poison oak

I got Poison Oak over Memorial Day weekend. I was hiking in Big Sur and we when through what I now believe was a posion oak bramble in our quest to get back on the trail. Never again will I be so eager to venture off the marked trail.

My rashed didn't appear until several days after returning from the trip. They first appeared to be bug bites, but after several days they grew into itchy, red, swollen rashes. I thought posion oak (and poison ivy) would appear within a few hours of contact, but I was wrong. The rash can sometimes take 7-10 days to appear, based on my experience and several authoritative websites. The oil from the plant often lingers on clothing and other objects for days and requires a solvent to fully remove it from these surfaces. I'm reasonably certain I didn't have any direction contact with the plants, since I wore long pants and long sleeves. However, my clothing was probably covered in the oil and transmitted it to my skin after these items came in contact with my car seat, desk chair and bed.

After experiencing posion oak, I can say its no fun. I got rashes on my waist, ankles, calves and forearms. The one on my waist was the most severe - it went halfway around my body and several inches up my stomach. I'm better now, though rashes remain. Obviously avoiding the plant is the easiest way to avoid getting poison oak or posion ivy. If you do come in contact with the plant, my advice would be to do the follwing three steps to minimize its impact:

1. Isolate all items that came in contact with the plant. This includes clothing and shoes. If you bag these after a hike, they won't spread to other clothing items, your car or your home. Once they do spread, you've got hell to pay!! To get the resin out of your clothing, wash with rubbing alcohol, vinegar or TechNu (more on Technu later...)

2. Avoid scratching the rash. Never have I experienced a rash as itchy as poison oak. Not scratching is nearly impossible. I'm scratching my arms as I write this, despite all my best efforts... Try hot showers as a temporary relief from the itching

3. Treat the rash. You can use Calamine lotion, antihistimines or a prescription. I recommend Calagel, from the makers of TechNu. Technu helps get the resin off your skin or clothes, Calagel gets the itch to stop. TechNu is powerful stuff. According to the box, its used to treat "Poison Oak, Ivy and Nuclear Fallout." Yes, Nuclear Fallout. Apparently, TechNu was created in the 1960s as an "effective waterless cleanser capable of removing radioactive dust from skin and clothing." The wife of the inventor accidently found out it was useful at removing poison oak resin (I'm curious as to how this accident happened..).

I was pretty naive about poison oak, but now I think I can avoid it. Or atleast rinse it any radioacive dust away in minutes!