Because of COVID-19 and
the schools being closed, Boy Scout Troops can’t meet, and so for my readers
who are Boy Scouts in the United States, this article can help you with the
plant identification requirements for First Class. When I was a Scoutmaster, this was the first
plant I taught the scouts. For other plant identification articles go HERE –
Author’s Note
I
was walking through Stiglmeier Park, in Cheektowaga, New York, on Memorial Day,
and it occurred to me that “April showers, bring May flowers” and poison
ivy! The poison ivy was everywhere!
And
speaking of everywhere, poison ivy is found throughout the United States and
Canada, except in Alaska and Hawaii: poison ivy also does not grow well in the
desert, in the rainforests or above 4,000 feet (1,220 meters)1. There are two types of poison ivy that are
found across this vast range: eastern poison ivy, or toxicodendron
radicans (L.), to use its scientific name, and western
poison ivy, also known as, toxicodendron rydbergii.
Distribution of eastern poison ivy, toxicodendron radicans (L.), from United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resource Conservation Service, “Eastern Poison Ivy”. |
Distribution of western poison ivy, toxicodendron rydbergii, United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resource Conservation Service, “Western Poison Ivy”. |
Insects,
birds, mammals, amphibians, and reptiles welcome poison ivy plants, as some can
eat poison ivy, some find the little white berries delicious and some use the
plant as shelter. Black bears, raccoons,
and white-tailed deer all browse on poison ivy, eating the leaves, the stems
and the berries2.
However,
humans consider it to be a noxious weed, since most people are allergic to the
clear, resinous oil, called urushiol (pronounced u-ROO-she-ol), which is found
in the leaves, stems and roots, of the ivy.
Urushiol oil is sticky, and it will contaminate everything that touches
the plant, your skin, clothes, tools, shoes, and jewelry. If you touch something that has been
contaminated with urushiol oil, and then touch your skin, you will end up with
a rash, Urushiol oil will even stick to
your pet’s fur, once I got a bad case of poison ivy rash from petting my cat,
who had walked through a patch of poison ivy!
Urushiol-induced contact dermatitis on the arms after 72 hours from contact with poison ivy, July 16, 2009, photograph by Larsonja, Wikipedia |
A
poison ivy rash is a case of contact dermatitis, or in plain English, an
allergic reaction to the urushiol resin.
According to the Mayo Clinic, your skin must come into direct contact
with the urushiol oil to develop a rash.
If the rash is in a straight line across your skin, that means that you
brushed up against some poison ivy.
However, if your rash is more spread out, you probably encountered the
urushiol oil from your clothing or a tool or your pet. A poison ivy rash is not contagious, and you
can’t catch it from someone else, unless they still have the plant’s oil on
their skin or clothes.
A
rash usually develops within 12 to 48 hours of exposure to urushiol oil and can
last two to three weeks. Doctor Eric
Weiss writes in A Comprehensive Guide To Wilderness & Travel Medicine,
that your risk of developing a rash increases with every exposure to poison ivy
and urushiol oil. He also writes that
the rash “starts as red, itchy bumps, followed by blisters that may become
crusted”. The more urushiol oil that
you encounter, the more severe will be the allergic reaction and the sooner a
rash will develop. The rash will appear
later in areas where the urushiol oil was less concentrated. This is the reason for the misconception that
the oozing, poison ivy blister fluid spreads the rash; however, blister-fluid
will not spread the rash!
It
is not a good idea to scratch the blisters though, as it can lead to secondary
skin infections and according to Dr. Weiss will increase the itchy feeling!
According
to the Mayo Clinic, the symptoms are:
· Redness
· Itching
· Swelling
· Blisters
· Difficulty
breathing, if you've inhaled the smoke from burning poison ivy
And
you should see a doctor if
· The
reaction is severe or widespread
· You
inhaled the smoke from burning poison ivy and are having difficulty breathing
· Your
skin continues to swell
· The
rash affects your eyes, mouth, or genitals
· Blisters
are oozing pus
· You
develop a fever greater than 100 F (37.8 C)
· The
rash doesn't get better within a few weeks
Dr.
Weiss, in his A Comprehensive Guide To Wilderness & Travel Medicine,
states that if left untreated the rash will generally clear up on its own in
about two weeks. He suggests that oral
antihistamines, like Benadryl®, when 25 to 50 mg are taken every four to six
hours, will help to relive the itchy sensation, though it might leave you
drowsy. Also, and from past experience I
agree whole-heartedly with this, calamine lotion and over-the-counter steroid
creams, like a 1% hydrocortisone cream, are not highly effective.
The
best way to prevent poison ivy, and this is coming from someone who is really
allergic to it, is to never, ever come in contact with it! Which means that you have to learn to identify
the plants and always be on a lookout for them, you have to be careful about
letting your pets roam through areas where poison ivy grows and you have to be
careful about what you burn, that vine with fuzzy roots, should never, ever go
into the fire! Also, where protective
clothing when you are out in areas where there is poison ivy, you should wear
long pants, a long-sleeved shirt, and closed-toe shoes.
