Start Poison Ivy News Group?
Does anyone reading this know how to start a new User group to focus on poison ivy? This is a running thread in ten current News Groups (see above cc-list). Sure seems like poison ivy is a common concern to many people, in various News Groups!
Previously thinking of myself immune, I‚ve been humbled and write this while quite incapacitated by poison ivy! As I‚m crawling the walls with my new found source of unrelenting itching, I first thought of how burn victims must feel. Then I reached out to the WWW (InfoSeek & AltaVista) and NewsGroups (DejaNews) for information on poison ivy. My new found wisdom is described below.
Knowing that a poison ivy reaction is like the common cold, I was aware no magical cure existed - It "needs to run it‚s course∑." Much of the information I found was akin to "abstention WAS the best way to have avoided the pregnancy"!
My priority is, now that I‚ve got the poison ivy reaction, what can I do to stop the itch? Next, what can I do differently "next time", followed with specific advice on how to I kill the damn stuff. Immunizations would be a plus.
For relieving itching symptoms, I‚ve been disappointed in the lack of information available! I was hoping for easy-over-the-counter topical skin anesthetic capable of soothing a wounded elephant; no such luck.
My third pharmacist was correct in that Lanacane (Benzocaine 6%) was better than Hydrocortisone. The later was described by someone as "attempting to put out a forest fire by pissing on it" - I agree. Possibly the best advice I read about for treating symptoms came from boggles@io.com ( Jennifer Boggess):
She reminded me of the curative powers of the aloe plant. With such plant in my household, I promptly severed a leaf and began application. Being an engineer, I wanted to do an experiment and used it only on half of my afflicted areas (including my nose and one ear!) Three hours later it is perhaps too soon to tell, but there may be a favorable case to be made for an aloe plant Vs Lanacane!
Another interesting possibility is bathing in manganese sulfate solution, as described in "Taking the itch out of poison ivy":http://www.derm-infonet.com/comm/Nov95/terezakis.html
Advice for next-best from abstention to poison ivy seems to be IMMEDIATE treatment. In the wild: "jewel weed", which appears in the vicinity of poison ivy, gets a lot of consensus - I have no data.
Upon contamination from poison ivy, my Doctor and what I‚ve read seem to concur: Upon exposure, you have a few minutes (3 to 10) to wash it off! Thereafter you have a delayed effect equivalent to a chemical burn. Contamination will not stop until you wash all contaminated body parts, clothing and equipment.
(Views on appropriate washing differ, i.e. soap Vs which soap/no soap, etc.)
For general information I found these two web sites most useful:
Common myths about poison ivy, etc:
http:/www.derm-infonet.com/PoisonIvy.html
Info: http://www.family.internet.com/peds/scr/000027sc.htm#FIRST AID:
For getting rid of poison ivy I found three sources to offer the most meaningful thoughts on which chemicals to use (Roundup, etc):
Univ. of Georgia: http://www.ces.uga.edu/cobb/ivy.html
Mich. State Univ.: http://www.msue.msu.edu/msue/imp/moduf/07189502.html
News Group input: Gasoline works great, why use other worse/expensive chemicals?
Looking forward to your comments and wisdom, happy scratching and best regards, Tom Rodriguez (rodrigt@tiac.net)
From: Geri Guidetti <arkinst@concentric.net
Newsgroups: misc.survivalism
Subject: Poison Ivy/Jewelweed, was Survival:where do I start???
Date: Mon, 15 Jul 1996 09:23:51 -0400
rbowen wrote:
A. T. Hagan wrote:
hambidge@sis.bms.com (Al Hambidge, Jr.) wrote:
Once you've got the rash, try some Jewelweed (a marshland plant).
I just pack the leaves over the rash and cover it with a loose dressing; seems to dry it right up.
Jewelweed is also known in some parts as touch-me-not, because the fruits (small, green, football shape), when ripe, pop open at the slightest touch and release the seeds. It is very good for relieving the itch of poison ivy, though the effect lasts only about half an hour to an hour. Or so say friends and family;
I've never had poison ivy. Either I'm immune or very lucky, and all things considered, it's probably the former. :-)
Hmm, I thought the cultivated form of Jewelweed is commonly known as Impatiens? I haven't seen Touch Me Nots in a long time, maybe they're related? snipped more good stuff...
You have piqued my curiosity. According to the Herb Society of America's new Encyclopedia of Herbs and Their Uses, Impatiens is, indeed, the genus name for Jewelweed. Family, Balsaminaceae. Impatiens pallida is the pale touch-me-not and is very similar in appearance to the more common I. capensis.
They say "Jewelweeds have long been used by native N. Americans to relieve the pain and irritation of rashes and eczema, particularly by the Potawatomi, who applied the juice to poison ivy rash."
The whole plant and juice are used. If taken internally, it has diuretic, purgative and emetic effects. They also list medicinal uses for rashes caused by Rhus species (sumacs), corns, warts, ringworm (use juice) and hemmorhoids (ointment). Can be grown in moist soil in sun or shade. Seed in spring. Harvest plants when flowering. Use fresh for ointments and juice extraction.
Live and learn...ain't life grand?...Geri Guidetti, The Ark Institute
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