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
In the summer after I graduated high school I took a job as a landscaper. I knew that this was risky because I am so highly allergic to poison ivy. But after four weeks there had been nothing. Then one day we were weeding out underneath a billboard at a local gas station. There were weeds as tall as me, trees, vines, bushes, everything. I didn't know what I was grabbing or stepping in.
That night as I was hanging out with my friends, I started to feel an itch on my ankle. I thought, "Oh boy!" Sure enough, as I got up the next morning - for my college orientation - I had a fairly bad case of poison ivy all over my legs. As I went off to my orientation, I wasn't feeling too much discomfort. But by lunch time my legs had become so swollen and crusted that I had a very difficult time even walking. Only two hours of sleep followed that night. Now, I sit here in my room, 3:00 in the morning on the fifth day of my ordeal. No more landscaping for me.