Just spent over an hour cutting down chokecherries. I had no idea there was so much poison ivy back there. It's everywhere. And brambles too. Not exactly my idea of a fun Saturday morning: wading through thick poison ivy, trying not to get caught on brambles, lopping down those damned chokecherry saplings and dragging them out, all the while muttering "don't touch my face, don't touch my face..."
If I get poison ivy I'm going to get it on my face and neck; those were the only parts I couldn't cover. I tried really hard not to touch exposed skin but it's possible I forgot. And it's also possible that while I was bending over trying to yank loose a small choke cherry, a poison ivy plant higher up the slope might have brushed against my head. I guess my arms might also have been exposed when I pulled my shirt off. My legs are probably fine: I had tucked my pants into my socks and just peeled the whole thing off afterwards. I washed off with cold water, then poured rubbing alcohol on a washcloth and cleaned off with that too. (A suggestion from our friend Allison, who we saw on Thursday night and happened to discuss poison ivy with.) And by the way, cleaning your face with rubbing alcohol is not an experience I recommend. I turned the fan on the bathroom to cut down on the fumes and I still had to cover my eyes with a damp cloth. Then after I had cleaned off all the exposed areas as well as I could, I took a shower with lukewarm water. You're supposed to wash off poison ivy oil with cold water, as hot opens the pores and can make it worse. But I hate cold showers; lukewarm was the best I could manage.
Guess I won't know until ... how long before a poison ivy rash appears, anyway? In any case, no point obsessing now. Especially since I'm going to have to do it all over again. I just remembered that I forgot to dig up the azalea, which is also toxic to goats and is also in the middle of the poison ivy field. Tomorrow for that! In the meantime here's a photo of one of the more pleasant parts of the yard:
you'll know pretty quick if you've got it - within the day, i think.
there's a product called tecnu which is a waterless cleanser that will remove the oils from poison ivy. if you suspect you have it, you can wash the area with tecnu and that may keep it from spreading.
calamine is good for small areas of poison ivy (they make clear now, which is nice), and if you wind up with a lot of it, visit a doctor. they can prescribe a topical or oral steroid that will clear it right up.
i generally find that it's not that big of a deal. i get it almost every year.
Thanks for the tips! I will get some Tecnu today so I'll be ready to wade into the poison ivy and get the azalea out tomorrow. I'm a wimp about this whole poison ivy thing just because I've never had it.
I would have known about Tecnu if I had remembered in time that I work for a health website which has thousands of preventative health techniques. After your comment I went to peoplespharmacy.com and searched on "poison ivy" and it was right there. They also recommend products called Ivy Shield or Ivy Block that you apply beforehand. doh!