[pct-l] Poison Oak Immunization

[Hikers Two]

Between the "Yeah, this works," and the "No, you must be estupido to put poison oak in the same mouth you eat with" camps, my experience is more inline with the 'Pro-PO' group.

On first exposure in the mid-80's (my late 20's, in the Sierra foothills near Three Rivers), I taunted my hyper-allergic buddy by dancing bare-legged through every big PO bush on the trail. Reaction: none. (Skin, that is -- my friend was scarred for life.) As typical, though, subsequent PO exposures brought severe discomfort, the pustules and inflammation persisting for about three weeks.

In the early 90's, wildman hiker (friend, and fellow wannabe naturalist) Ken Heck (who later married Pat, the lady who introduced 25-mile+ death marches to the hiking clubs of southeast Tennessee in that timeframe) came back from a Cherokee native plant use seminar and told how he'd learned that the Cherokee fed the small red leaves to their babies in the spring.

Delighted at the prospect of becoming immune, I hastily began the every-other-day regimen, soon growing comfortable snapping off a leaf (or part thereof), popping it in my mouth, then quickly wiping my fingers with dirt to displace the sticky residue. With chewing, the leaves release a pleasant, even desirable, flavor (no salad dressing is needed). But woe to you if that tiny droplet of milky sap touches anything on the way to your tongue! I did find that a bite of any food worked better than water at clearing the resin from the mouth. (By now the skin of the 'No-PO' people is crawling. Can't you just feel it?  :^)

The success of this method, for me at least, was limited. Immunity never happened. What did was that both severity and overall reaction times were greatly reduced. The regular three-week suffering diminished to about four days, and the misery level also went way down. Of course, your results may vary. I'd advise anyone who wants to try it to be very cautious, but don't be afraid of it. (True confession: I had waves of panic with the first leaf -- almost didn't do it.) The real caveat is, don't eat too much or too often (2-3 day intervals are fine). When I do, evidence of the excess appears as a rash, usually somewhere on my back or shoulders. Overall, I think it's worth the little trouble (any sphincter rash notwithstanding) in eating to gain a whole lot less discomfort on exposure, contact being inevitable.

So this is my experience, anecdotal (rather than scientific) as it is. Maybe we can garnish a hot dog with some PO at the Kickoff -- and just maybe get the wife to finally try some of that three-leaflet salad green.

Bill


PS  Ken and Pat now live in CA, I hear. Anyone put us back in touch, I'd be much obliged.





From: jeff.singewald at comcast.net 
Sent: Tuesday, January 27, 2009 8:21 PM
To: George Wysup ; pct-l at backcountry.net 
Subject: Re: [pct-l] Poison Oak Immunization


George,

In the late 70s / early 80s there was actually a product sold over the counter called Immun-Oak.  Basically it was in liquid form and consisted of the active chemical in PO.  The product by design was taken over the course of 1 month.  Basically 1 drop in 8 ounces of water once per day for 3 consecutive days and than 2 drops in 8 ounces of water once per day for 3 days and so on.

Having been hospitalized twice for serioius PO (I had it everywhere and I mean everywhere - eyes were swollen shut and throat was swollen causing breathing difficulties and the pee and poop shoots were not functional), I decided to give this stuff a try once I was fully healed from the incident mentioned above.

The manuafacturer indicated that the immunization would last 3-4 years at which time a repeat may be necessary.  After 3 years I found that the product had been pulled from distribution, but with that said, I did not encounter another incident for nearly 18 years.  I hunt and fish frequently and know full well that this medicine worked VERY well!

My guess is that it was pulled from distribution due to the risk of causing problems if not taken properly. The dosage was critical as was taking it when you had absolutely no contact or outbreak of PO.

With that said, I am still not certain I would be up to this alternative strategy.  I have seen that in the past 3-4 years, my immune system has a deficiency again though as I have had several outbreaks following hunting/hiking trips in which I have been exposed to PO.

This may just work, but I will leave it to others to give it a try.

Elevator

-------------- Original message -------------- 
From: "George Wysup" <georwy at charter.net> 

> > - - - and poison oak leaves. Start with a very small leaf. Using the tweezers, 
> carefully pluck it from the branch and looking in the mirror, carefully place it 
> in the middle of your tongue. Immediately swallow it with two glasses of water. 
> Whatever you do don't chew it or allow it to mix with your saliva. You could get 
> P.O. blisters on your lips. I had a little of this the first time. Now wait 
> three days and see if you have any reaction. If not,( I did'nt ) then do it with 
> a larger leaf and wait three days again. If still no reaction continue this 
> until you have swallowed five leaves. By then you will, most likely be immune to 
> P.O.< 
> 
> Is anyone actually going to try this? When I was growing up in So Cal, 
> around 1949, some MDs actually made money trying to immunize PO sufferers using 
> a technique similar to the above (only more controlled). They don't do this any 
> more. Guess why not. IT DOESN'T WORK! Most folks understand that repeated 
> exposure to an allergen actually increases the sensitivity. Think about it. Have 
> you ever heard of bee sting immunization? Peanut butter immunization? Hives? 
> Psoriasis? Celiac disease? I suspect you have not - and for good reason. Your 
> body's immune system does not build antibodies for PO allergen. 
> It may not be harmful to try this. Id guess that the digestive fluids 
> actually digest the rhus oil before it can cause a reaction. [Maybe what you 
> need on the PCT is a gallon of stomach acid.] If this trick seems to work, it's 
> likely because the "experimenter" has, by now, learned to recognize and avoid 
> the PO. Better you try using Skunk brush as a placebo instead of the real thing. 
> Maybe accupuncture or chiropractic will do the job. 
> Yep; the dead-looking branches can be as deadly as the leaves, and they are 
> harder to ID as poison oak. Helpful hint for the guys: after possible contact 
> with PO, clean your hands before peeing. I learned this the hard way. 
> George 
> _______________________________________________