[Community_garden] how to deal with poison ivy

[yarrow at sfo.com]

The postexposure external-alcohol-flush protocol was developed by 
poison-oak expert and dermatology professor William L. Epstein, MD. 
One of his research interests was occupational poison oak/ivy 
dermatitis (he died in 2006). Here's an excerpt from an FDA 
newsletter:

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


Plain water may be less subject to misuse for some people, but 
whenever I've worked on projects that involved regular poison-oak 
contact, my workdays have lasted considerably longer than 20 minutes 
(minimum 4 hours). For several years, I've ended these workdays using 
Epstein's protocol, and have not contracted the rash.

Whether you use water or alcohol, the important part is to use lots 
and lots, with no scrubbing or rubbing. Once you have washed your 
skin  -- even with water -- don't go back out to the Toxicodendron 
patch the same day. (Or, before you go out, apply IvyBlock lotion, 
which is the only FDA-approved lotion for prevention, then wait 15 
minutes. I haven't used it.)

Severe cases of poison oak/ivy dermatitis do indeed require emergency 
care. On a field trip in the boonies where most of us traipsed 
through poison-ivy groundcovers without realizing it, only a few of 
us got the rash, but one person out of the 30 got a severe case with 
facial swelling and had to get to a hospital.

Grubbing out the roots can be especially dangerous, because each time 
you break a little rootlet you're releasing urushiol onto your 
clothing, tools, or any exposed skin. I wouldn't do this unless I 
were one of the people who's (so far) immune -- though it's not 
uncommon for people to lose immunity!

After exposure, Epstein said, the key is to continue to treat your skin gently.
The itching can drive people out of their minds, judging from 
anecdotes on the lay websites devoted to poison ivy/oak. Tales of 
scraping off the rash or putting household chemicals or solvents on 
the skin abound. These sites have almost no  useful information and 
are more interesting as anthropological documents.