I grew up in the woods. I was a latchkey kid from age 5 so every afternoon I was in the woods with a dog, a horse, and a rifle. I would be covered in poison ivy each day and it never bothered me. Until I turned about 35 years old. Then I started to be affected by it every time I went out and did work on our land. Now I take precautions although I have eradicated most of the poison ivy on our lot.
I couldn't escape poison oak, so I started eating it
181–190 of 207 posts
Re: I couldn't escape poison oak, so I started eating it
#182Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Doctors are pretty much required to follow Establishment medicine. They're not going to tell you about folk remedies, because it could be malpractice for them. Not in the USA. In the USA doctors can absolutely recommend non-medical treatments like supplements and homeopathy and other crap. Each doctor has their own threshold of comfort in what they will and won't recommend. But as you yourself then followed up, you…
The fact that DOs are treated the same as MDs is absurd. Osteopathy is quackery.
Most osteopathic medical schools teach real medicine these days. They should drop the DO label.
Re: I couldn't escape poison oak, so I started eating it
#183I have read that the urushiol is also present in the skin of the mango fruit. I don’t know if those who consume a lot of mangoes or have grown up with mango trees around them are immune to poison oak’s urushiol(arguably much more concentrated) as its present in stems, saps, leaves, skin more than the flesh..but they likely have more tolerance. Also..in India, we don’t burn mango leaves or branches as it increases res…
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…
I've got the same thing with kiwis.
I discovered it in a funny way - I was in Tokyo trying all sorts of random foods. One night after dinner, in the cab, my throat started to swell. I had a fun time getting some emergency Benadryl from a gas station late at night speaking Japanese poorly.
I had no idea what caused it.
Flash forward a few months, I was at a birthday party back in the U.S., had a slice of kiwi, and felt like I'd swallowed battery acid. Throat immediately closed up, worse than in Tokyo. Thinking back to that previous night, I realized it hadn't been some exotic food - I'd had a salad with kiwi in it.
Fun and rare allergy.
For even more fun, try being allergic to milk. I developed that allergy later in life and hoo boy has it been a humdinger.
Re: I couldn't escape poison oak, so I started eating it
#184Great, I’ll eat my cat.
Re: I couldn't escape poison oak, so I started eating it
#185Earlier quoted context omitted.
While I agree with your comment, for some peoples non-drowsy antihistamines are a myth. I must be overly sensitive or have a deficient BBB because 10 mg loratadine transform me into a lethargic zombie for about 48 hours while providing minimal relief. A double dose of vyvaanse and a few coffees are not enough to bring me out of that state.
That is definitely not the common reaction. Something is unique to you, in that regard.
I had brain zaps with Zyrtec (Cetirizine) that took me a while to recognize for what they were because I thought they were related to other meds I was taking. I find Allegra (Fexofenadine) agrees with me a lot better. Personally I hate Claritin (Loratadine) as it definitely makes me depressed.
Experience with those others makes me wary of using Allegra except when my allergy symptoms are really bad.
BTW: Benadryl (Diphenhydramine), which has the same ingredient in the same dose marketed as a sleep aid, is really good for Poison Ivy because of its ability to penetrate into tissues really well. 30 years ago you would get a prescription for a round of steroid pills that will have you feeling pretty messed up for a week if you got Poison Ivy but today you are likely to be told to go to the pharmacy and treat yourself with OTC pills. Poison Ivy is bad enough that most people will take the drowsiness.
Re: I couldn't escape poison oak, so I started eating it
#186Just wash off the chemical soon as possible. It will turn red. And then it will go away. If it bubbles up, then wrap something around it to absorb the liquid that explodes from the rash.
This is a bit of an oversimplification. I am probably on the more sensitive end of the spectrum when it comes to poison ivy/oak but I have gotten rashes that are legitimately debilitating (i.e. typing was very painful). This was also after washing with dish soap post-exposure. I've since switched to Tecnu and it seems to work better but, unfortunately, is ridiculously expensive.
Re: I couldn't escape poison oak, so I started eating it
#187I 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…
> 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
I've been thinking of a "low fantasy" story, which is actually Sci-fi under the covers. In it, the "fey" characters are just indigenous people who have immunity to a plant which is similar to poison oak, but which grows in nigh impenetrable hedge like clumps and walls. Your mention of hot water for relief gave me an idea for a story beat, where another character discovers the hot water effect, and simultaneously discovers how to infiltrate the "fey" character's territory and bathing practices similar to Japanese and Finnish bathing.
Re: I couldn't escape poison oak, so I started eating it
#188I've actually gotten more sensitive over time. I used to be practically immune to poison ivy. I've also become somewhat sensitive to low quality cashews (they can contain urushiol from the shells).
Re: I couldn't escape poison oak, so I started eating it
#189The 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.
I need this for mosquitos. They tend to go for my ankles and 1 bite is still fine, but as soon as I get 2+ the swelling up and itching just multiplies 10x.
Re: I couldn't escape poison oak, so I started eating it
#190i learned from an herbalist that you can eat poison ivy as a vaccine against it, but i've been too afraid to try.
According to the article, urushiol extract is considered safe and effective by the US FDA and pills were available over the counter up until the 1970s. They disappeared from the market because of regulations regarding determining exact dosage needs and the ability to make pills containing that dosage. It is, apparently, a difficult problem. But a company claims to have solved the problem and will start doing trials shortly.
In other words, eating poison ivy absolutely will work. But nobody knows how much you should eat. And the leaves aren't fungible, so how can anyone tell you how many to eat even if they knew how much you should eat?