poison oak sucks...

SuperFlyGuy · Veteran Member

poison oak sucks...

dtp916 · Senior Member

Man, that sucks. I hear Windex helps it right after you touch it....

Luckily for me, I am not allergic to it. biggrin

I took my little brother out on the NF Feather earlier in the year and we walked through a forest of PO and he got it really bad. Really, really bad.

get well soon!

SuperFlyGuy · Veteran Member

And the lord said "dtp916 shall be a fishing guide, and be immune to poison oak"

How convenient is that man? I wish I was in that small percentage non allergic to PO

Oh by the way man, I've gonna have to have you take me out some time and show me some new water bro!

Good luck on the new venture! (saw your post on kienes/ myspace)

dtp916 · Senior Member

Thanks, Micah!

I'll make sure to keep my summer rate for you, regardless of when you want to fish. I always give discounts for the message board homies!

Isonychia on the Pit River and NF Feather in September, and the fabled October Caddis makes an appearance on the Pit and the Upper Sac! NF Feather Fishes well as the temps come down in the fall.

Keep 'em tight!

JT · Senior Member

I'm not allergic to poison oak either (at least for now).� My dad didn't used to be either.� Now, if he is standing downwind of poison oak, he gets it.�

throwinmetal · Veteran Member

I think I'm not affected by it either. I see it all around me, I try to avoid it but I notice it does touch me.
Now my poor dog reacts to it. I have to basically strip my clothes before I go inside the house.

yukon mike · Senior Member

I was exploring upper Putah (above the lake) and was really scratching on the way out.
I went to the store and got some Clorox bleach and wiped it down with that.
Wash when you get home. PG&E crews working in the stuff get stuff called
"Oakie Dokie" or something to that effect. I heard it works wonders.

Mike

SuperFlyGuy · Veteran Member

wow, you guys are a rarity. I was under the impression that most people are allergic to PO, but I guess you guys are just blessed!

Well the oozing is subsiding now, but it hurts! I gotta pop painkillers throughout the day cause its just so annoying.

I've gotta check out that Oakie Dokey stuff.

But heres the thing. If I got it, I know for a fact that theres oil in my rec vehicle now. So the question is, whats the best way to sanitize the upholstry? The way I feel right now, I should just sell the darn thing!

Matt R · Senior Member

Ahhhh good ol Poison Oak. I'm always around it hunting and fishing. never used to get it. than i started getting it. now i dont get it anymore (knock on wood).
dont know about the sanitizing just sit in there and see if you get it again and remember the itch is just a mind over matter kind of thing..

SK60 · Senior Member

Soap and hot water help solubilize the waxy oils called cathecols, so plastic seat fabric is cleanable that way; leather and fabric would be a different matter. Most people require repeat contact to develop hypersensitivity, then it is usually a lifelong problem with each exposure. Its a type of allergy called delayed-type hypersensitivity and takes a few days for the reaction to occur (48-72 hours) after exposure, like a mosquito bite welt. If you think you've been exposed, wash hands and arms with hot water and soap as soon as possible to reduce spread. Follow with hot soapy shower. Even cold water (and soap) can help-the sooner the better.

SK

drifter · Senior Member

I'm no doctor but�I was always under the impression that taking a hot shower after being exposed to poison oak was a bad thing?� When the water is hot it opens up your poors which makes it easier for the poison oak oil to spread to other parts of your body.� Please correct me if I am wrong as I would love to not have to shower with cold water for 5 days in a row after getting poison oak.

-- Edited by drifter at 15:29, 2008-08-11

shon42073 · Senior Member

I've gotten poison oak several times at putah, Luckily I don't get it bad at all, just small patch ussually on my arms. I haven't had any problems with a shower spreading it, I have heard that you should not take a bath when you have it. I always dry that part of the body with a sweperate towel and toss it in the hamper right away. I do beleive this time of year when it starts to turn red is when it really gets ya good, also after all the leaves fall off in late fall you can still get it from the stems, and thats when its hard to see it. Remember it always grows in the shade so thats were you should look for it.

SK60 · Senior Member

The oil molecules move slowly through the superficial dead layers of skin and chemically attach to the proteins in the deeper layers of skin. If you scrub with soap and water before this happens, you can get rid of most of the oil. Also, by scrubbing, you are removing the outer dead layers which hold a lot of the oil. A bath is not a good idea because the oil will float on the surface and recontact the skin. Nothing is 100% effective as a preventative and your best chance of not developing the sensitivity is by staying away from it any time of year. Several websites have pictures, if you Google. Know thine enemy and keep your eyes peeled. Its all along the trails near the dam/bridge and the trails in the Fish Access areas 1-3. But it is elsewhere as well. Lopng sleeves are a good idea if you go into the thick stuff along the creek.

Heres a good site: http://poisonivy.aesir.com/view/soap.html.

-- Edited by SK60 at 19:56, 2008-08-11

-- Edited by SK60 at 19:57, 2008-08-11

-- Edited by SK60 at 20:01, 2008-08-11

flyfishingjunkie · Veteran Member

I was also under the impression that warm water was not a good idea, I alway wash with cold water first.

So far I am not allergic either, but that doesn't mean anything as you can get it over time. When I go through PO I always walk through water afterward, make sure my waders get a good soaking in flowing water. I also wash my hands and any skin that might have been exposed. The worst thing is that your clothing might get the oils on them, shoe laces for example, which will then get the oils back on to you. PO is not just transmitted through the leaves, I was told by a ranger once that the branches can be even worth, so you have to be careful in winter too. Another trick I was told by a friend who is hyper sensitive to PO is when you get a rash use hydrocortisone cream , apply the cream on the rash and make sure you rub it in for a while, that will prevent the allergic reaction from spreading as the stuff travels through your blood steam.