do not try this at home, part 2

JL · Senior Member

do not try this at home, part 2

live2fish888 · Senior Member

tha works every time with me but i do it gradual. start warm then go hotter then a little hotter until you cant stand it, hold it there for twenty seconds then suddenly go to cold. works every time for me but might be varied for another person

SK60 · Senior Member

Be careful-you can induce second degree burns and possible nerve damage if you heat the affected area too long and too hot. A prescription strength cortisone cream is recommended by my doctor to reduce itching and swelling.

the big j · Veteran Member

JL
You hit the Nail on the Head! I love the hot water thing. Only when I get PO, it like a scorched earth policy with the PO and me. It spreads like a wild fire and always has an affinity for my "Caddis Emerger" if you will. So I hit a full on fire hot shower, only minor nerve damage as SK 60 pointed out, but helped keep my cast at 11 o'clock and 2 o'clock

pjfisher · Member

Hi: that works because histimines in your skin are released by the heat. It definitely burns for a short period of time, but brings relief when all the histimines are "spent" in one short blast. I know this because I have had hives from allergic reactions to antibiotics, and my doctor recommended it as a form of relief from full-body hives. Now, talk about misery....but I digress. And this is a serious digression from fly fishing, but is part of the experience, I suppose. Hope you heal up quickly.

pjfisher · Member

what I meant to type was "histamines" not "histimines". I am not a doctor, so I looked up a definition of histamines and found this: "Histamine is the chemical messenger that antihistamine medicines try to block. Histamine is released by mast cells during an allergy attack and can produce multiple biological effects including bronchoconstriction (asthma), vasodilation (watery eyes, runny nose), and gastric acid secretion."

Another site said "I have answered questions regarding histamine and antihistamines and hives, which are all related so allow me to give a somewhat general answer to what histamine is or does.


Histamine is a chemical that is found pretty much throughout the human body
and in highest concentrations in lung, skin and upper gastrointestinal
tract.  Basophiles, or mast cells contain large basic staining granules that
store considerable amounts of histamine and these are the typical culprits
of histamine release.  Histamine can be released from these cells following
various physical disruption including contact (e.g., a scratch on the
skin...contact urticaria), contact with cold (e.g., ice on the skin) or
chemical initiation such as in "allergic responses" where contact with an
allergin like pollen causes the body to release antibodies which in turn
bind to mast cells which then cause the mast cells to release their
histamine.  In the skin, if contact or chemical initiation of histamine
release occurs, the classic response follows: vasodilation (blood vessel
expand), increased capillary permeability (capillaries leak fluid and some
cells into the spaces between cells), and erythema (the area becomes
red)...A HIVE!    Glandular hypersecretion (nose and brochioles release
mucous), smooth muscle spasm, and tissue infiltration with eosinophils and
other inflammatory cells are also responses of respiratory system tissues.

JL · Senior Member

Great info, guys.

Face is all better now, but I have lots of micro eruptions, I think due to PO, but maybe also are mosquito bites.

all in all, i got off easy.

JL

bono · Master Fly Fishing Guide

I just read some good info about the prevention of poison oak and that is to wash it agressively with cold water within 1/2 hour of contact and that will lessen the infection or aliviate it altogether. I actually have tried this in the past and it seems to work you just have to know when and where the p-o touches you.

pjfisher · Member

Checking in a bit late on this subject again, but your comment about poison oak reminded me of two cures: 1) for poison oak, there's nothing like Tecnu to wash off the oil...just follow the instructions, and 2) for stinging nettle, you can take the seeds of curly dock (Rumex crispus) and rub it on the skin where you have nettle stinging...and it goes away. A good friend who was a park ranger showed it to me up on the American River recently when I brushed up against some nettle, and it worked beautifully. Just grab a handful of the curly dock seeds and rub them vigorously on the affected area...and voila, the stinging is gone. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't done it myself. Curly dock is as common as nettle...so if you don't like nettle stings, get to know "dock" and you'll have an antidote in the field.