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I couldn't escape poison oak, so I started eating it

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Re: I couldn't escape poison oak, so I started eating it

#151

Post by voidfunc »

jandrewrogers wrote: post #44

You don't need to eat it. A well-known phenomenon in the US military is that some of the sites for Basic Training of new recruits have prodigious quantities of poison oak/ivy/sumac as the local flora. As consequence of the military training, you are rolling around in those plants daily. Initially, a large percentage of people have the usual reaction but it quickly disappears after a few weeks and it never happens aga…

Grandfather was in the military in WW2 and said he became immune to it around then. He used to pickup poison ivy and tell us "don't do this" while rubbing it all over his arm.

I'm not actually sure what the lesson he was trying to teach their was but in hindsight it's a cool flex lol

Re: I couldn't escape poison oak, so I started eating it

#152

Post by gr8r »

plasticchris wrote: post #110
zikduruqe wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The more repeated exposures you get, your body cannot fight it off anymore. Then you suddenly "become allergic" to poison ivy. There are two types of people; those that are allergic to poison ivy, and those that will become allergic eventually.

I am almost forty now, never try to avoid it, still no problems. I even had a side gig going in high school removing it. But it is still only any anecdote.

like the gardeners these days, did you hype the poison oak only to ask for a big $ amount to remove a small growth haha?

Re: I couldn't escape poison oak, so I started eating it

#153

Post by m463 »

TexanFeller wrote: post #113

The first few bites when fire ants came to Texas hurt. The next few hurt less. Then they came to live in the walls of my parents’ house. I would get multiple bites every day and wake up with a dozen more after every night. It wasn’t that long before they didn’t hurt or leave a bump at all anymore. First hand education in how the body develops resistance to toxins.

Sounds like people who get used to chili and soon start seeking 3 alarm chili and 4 alarm chili...

Re: I couldn't escape poison oak, so I started eating it

#154

Post by shriphani »

talkingtab wrote: post #95

I have worked with Urushi, aka Japanese lacquer. You get a rash, some people never get over it. Others do get over it, and I did. Years ago I was in the black thumb club. I could stick my thumb in Urushi, and not get a rash. Since Urushi was a big thing in Japan (and other places), people who worked harvesting or packaging or using it either got over or did not. I have a friend who did not. He said he could walk down…

would love to see some pics of your work. Since you seem to know about Japanese craft techniques - do you know what sort of adhesive is used in Japanese gold leaf application? I am not able to use bole or animal hide glue due (vegan) but was curious if the Japanese have some rice-paste based method.

Re: I couldn't escape poison oak, so I started eating it

#155

Post by rallison »

talkingtab wrote: post #95

I have worked with Urushi, aka Japanese lacquer. You get a rash, some people never get over it. Others do get over it, and I did. Years ago I was in the black thumb club. I could stick my thumb in Urushi, and not get a rash. Since Urushi was a big thing in Japan (and other places), people who worked harvesting or packaging or using it either got over or did not. I have a friend who did not. He said he could walk down…

> The way to tolerate the adaptation is hot water - spray water as hot as you can stand (without damage) on the affected area and you will get substantial relief for about 12 hours.

Yes. Similar to poison oak (in irritant effect), we've also got poodle-dog bush out in California. It thrives in post-fire environments, and isn't as well-known as poison oak. The reaction to it is often even worse than for poison oak. And so, before I was better versed in the "fun" plants of our local mountains, I had a run in with some poodle plants, and.. that was a rough few weeks.

I tried everything to make it more tolerable, and hot water was by far the best. The effect didn't last forever, but it was remarkable how it a) was actually pleasurable and b) muted the itchiness for a fairly significant amount of time (although still not as long as I would have liked..).

It's probably still best to avoid hot water until you've done a good job of getting the offending substance off (as best as possible). And near scalding water isn't otherwise great for the skin, so it's probably not something one should do all the time.

But wow, it was amazing for poodle-dog bush.

Re: I couldn't escape poison oak, so I started eating it

#156

Post by kbrkbr »

modeless wrote: post #107
lostfiddler wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

huh, every time I eat a kiwi my lips get itchy. I just googled and it doesn’t look like it contains urushiol, but it does contain an allergen called “actinidin”. This thread made me realize I’m allergic to kiwi’s…

You may have oral allergy syndrome (OAS), which is similar to food allergy but not as severe. It doesn't typically lead to anaphylaxis. It is caused by pollen allergy, where the food has a protein similar to one that's in the pollen you're allergic to. This is called "cross-reactivity". Personally I have OAS with raw carrots, which is likely cross-reactive from my birch pollen allergy. Raw carrots make my throat mild…

Not a week passes where I do not learn something interesting on hn! And this one may even be life altering!

Took me 30 years to find out that I have pollen allergies, and from that food allergies.

