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The worst is in the winter when poison ivy or oak loses its leaves. It's almost impossible to detect, at least for me. Years ago, I was hiking with a friend on

The worst is in the winter when poison ivy or oak loses its leaves. It's almost impossible to detect, at least for me. Years ago, I was hiking with a friend on a ridge south of San Francisco. It was February and warm weather so I was wearing shorts. To get around a fence and do a bit of light trespassing on public lands, we followed what turned out to be a game trail. Half way down the hill, the trail led into what looked like a patch of brambles. It was all twigs as the leaves had fallen off. Not wanting to turn back and miss out on the adventure, we pushed through. Huge mistake. The twigs scraped up our legs and sent urushiol (the active ingredient in poison oak & ivy) mainlining into our blood streams. A week later, I ended up in the emergency room with legs too swollen to walk and giant inflamed lymph nodes. My wife, pregnant at the time, also ended up with a severe case simply because I had so much urushiol oil on my skin it spread to her. The oil doesn't come off unless you scrub it hard like trying to remove motor oil with a degreasing agent. I couldn't walk properly or fit shoes over my swollen feet for a week. On the plus side, during the peak of the suffering, warm showers are bizarrely euphoric, borderline orgasmic, as the water gently itches the skin. Anyone who's had a bad case of ivy know the feeling.

hackernewds 4y ago
This is your lesson it seems to stay on the trails - it is good for you and the integrity of the environment which is not to be overly trodden so others may enjoy it as well.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- simple10 4y ago
  This depends a lot on the area. Most places I like to go are backcountry without trails. But in high traffic areas with lots of nature tourists, it's a good idea to respect the erosion control areas, especially in the desert with fragile topsoil.
- saiya-jin 4y ago
  More like wear long trousers for number of reasons, this and general scratches being very frequent in almost any terrain. There are cheap fabrics who are better than bare skin even in scorching heat, plus you protect your skin from sunburns and some bad insects. I seem to possess skill of losing not so used trails easily or doing some shortcuts which end up changing pleasant hikes into hardcore, often survival ones. I mean i have tons of experience and even returned few times (but only few, mind works against you here), but also thanx to that I see how ie 1 slip or loose rock at some crux place can be easily fatal, but most places are fine even if scary to beginners. Or wading through thick bushes with ie this Ivy due to trails gradually disappearing and only later realizing they were from animals like op.
- unyttigfjelltol 4y ago
  Poison ivy in particular very aggressively overgrows trails and paths-- partly because it grows fast, but also partly experienced hikers will not touch it. So, it's easy to encounter and even be blocked by poison ivy on an otherwise active trail.
marymkearney 4y ago
That sounds awful. We've had some inhalers on the thread so far, including me, but no one who inadvertently injected urushiol directly into the bloodstream. That's some scary s*t! Glad everyone's ok. Showers, yes, plus-100. It seems so harmless at the time, right?
- simple10 4y ago
  Yeah, it was worth it for the showers. Lol. To be fair, it wasn't a life threatening situation. Just a strong reminder to be grateful of everyday I wake up without body wide pain. That's how I view poison ivy and oak. Nature's little reminder to appreciate the improbable gift of its beauty, because thank the gods most plants do not cause us crippling pain.
hcrisp 4y ago
I can verify the part about hot showers feeling euphoric. I was given the advice to take a shower "as hot as you can stand it". It takes away the itching for several hours. I remember looking up why it feels so good and it had something to do with heat neutralizing the histamines that build up over time.
unyttigfjelltol 4y ago
This happened to me, in a less extreme way. Clearing fallen, leafless winter brush... oops. There actually is a failsafe way to identify mature poison ivy, even without the leaves-- on the large stems, there will be "hair"-like roots. So, the leaf-identification exercise at that website is great, when in doubt look to the large stem/trunk of the plant. And if you see 1 large climbing poison ivy trunk, steer clear of all ivy-like brush in the same area.
- klyrs 4y ago
  Every ivy I know sends suckers to the host plant. I don't live anywhere near poison ivy, so I had to look this up: https://mbgna.umich.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Poison-ivy-roots-Jay-Cross.jpg https://mbgna.umich.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Poison-iv...

hackernewds 4y ago

This is your lesson it seems to stay on the trails - it is good for you and the integrity of the environment which is not to be overly trodden so others may enjoy it as well.

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
simple10 4y ago
This depends a lot on the area. Most places I like to go are backcountry without trails. But in high traffic areas with lots of nature tourists, it's a good idea to respect the erosion control areas, especially in the desert with fragile topsoil.
saiya-jin 4y ago
More like wear long trousers for number of reasons, this and general scratches being very frequent in almost any terrain. There are cheap fabrics who are better than bare skin even in scorching heat, plus you protect your skin from sunburns and some bad insects. I seem to possess skill of losing not so used trails easily or doing some shortcuts which end up changing pleasant hikes into hardcore, often survival ones. I mean i have tons of experience and even returned few times (but only few, mind works against you here), but also thanx to that I see how ie 1 slip or loose rock at some crux place can be easily fatal, but most places are fine even if scary to beginners. Or wading through thick bushes with ie this Ivy due to trails gradually disappearing and only later realizing they were from animals like op.
unyttigfjelltol 4y ago
Poison ivy in particular very aggressively overgrows trails and paths-- partly because it grows fast, but also partly experienced hikers will not touch it. So, it's easy to encounter and even be blocked by poison ivy on an otherwise active trail.

marymkearney 4y ago

That sounds awful. We've had some inhalers on the thread so far, including me, but no one who inadvertently injected urushiol directly into the bloodstream. That's some scary s*t! Glad everyone's ok. Showers, yes, plus-100. It seems so harmless at the time, right?

simple10 4y ago
Yeah, it was worth it for the showers. Lol. To be fair, it wasn't a life threatening situation. Just a strong reminder to be grateful of everyday I wake up without body wide pain. That's how I view poison ivy and oak. Nature's little reminder to appreciate the improbable gift of its beauty, because thank the gods most plants do not cause us crippling pain.

hcrisp 4y ago

I can verify the part about hot showers feeling euphoric. I was given the advice to take a shower "as hot as you can stand it". It takes away the itching for several hours. I remember looking up why it feels so good and it had something to do with heat neutralizing the histamines that build up over time.

unyttigfjelltol 4y ago

This happened to me, in a less extreme way. Clearing fallen, leafless winter brush... oops. There actually is a failsafe way to identify mature poison ivy, even without the leaves-- on the large stems, there will be "hair"-like roots. So, the leaf-identification exercise at that website is great, when in doubt look to the large stem/trunk of the plant. And if you see 1 large climbing poison ivy trunk, steer clear of all ivy-like brush in the same area.

klyrs 4y ago
Every ivy I know sends suckers to the host plant. I don't live anywhere near poison ivy, so I had to look this up: https://mbgna.umich.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Poison-ivy-roots-Jay-Cross.jpg https://mbgna.umich.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Poison-iv...