That'd be my guess if it's itchy. I wouldn't know for sure 'cause I'm not bothered by it, nor by Poison Oak.

Itchy, burning. Right under my right shoulder blade.

Look like poison ivy to me to. A remedy that we have used to get rid of it was to put bleach on it full strength. Usually gets rid of it in three days. Burns like fire but works. Also swimming in a pool that is high on clorine works to.

Mine too. Every time I've seen poison ivy on someone it has been smothered in some sort of topical dressing, so add that and I could confirm poison ivy.

I am not bothered by it either. Last year, my sister and I were walking about and I walked through a big patch wearing shorts and flip-flops, she freaked out!!! I had to remind her that it don't bother me.

My main sport from from early grade school thru high school was Baseball. And I remember a lot of itching going on

I've seen it on forearms, hands, legs, feet and even a face! But I am not going to even ask how you got it there

Doesn't sound right - under the shoulder blade? Were you rolling in it? Seems a weird place for poison ivy or oak to occur. If it's poison ivy the welts will fill with fluid, become very itchy, and will burst easily when itched. The fluid is clear, not puss colored.

Be sure to wash the affected area to remove oils that can easily spread and cause additional reactions. Also, wash the infected clothes ASAP.

I once got into a very bad situation - first and only time I ever had a reaction. It was brown and dormant and I was planting a garden right in the middle of it out at a friends acreage along a fenceline - basically tilling by hand for 8 hours. Had it literally everywhere, so bad the DR gave me a cortizone and steroid shot on the spot when I finally visited him three days later. Cleared up in 36 hours - miraculous. I didn't sleep for three days before I sought treatment.

It's growing on the slope below the quarry house up the sides of trees. I was walking on the slope on Thursday with a landscape guy talking about building paths. Some of it was as high as 12 feet on trees.

I had poison ivy nearly 20 times as a kid. It was brutal. However, as an adult, I've only had it maybe twice, and they weren't that bad. Really, all I managed it with was some self discipline. While it took a while to clear up in the infected area, it didn't spread because I refused to scratch it. As a matter of fact, I was walking around in it in shorts the other day, fishing from shore at a local lake, and I know it contacted my skin. And I wasn't able to wash it off for a couple hours, so maybe having it so many times my body has built up an immunity (doubt it). A friend once told me that simple brushing up against a leaf will not infect you, that you actually have to break it so that the juice contacts your skin. I've never been brave (or dumb) enough to personally test this theory. I believe the "poison" gets under your fingernails and spreads by further scratching. It typically took a couple days for the rash to appear after being exposed to it, then didn't completely clear up for a couple weeks at the most. The effects vary drastically from person to person. While I had it nearly 20 times as a kid, my brother, who pretty much explored the same areas I did, never had it once and has still never experienced it. Same story with my kid, thank God, and I know he's been in it. There was a neighbor girl who last year had it so bad she couldn't leave the house for a week. Her face was so swollen she could hardly see. Really bad. When I was a kid a friend of mine used a leaf as toilet paper on a camping trip. He had it pretty bad, as you can imagine. He ended up being hospitalized for a couple days when it spread everywhere, including underneath his eyelids. Sounds like some good advice from TJ there and if you've never had it, I would encourage you to take it seriously, since you don't know exactly how your body will react.

At the pond we're building it's the typical wooded foliage for this area so we have tons of nettles, poison ivy, ditch weed, etc. We will be spraying thoroughly around it once the digging is complete to eradicate it all and let other natural grasses and plants take their place. I suppose you would probably do the same. While I like a pond to remain as natural as possible, I don't want every trip out to end in an uncomfortable outbreak of the scratchies.

That sounds excruciatingly painful. Don't know if I'd have the guts to put straight bleach (or diluted for that matter) on an open sore. You mention the chlorine and it reminds me, the last time I had it really bad, I was 18-19 and a buddy had a jacuzzi and the super hot water felt really good on it. I'd soak in there and not feel tempted to itch at all and the relief would remain for a while after I got out as well.

I have had it just about every year since I could walk, that would be 57 or so years. Sometimes just a minor case which I have right now, other times it has been really bad. One of the worst times I got it from cleaning about a dozen rabbits that had been buroughing through the roots in January. I do use straight bleach after I scratch it raw though I don't recomend that treatment, I can't count the times I have been up in the middle of the night scalding my hands in the bathroom and then going for the bleach. I took shots every year for several years in the spring and still got it just not as bad. I still keep a gal. of bleach in the shower and wipe down with it if I think I may have been close. I am going to order a new product monday (new to me) I just read about today "tecnu" 32 oz bottle for $16.50 from duluthtrading.com. Good luck

I was just kidding with you Bruce. Ivy's are climbers, and if you, as most, are susceptible to the oil's causing, well, your condition, cloths wont help. The oils only have to come in contact with fibers and they will wick, or saturate a very small spot, especially if it is cotton. Add perspiration, humidity and general motive animations like the Condello Technique and your cloths will move, and those nasty oils are still in one spot, but moving as you do, so it spreads.

