[pct-l] Poison Oak

[CHUCK CHELIN]

Good morning, Dan,



Anyone experienced with poison-ivy should be well-positioned to also
recognize poison-oak.  However, as poison-oak’s specie name – diversilobum –
suggests, poison-oak has much more diversity in the shape of the leaf lobes.
 Often poison-oak leaves are nearly identical to poison-ivy’s typical
single-notched leaf margin.  Other times the leaf margins much more closely
resemble small oak tree leaves, specifically the kinds of oaks that have
rounded lobes rather than those with the delicate pointed lobe ends.



Someone accustomed to spotting poison-ivy will immediately alert to the
presents of poison-oak, probably well before a different leaf margin shape
can be noted.  Just remember to expect some shape variety.



Unfortunately, I have considerable experience with both, although I’m not
highly sensitive to either.  While individual people vary considerably in
their reaction to urushiol, I can’t detect any difference to my exposure to
poison-ivy vs. a similar exposure to poison-oak.



Enjoy an itch-free hike,



Steel-Eye

Hiking the Pct since before it was the PCT – 1965

http://www.trailjournals.com/steel-eye

http://www.trailjournals.com/SteelEye09


On Fri, Feb 19, 2010 at 7:24 AM, Dan Africk <danstheman at gmail.com> wrote:

> 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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