the skin; it doesn't

spread throughout the body. However, the rash may seem to spread if it

appears over time instead of all at once. This is either because the

urushiol is absorbed at different rates in different parts of the body

or because of repeated exposure to contaminated objects or urushiol

trapped under the fingernails.

 

 

The rash, blisters and itch normally disappear in 14 to 20 days without

any treatment. But few can handle the itch without some relief. For mild

cases, wet compresses or soaking in cool water may be effective. Oral

antihistamines can also relieve itching.

 

 

FDA also considers over-the-counter topical corticosteroids (commonly

called hydrocortisones under brand names such as Cortaid and Lanacort)

safe and effective for temporary relief of itching associated with

poison ivy.

 

 

For severe cases, prescription topical corticosteroid drugs can halt the

reaction, but only if treatment begins within a few hours of exposure.

" After the blisters form, the [topical] steroid isn't going to do much, "

says Epstein. The American Academy of Dermatology recommends that people

who have had severe reactions in the past should contact a dermatologist

as soon as possible after a new exposure.

 

 

Severe reactions can be treated with prescription oral corticosteroids.

Phillip M. Williford, M.D., assistant professor of dermatology, Wake

Forest University, prescribes oral corticosteroids if the rash is on the

face, genitals, or covers more than 30 percent of the body. The drug

must be taken for at least 14 days, and preferably over a three-week

period, says FDA's Ko. Shorter courses of treatment, he warns, will

cause a rebound with an even more severe rash.

 

 

There are a number of OTC products to help dry up the oozing blisters,

including:

 

 

* aluminum acetate (Burrows solution)

 

* baking soda

 

* Aveeno (oatmeal bath)

 

* aluminum hydroxide gel

 

* calamine

 

* kaolin

 

* zinc acetate

 

* zinc carbonate

 

* zinc oxide

 

Desensitization, vaccines, and barrier creams have been studied over the

last several decades for their potential to protect against poison ivy

reactions, but none have been approved by FDA for this purpose.

 

Right now, prevention seems the best treatment, unless you plan to take

lessons from Batman's bane with Poison Ivy's name.

 

 

Isadora B. Stehlin is a member of FDA's public affairs staff.

 

 

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Getting Rid of the Plants

 

 

Poison ivy, oak and sumac are most dangerous in the spring and summer,

when there is plenty of sap, the urushiol content is high, and the

plants are easily bruised. However, the danger doesn't disappear over

the winter. Dormant plants can still cause reactions, and cases have

been reported in people who used the twigs of the plant for firewood or

the vines for Christmas wreaths. Even dead plants can cause a reaction,

because urushiol remains active for several years after the plant dies.

 

If poison ivy invades your yard, " there's really no good news for you, "

says David Yost, a horticulturist (specialist in fruits, vegetables,

flowers, and general gardening) with the state of Virginia. The two

herbicides most commonly used for poison ivy--Roundup and Ortho Poison

Ivy Killer--will kill other plants as well. Spraying Roundup (active

ingredient glyphosate) on the foliage of young plants will kill the

poison ivy, but if the poison ivy vine is growing up your prize

rhododendron or azalea, for example, the Roundup will kill them too, he

says.

 

 

Ortho Poison Ivy Killer (active ingredient triclopyr), if used

sparingly, will kill poison ivy but not trees it grows around, says

Joseph Neal, Ph.D., associate professor of weed science, Cornell

University. " But don't use it around shrubs, broadleaf ground cover, or

herbaceous garden plants, " he says. Neal explains it is possible to

spray the poison ivy without killing other plants if you pull the poison

ivy vines away from the desirable plants and wipe the ivy foliage with

the herbicide, or use a shield on the sprayer to direct the chemical.

 

 

If you don't want to use chemicals, " manual removal will get rid of the

ivy if you're diligent, " says Neal. You must get every bit of the

plant--leaves, vines, and roots--or it will sprout again.

 

 

The plants should be thrown away according to your municipality's

regulations, says Neal. Although urushiol will break down with

composting, Neal doesn't recommend that because the plants must be

chopped into small pieces first, which just adds to the time you're

exposed to the plant and risk of a rash. " It's a health issue, " he says.

 

 

 

Never burn the plants. The urushiol can spread in the smoke and cause

serious lung irritation.

 

 

The American Academy of Dermatology recommends that whenever you're

going to be around poison ivy--trying to clear it from your yard or

hiking in the woods--you wear long pants and long sleeves and, if

possible, gloves and boots.

 

 

Neal recommends wearing plastic gloves over cotton gloves when pulling

the plants. Plastic alone isn't enough because the plastic rips, and

cotton alone won't work because after a while the urushiol will soak

through.

 

 

--I.B.S.

 

 

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Identification Please

 

 

Unfortunately, poison ivy, oak and sumac don't grow with little picture

ID badges around their stems, so you have to know what to look for. The

famous rule " leaves of three, let it be " is good to follow, except that

some of the plants don't always play by the rules and have leaves in

groups of five to nine. To avoid these plants and their itchy

consequences, here's what to look for.

 

 

Poison Ivy

 

 

* grows around lakes and streams in the Midwest and the East

 

* woody, ropelike vine, a trailing shrub on the ground, or a

free-standing shrub

 

* normally three leaflets (groups of leaves all on the same small

stem coming off the larger main stem), but may vary from groups of three

to nine

 

* leaves are green in the summer and red in the fall

 

* yellow or green flowers and white berries

 

 

Poison Oak

 

 

* eastern (from New Jersey to Texas) grows as a low shrub; western

(along the Pacific coast) grows to 6-foot-tall clumps or vines up to 30

feet long

 

* oak-like leaves, usually in clusters of three

 

* clusters of yellow berries

 

 

Poison Sumac

 

 

* grows in boggy areas, especially in the Southeast

 

* rangy shrub up to 15 feet tall

 

* seven to 13 smooth-edged leaflets

 

* glossy pale yellow or cream-colored berries

 

--I.B.S.