[pct-l] Poison Oak

[Dan Africk]

I have no experience with poison oak, but I have lots of experience
with poison ivy, which seems very similar other than the shape of the
leaves, and they both have the same toxin, urushiol.

There are various products that claim to remove urushiol from your
skin of you use them immediately after exposure. I keep something
called Ivy-X in my first aid kits, and I often keep a packet or 2 in
my pocket for quick access when traveling through areas with lots of
poison ivy. Ivy-X is a towelette saturated in mineral oil and a whole
bunch of herbal extracts. The herbs probably do nothing, its the
mineral oil that matters. Since urushiol is an oil, it makes sense
that oil would do a better job at removing it than water(which is why
if you do use water, you need lots of it as well as lots of soap). I
have no idea if the Ivy-X works or not, I've never gotten poison ivy
after using it, but I also think that every time I used I had only a
very mild or possible exposure to PI. I figure it probably helps a
little, and it is very convenient to use when you don't have access to
lots of water.

I've also heard that alcohol works at removing urushiol, since it is a
pretty good solvent, but I don't know if that is true or not. With any
of these cleansing methods, either soap and water, alcohol, or a
cleansing scrub, keep in mind that you are more susceptible to
exposure afterwards, since you are stripping your skin of its
protective oils. I'm not sure if this applies to Ivy-X or other
mineral oil based products, since the mineral oil residue may take the
place of your skin's natural oils.

Of course, the best defense against urushiol is long pants, long
sleeves, and simply recognizing and avoiding the plants. I suspect
that urushiol will not bind to your clothing nearly as easily as it
will to your skin. But since I prefer to be prepared, I'm also
bringing prednisone, a prescription steroid, in my first aid kit. Your
doctor would probably give you a prescription if you explain your
plans and what you intend on using it for.

-- 
www.hikefor.com/haiti-2010-Dan

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