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Colorado Prospector - Gem and mineral prospecting and mining forums > Exploring Our Universe > Living Off The Lands
poprivit2
This I think will help a lot of the poison ivy/oak sufferes..
When I was a kid I would get into poison ivy all summer...finally got smart.. well almost smart..must of lost it over the years.. But wait heres the "rub".. if you get a rash there is an old time remendy that worked for me.. this fellow about 80 was working on my dads place and saw that I was rashed on my arm. told me to get some Rubarb and cut the stem down by the Green end into a 4" chunk, then mash that end on the sink to make it soft and let the juice out,,then select a finger to do the itching,, rub that finger nail in the juice an go ahead and itch even scratch to my hearts content, BOY did that sting.. then rub the area with the rubarb stick in the broken skin and let it dry..more stinging.
next morning all dryed up kind of scabby, no spreading 2 days later gone entirely.. always works.. rubarb is hard to find in the south but should be available most other places..Oh yea..after the treatment it also DOSEN'T itch any more either!!
POP
Denise
Excelent remedy POP! Thanks for the info.
I just hope I dont have to test it out, but with folks getting out more with the nicer weather, they might need this.

Denise
:)
Coalbunny
My granddaddy taught me the best cure for poison plants- don't get in them! laugh.gif

When I was in Cali, what worked for me was to wear a set of coveralls, hat, boots and gloves. Only time I had a problem was when I wasn't prepared for it. Other times, no problem.
Carl
Evil Ernie
Is there Rhubarb in Colorado? I remember back in western PA as a boy, we had TONS of it. If I remember right, it grows in wetland/swampy/moist ground. My dear ole Ma used to make Rhubarb Pie all the time...ah, the good ole days... wub.gif
mo_bob
rolleyes.gif yeppers there's rubbarb in colo my grandma use to grow it in aravada off of 65th and tennyson st B) i read a anther cure for that wicked wacko.gif leaf use some red wine vinager put some in a bottel with a rag aand rub it on say it kills the oil :D thank God so far poision ive or oak don't bother me blink.gif :P B) nock on wood
Coalbunny
You bet there's rhubarb here! I saw a whole bunch of it earlier....at the grocery store!

Havn't seen any native stuff in years.
Carl
mo_bob
rolleyes.gif oh i forgot my sister in golden over off colfax and kippland by the perkins a block from it i think she planted some rubarbar that grandma had lol as far as i know it still growing so have ya found any gold i found a little here in missouri and boy is it real fine stuff need my specks to see blink.gif not really but allmost that fine be bless and find some shade it hot out there mo_bob find that gold wub.gif
mgrader
Since I do excavation work I get poison ivy a dozen times a year. After years of cortizone shots I learned if you don't wash areas within the hour of exposure with castille soap. You can simply take 3 benadryl before bed and wake up healed. It don't get much easier than that.
muggoo
these two I have never had trouble with.my mom can look at poision ive and break out in a rash.me i can bath in it.oak are ivy,doesnt bother me at all..but thanks for the remidy.live here in TX, never seen rubbar...wounder if rubbar can be grown here in TX.....
Denise
It doesnt look like its a norm for Texas, but can be grown there.......

Rhubarb Texas style. groucho.gif



Jcbdc
One thing for poison ivy I have found that works as a treatment and taken regulary as a deterrent is the Homeopathic remedy Rhustox found at better health food stores.
Dr. Joe Birdwell
Woody
Some lessons are best learnt the hard way.

A few years ago I was gold panning out in California in a section of a stream that was new to me. I knew only that recent rains had swollen the stream and a large Cottonwood tree had been washed away from the inside section of the bank. I found the large crater where the tree had stood and quickly started to work. While digging I had to clear away numerous roots from the old tree. I never once gave thought that there might have been other roots mixed in with the Cottonwood.

I worked that section for two days and was finding good gold. By the end of the second day my hands and arms started to break-out. I quickly figured that some of the roots where probably Ivy or Poison Oak but had no idea how bad it was going to get. I got it bad, real bad. I had it from the tips of my toes to the cheeks of my face. My legs and hands were extremely swollen and my face was horrible to look at. "Ya, ya Chris I know but this was above and beyond the norm"

I was traveling at the time and I will always remember when I went to Mc Donald’s in Reno Nevada. I handed the cashier my money at the drive thru and she gasped and took a step backward. She was really freaked out and it took her a couple of seconds to take my money. In the pics you can see how my hands and arms looked. My face was just as bad and this pic was taken over a week from first getting it.

Several thoughts for those of you who might think they are immune to the stuff;

First just like many other types of irritant plants Ivy are more potent in the early spring before it produces berries or seeds. Stinging Nettle is the same way, after it produces a tassel it has lost much of its stinging power.

Second it is not contact with the plant that causes a reaction; it is contact with the Oils inside the plant. The oil can even stay on your clothes for months and still give bad results. The oil is absorbed into the blood stream and a rash can develop in places that did not touch the stuff. Once you have a bad dose of the stuff you become more and more susceptible to outbreaks.

Inhaling the smoke from burning Ivy is the worst. In at least one case a couple of youngsters died when trying to smoke the stuff.

I strongly agree with the guy who’s Grandpa said avoidance is the best cure.
Denise
wacko.gif Yikes Woody, it makes my skin crawl just looking at those pictures. Great information happy088.gif ......Thanks for sharing it with us.
swizz
Woody, that looks nasty! smiley-shocked003.gif
I don't think that I've ever gotten it. That's double whammy getting it from the roots, would never suspect that and good to know!
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