And because my body only produces very little diamin oxidase, that leads to heavy symptoms elsewhere in the body. I just recently got so far that diet and fenistil make things usually bearable, and when it gets heavy, only a little more fenistil fixes the symptoms. I don't think the symptoms are anaphylaxes, but overabundance of histamine. I had too many of them and I'm still here, never had to use the epi pen.

But from all the specialists I visited in my country, no one ever told me, that OAS exists, or oral therapy against them.

I can't say how thankful I am for the new ideas from your post and the child posts!

Re: I couldn't escape poison oak, so I started eating it

#157

Post by modeless »

kbrkbr wrote: post #156
modeless wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You may have oral allergy syndrome (OAS), which is similar to food allergy but not as severe. It doesn't typically lead to anaphylaxis. It is caused by pollen allergy, where the food has a protein similar to one that's in the pollen you're allergic to. This is called "cross-reactivity". Personally I have OAS with raw carrots, which is likely cross-reactive from my birch pollen allergy. Raw carrots make my throat mild…

Not a week passes where I do not learn something interesting on hn! And this one may even be life altering! Took me 30 years to find out that I have pollen allergies, and from that food allergies. And because my body only produces very little diamin oxidase, that leads to heavy symptoms elsewhere in the body. I just recently got so far that diet and fenistil make things usually bearable, and when it gets heavy, only…

Glad to help! Just wanted to note that my immunotherapy for pollen/cat/mold allergy is not oral, but subcutaneous. That is, allergy shots. Oral (probably sublingual) immunotherapy can be done also, but for these allergens I believe subcutaneous is more common. I am not sure of the reasons but they may be related to efficacy, safety (eosinophilic esophagitis does not occur with shots), or convenience (while shots are not exactly convenient they are only once a month vs. daily oral therapy).

If you have frequent reactions, I'd say you should really consider immunotherapy. Even if they haven't been bad enough to kill you yet, the next one can always be worse. And if you have borderline anaphylaxis, waiting to administer the epi-pen can be fatal, as it can be less effective if you wait too long. Antihistamines will not save you from anaphylaxis, as while they reduce/mask some symptoms they do not treat the specific symptoms that kill you (hypotension, and/or airway swelling leading to suffocation). Only epinephrine does that.

Re: I couldn't escape poison oak, so I started eating it

#158

Post by modeless »

jandrewrogers wrote: post #44

You don't need to eat it. A well-known phenomenon in the US military is that some of the sites for Basic Training of new recruits have prodigious quantities of poison oak/ivy/sumac as the local flora. As consequence of the military training, you are rolling around in those plants daily. Initially, a large percentage of people have the usual reaction but it quickly disappears after a few weeks and it never happens aga…

This is an interesting story. It definitely contradicts both current medical findings and anecdotal evidence that repeated exposures and repeated reactions generally worsen allergy to poison oak (and insect bites/stings, and other things). But there is a lot that is unknown about the immune system and it's not impossible that there could be other unknown factors that when combined with exposure could induce tolerance.

What does the military do for treatment of the rashes?

Re: I couldn't escape poison oak, so I started eating it

#159

Post by b112 »

rallison wrote: post #155
talkingtab wrote: post #95

I have worked with Urushi, aka Japanese lacquer. You get a rash, some people never get over it. Others do get over it, and I did. Years ago I was in the black thumb club. I could stick my thumb in Urushi, and not get a rash. Since Urushi was a big thing in Japan (and other places), people who worked harvesting or packaging or using it either got over or did not. I have a friend who did not. He said he could walk down…

> The way to tolerate the adaptation is hot water - spray water as hot as you can stand (without damage) on the affected area and you will get substantial relief for about 12 hours. Yes. Similar to poison oak (in irritant effect), we've also got poodle-dog bush out in California. It thrives in post-fire environments, and isn't as well-known as poison oak. The reaction to it is often even worse than for poison oak. An…

A note, if you don't want to dry your skin out by removing your own body oils (after you've cleaned the offending substance off, of course!)... use a hair dryer.

Same result, without having to get wet. Can spot-kick the "too hot" -> remove the itch phenomenon any time, any place.

Re: I couldn't escape poison oak, so I started eating it

#160

Post by modeless »

ianburrell wrote: post #119
modeless wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You may have oral allergy syndrome (OAS), which is similar to food allergy but not as severe. It doesn't typically lead to anaphylaxis. It is caused by pollen allergy, where the food has a protein similar to one that's in the pollen you're allergic to. This is called "cross-reactivity". Personally I have OAS with raw carrots, which is likely cross-reactive from my birch pollen allergy. Raw carrots make my throat mild…

Kiwis are also linked to latex allergy. I have friend who has latex and kiwi allergies.

Yes, it is certainly possible to have a true food allergy to kiwi as well, with anaphylaxis and everything. It may even be relatively common these days in some places.
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