“Leaves
of three, let them be”. As the first
line of the saying says, the first thing that you should look for, is a plant
with three leaves. Also, many times, but
not always, the leaves look like mittens with “thumbs”; sometimes the “thumb”
is on the left, sometimes on the right and sometime on both side of the leaf.
An example of “thumbs” on poison ivy leaves, notice that most of the leaves have “thumbs” but not all do. Photograph and graphic by the author. |
“Berries
white, run in fright”. In the fall,
the fruit of a poison ivy plant can be seen as a spray of white berries. Also, in the fall, the leaves of a poison ivy
turn bright red.
“Hairy
vine, no friend of mine”. Sometimes,
poison ivy grows along the ground, like in the pictures above, however
sometimes it grows as a vine up along the trunks of trees. When that happens, even when there are no
leaves, you can tell it is a poison ivy vine because of the hairy roots of the
vine
Poison-ivy vine located in Mount Airy, NC, October 22, 2005, photograph by Melissa Wilkins, Wikipedia. |
Here
are some other things to look for which will help you to identify poison ivy
So,
what should you do if you think that you have been exposed to poison ivy? Just like with COVID-19, you need to wash any
part of you that might have been in contact with poison ivy, with plenty of soap
and water; and warm water is better than cold water, unless cold water is all that
you have. Scrub under your fingernails
too, as this will help to keep the rash from spreading. And since the urushiol oil binds to you skin
within 30 minutes3, you need to wash it off as soon as you can. If you can’t, for whatever reason, wash it
off within 30 minutes, the Mayo Clinic says that even washing after an hour has
passed, will help reduce the severity of the rash4. You will also need to wash any clothes, shoes,
shoelaces or outdoor tools and gear that might have come into contact with the poison
ivy, since the urushiol oils can stay active and potent for years5. The best way to wash contaminated clothes,
according to the Mayo Clinic, is with a washing machine. If you suspect that your clothes have
urushiol oil on them, handle them carefully so that you don’t transfer the oil
to yourself, your other clothes, your appliances, furniture, etc. Also, if you suspect that your pet might have
encountered poison ivy, give them a bath, to remove the urushiol oils from
their fur, so that it doesn’t spread to you.
Always wear long rubber gloves when you bathe them, if you think they might
be contaminated.
So
next time you are out and about in the wilderness, keep in mind that the spring
weather is bringing out more than flowers and steer clear of the poison ivy!
I
hope that you continue to enjoy The Woodsman’s Journal Online and look for me
on YouTube at Bandanaman Productions for other related videos, HERE.
Don’t forget to follow me on both The
Woodsman’s Journal Online, HERE,
and subscribe to BandanaMan Productions on YouTube. If you have questions, as always, feel free
to leave a comment on either site. I
announce new articles on Facebook at Eric Reynolds, on Instagram at
bandanamanaproductions, and on VK at Eric Reynolds, so watch for me.
That
is all for now, and as always, until next time, Happy Trails!
Notes
1 Eric A Weiss, MD, A Comprehensive Guide To Wilderness
& Travel Medicine, 3rd Edition, page 135-136
2
Tara Wildlife, “Wildlife Value of Poison Ivy”, December 21, 2016,
3 Eric
A Weiss, MD, A Comprehensive Guide To Wilderness & Travel Medicine,
3rd Edition, page 135-136
4 So
just remember soap and water are your friends!
And either a small bar of travel-sized soap, in a Ziploc® bag, or a bottle
of biodegradable, phosphate free, pH neutral, liquid soap -- like Sea To Summit
Wilderness Wash, should always be included in your first-aid kit when you
adventure in the wilderness.
5 Mayo
Clinic Staff, “Poison ivy rash”,
Sources
Mayo Clinic Staff, “Poison ivy rash”, [Mayo
Foundation for Medical Education and Research (MFMER), © 1998-2020] https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/poison-ivy/symptoms-causes/syc-20376485,
accessed May 28, 2020
Nelson,
Tina and Lanza, Janet; An Illustrated Guide to
Northeastern Forest Trees, [Marginal Media, Bioguide No. 4, 1983]
Tara
Wildlife, “Wildlife Value of Poison Ivy”, December 21, 2016, [Tara Wildlife, ©
2020], http://www.tarawildlife.com/wildlife-value-poison-ivy/,
accessed May 28, 2020
United States Department of Agriculture,
Natural Resource Conservation Service, “Eastern Poison Ivy”, https://plants.sc.egov.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=TORA2,
accessed May 27, 2020
United
States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resource Conservation Service,
“Western Poison Ivy”, https://plants.sc.egov.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=TORY,
accessed May 27, 2020
Weiss,
Eric A, MD, A Comprehensive Guide To Wilderness & Travel Medicine, 3rd
Edition [Adventure Medical Kits, Oakland, CA, 2005], page 135-136
Wikipedia,
“Toxicodendron radicans”, May 29, 2020, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toxicodendron_radicans,
accessed May 27, 2020
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