[Magdalen] Poison ivy question

[Grace Cangialosi]

Thanks, Marion. This all makes sense—hope this doesn’t become that dire! I may have to be more careful from now on. (Yes, oatmeal baths are good for itching!)

> On Sep 2, 2019, at 9:28 AM, Marion Thompson <marionwhitevale at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Well, all through my youth I seemed to be impervious to poison ivy despite
> frequent exposure.  Then somewhere around 19 I had a small eruption maybe
> an inch or two long.  A few years later, what started with a line of
> blisters on my arm spread and spread *all over* until I looked like a
> relief map.  The first week it all itched like mad.  In week two I was
> almost suicidal with the itching, all day and certainly all night.  I saw a
> doctor in St. Alban's, Vermont, near where we spent our summer weekends and
> he suggested oatmeal baths.  Pre-cortisone, I guess. I survived the ordeal
> (this was in the 60's).   It seems it can be systemic!  I also understand
> that one's immunity breaks down over time and then off you go!  Typically a
> line of blisters would appear on my arm or leg, say, several days after
> weekend exposure, and then there would be more.  The two-week hellish part
> seemed standard for me.  Of course, wherever the sap has touched you will
> get the reaction.  You can pick it up off your dog's hair.  Even if it is
> burned in a bonfire, the droplets of sap can affect you.
> 
> That was my experience.
> 
> Marion, a pilgrim
> 
>> On Mon, Sep 2, 2019 at 12:19 AM Grace Cangialosi <gracecan at gmail.com> wrote:
>> 
>> I’ve never been very allergic to poison ivy, and over the years I’ve
>> pulled it out with gloves, occasionally brushed against it while hiking,
>> and only had a mild reaction—a few small, localized blisters, of that.
>> 
>> Last weekend I was pulling large quantities of vines off the house and
>> chimney—Virginia Creeper, grape vines, and poison ivy. I wasn’t wearing
>> gloves and didn’t see the poison ivy at first, since the vines were all
>> twisted together. As soon as I saw them, I went inside, scrubbed both arms
>> with Tec-Nu up to my elbows, put on a pair of long leather gloves and
>> pulled the rest of the vines, being careful not to grab any more poison ivy.
>> Nothing happened for a couple of days, and then I noticed one small
>> blister on my wrist and a group of about three on the back of my hand. I
>> figured that was it, put something on for the itching and didn’t give it
>> any more thought...until the next day when blisters began popping up in
>> random places—the side of my foot, two fingers, my legs. But they are
>> single, very small blisters, and they itch like crazy. I didn’t know poison
>> ivy would produce this drawn-out reaction, and I’ve never seen this random,
>> one blister at a time phenomenon. I’m wondering how long it’s going to keep
>> popping up.. It’s been eight days since I was exposed, and I haven’t been
>> exposed again. I’m using Ivarest to help with the itching and dry up the
>> blisters. Is this a common reaction, and should I be worried about it? I’ve
>> had horrible reactions to poison oak in the past and ended up at the
>> doctor’s office for a round of cortisone, but this is annoying more than
>> anything else. It almost seems as if it’s systemic at this point as these
>> lesions keep popping up randomly everywhere.
>> Thoughts? Anything more
>> I should be doing?
>> Thanks...