Information about poison ivy, oak, sumac and the skin rashes they cause
Recently an article surfaced about a little tiff in the Bradley County, Ohio, Commissioner's Office regarding Worker's Compensation. It seems that 10 workers with poison ivy rashes were taken to hospital emergency rooms for treatment, rather than to less expensive walk-in clinics.
A company called Hapten Sciences is starting a test of a drug to prevent poison ivy, oak, and sumac rashes. In the past, there were shots given for this, but they were just tiny doses of the offending chemical, urushiol, and produced iffy results.
Yes, this IS poison ivy in the fall, pretending to be just innocent fall foliage.
But if you pick these for your Thanksgiving table decoration you could wind up with some itchy guests.
One place poison ivy LOVES to grow is in apple orchards. It loves the sunlight and the tree trunks, which provide great vertical surfaces to climb upon. Most apple farmers know about ivy and remove it, but not all know.
In case you were wondering whether you can find poison in the city of Memphis (in October) the answer is YES. I was having lunch in a terrific Mexican restaurant and noticed that the huge tree outside the window was covered in very familiar looking leaves.
For all of its tough-guy reputation, eastern poison ivy is one of the first plants to give in and turn colors in the late summer. No idea why it does this before even the other vines, like Virginia creeper turn.
Here is some really good advice: if you think you MIGHT be in or around poison ivy, DO NOT rub your face, tender parts, or eyes!
So many people, such as this unfortunate lady, fall victim to this.
I think his advice is good, but I also think that he is leaving out some very important facts that could cause a person a great deal of misery.
I got an email from a veterinarian technician: she says dog CAN get poison ivy.
A viewer sent in this very good photo of poison ivy seedling. I think it's cute but she doesn't. You can see the baby leaves, the oval-shaped leaves called cotyledons.
