The Big Three Dangers – Imported Red Fire Ants, Africanized Honey Bees and Poison Ivy – Part 3

“Leaflets three, let it be! Leaflets three, quickly flee.” This children’s rhyme reminds us that poison ivy and poison oak have three leaves per leaf stalk. This does not mean all poisonous plants only have three leaves per leaf stalk; poison sumac, also found in Texas, has 7 to 10 leaves. But, beware of the leaflets three!

I discovered the hard way that am very allergic to poison ivy. To my knowledge, I was not exposed to it prior to Dogwood Ranch. For me, it is toxic stuff to be treated as if it were nuclear waste.

The type of plant at the ranch is climbing vine poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans). The poison is, Urushiol (pronounced oo-roo-shee-ohl), an oil contained in all parts of the plant - leaves, stems, flowers and roots.

Here are some interesting facts about urushiol oil circulated by the State of Texas to its employees:

• Only 1 nanogram (billionth of a gram) is needed to cause a rash.

• The average person is exposed to 100 nanograms per exposure.

• 1/4 ounce of urushiol is all that is needed to cause a rash in every person on earth.

• 500 people could itch from the amount covering the head of a pin.

• Specimens of urushiol several centuries old have been found to cause dermatitis in sensitive people.

• 1 to 5 years is normal for urushiol oil to stay active on any surface including dead plants.

• The name urushiol derived from urushi, Japanese name for lacquer.

Vines trail along the ground and then climb any object in their path. At Dogwood Ranch, it is usually a tree in the vine’s path. The ivy can climb fifty to seventy-five feet up a tree trunk. Kinky, brown rootlets cover the vines, attach themselves to crevices or small openings in the tree trunk, and climb. At Dogwood Ranch, we call these rootlets “hair” and know not to touch any hairy rope looking vine.

We maintain a high alert level (orange) for poison ivy. Although urushiol can sometimes wash off with regular soap and water (or rubbing alcohol) within 10 minutes of contact, if not, it is likely to cause a reaction within 8 to 48 hours. On me, it takes about 48 hours for a little straight line of tiny bumps to appear and the itch to start. As soon as we realize we may have touched poison ivy, we use rubbing alcohol to clean the infected area. Poison ivy contact is considered an urgent situation (not quite an emergency) where all else stops until the exposed area is cleaned. There are also specialized soaps we keep on hand to clean away the oil if used in time. A prophylactic lotion that claims to block the oil from contacting the skin can be used prior to exposure. If we know we will be working in a high-risk poison ivy area, we apply this product to exposed skin, and especially the face. I don’t know for sure that it works, but even if it helps a little, that’s good enough for me.

It is very difficult to describe the intense itching caused by poison ivy. Nothing else itches so constantly and so intensely to me. When I had bad rash on my leg, I would wake up in the middle of the night scratching the area madly. Such scratching can cause infections and slows the healing process-but I could not help doing it. When I suspected a poison ivy outbreak on my face, I immediately went to the doctor. He gave me a cortisone injection in my hip and some prescription anti-itch cream. The cortisone kept the rash small and it went away in a few days rather than the usual weeks of oozing sores and tortuous itching.