Poison Ivy
Poison Oak
Poison Sumac
Information about poison ivy, oak, sumac and the skin rashes they cause
Information about poison ivy, oak, sumac and the skin rashes they cause
As a teenager in the '70's, I helped my dad clear some land in the country for a house. We camped out there for the weekend. Giant 4-inch diameter vines were choking the large pecan trees. We'd pry a section of vine away from the trunk, and I would hold it away from the trunk by hand while my Dad chain-sawed out a section so the vines above would die.
The chainsaw sprayed "juice", and when the cut was made all the way through, a huge flow of clear liquid would gush from the upper part of the vine (perhaps a half gallon each), that completely drenched my clothing. Just wild grapevine sap - poison ivy can't get THAT large, right?
We camped that night in our sleeping bags, and by the following afternoon, I started feeling an itching sensation. By Monday afternoon, I was red all over and breaking out in blisters. Oh, the agony. It only got worse over the next 3 days. It took three weeks to get the rash under control, and over a month and a half to get totally rid of it.
I went camping again the following winter in the same sleeping bag: THE SAME THING HAPPENED ALL OVER AGAIN!!! Another month of misery. So I repeatedly washed the sleeping bag in hot water.
I went on a spring camp-out a couple of months later. And good grief! It happened YET AGAIN, though to a much lesser degree. I threw out that sleeping bag.
(The photo shown was NOT from the actual event, as you might guess. Added for impact by site editor, as a reminder to think twice before chain-sawing a poison ivy vine.)