I hope I did not over complicate this issue.

leupy, That kind of reminds me of a bad case I had when I brought one on my dogs in. He was digging in the woods and I got poison ivy all over my chest and arms. Lesson well learned!!!

One more thing, I still don't understand the meaning of the name you have

Golden Rings was my first thought! Leupold!

leupy = leupold, It has nothing to do with OSU football, as in "hang on snoopy"

What is an OSU? and, will it eat Aquamax?

That almost looks quite obscene Bruce, better get it fixed. Some of us may be at the breakfast table soon and I am sure you do not want to be the cause of a major Hypoglycemic Epidemic

Bruce, Just how far under your right shoulder blade??? That doesn't look like a shoulder blade or anything near it to me

I promise.

But I was wrong about the side. It's just under the left shoulder blade. Maybe that's the source of the confusion.

I woke up this morning and it's the exact same configuration, location and surface area.

Once the oil from the poison ivy is washed off (soap and water works fine), the rash will not spread no matter how much you scratch it. However, an infection can set in if the skin is broken. An oil in the poison ivy plant binds to a protein in human skin forming a haptan (protein-chemical immunogen) to which many humans develop an allergy that results in a rash. The severity of the rash can change with age in a single individual. Keep it clean and use a disinfectant cream. As a kid, I got it real bad (even closed up my eyes once). I never could keep out of the woods. Still can't but I need to rollin it now to get a reaction. I do wash up with soap and water now if I think I was exposed.

RAH, your experience sounds familiar to my own, having had it tons of times, and bad, as a kid, and rarely getting it as an adult. Is this usual, to be highly allergic as a kid, but not as susceptible as an adult?

I am not sure about the specific case of poison ivy, but children have a higher prevalance of some allergies compared to adults. In the case of food allergies, 2-3% of adults have food allergy in the US, while about 8% have them as kids. In this case, the difference is typically blamed on differences in digestion, but I think this is an incomplete answer. Our immune system is very complex, and our understanding of allergy is not very advanced. This is evidenced by our inability to cure this disorder. The antibody type responsible for most allergic reactions (IgE) is the same antibody type used to combat parasitic worms in our bodies. In countries where parasitic worms are common, people do not have allergies, and those that have bad allergies are great at fighting parasitic worms. Research to combat auto-immune diseases (IBS in particular) have even found that patients that are given large quantities of pig parasitic worms (eggs) that cannot complete its life-cycle in humans, experienced a remission of auto-immune disease symptoms. Cool stuff...

Bruce you can get a product at the pharmacy called zanfel. It is a special soap that will keep the rash from spreading and will remove the itch. It will also help to dry the rash up. It is the best treatment I know of and is not painful except to your wallet. A one ounce tube will run you about twenty bucks.

That certainly looks like a poison ivy rash. I've dealt with poison ivy exposure and the rash off and on most of my life. The plant grows in profusion all over the wooded and shaded areas of my property now. But, the rash outbreaks are much less severe now than as a child. Treatment advice for poison ivy is much like golfswing advice - it varies with whom you're getting it from. Steriod treatment may help for severe cases, but it usually gets more credit than it deserves because the rash is likely already in the resolution stage by the tome such treatment is sought. Generally, from my experience the rash has to run its course, which can be up to 3 weeks. The only effective itch relief that i've experienced is exposure to a few seconds of mildly hot water. The itching becomes intense for a few seconds (reacting with histamine release), but allows hours of relief. This is also a method of determining if the rash is indeed from poison ivy or other urushiol bearing plant exposures, because few other itchy rashes respond this way.

Squeeky - What other plants contain urushiol?

Poison Oak and Poison Sumac

Not sure if we have either of these two locally. They must be related plants?

Yes, they are all related, they are in the genus Toxicodendron. I have attempted to grow two species of trees in that genus, Toxicodendron vernicifluum and Toxicodendron potaninii. My largest one is getting close to my height.

From wikipedia
Lacquer Tree or Varnish Tree (Toxicodendron vernicifluum or Rhus verniciflua) grows in Asia, especially China and Japan. Growing up to 20 m tall, its sap produces an extremely durable lacquer. The leaves have 7–19 leaflets (most often 11–13). The sap contains the allergenic oil, urushiol. Urushiol gets its name from this species which in Japanese is called Urushi. Other names for this species include Japanese lacquer tree, Japanese Varnish Tree and Japanese Sumac

I had that a zillion times, especially when I was property manager on 105 acres that was loaded with poison oak. Each time I got it was less and less until I just built up a resistance to it. Now it barely does nothing. I had a coworker that was using his cable pulling gloves to pull a lot of it out. Then he loaned same gloves to a Mexican kid. Just nailed him, everywhere especially his face, he missed three weeks of work. Worst I ever saw was a guy on a cleanup crew who had this not so brilliant idea to burn it. Breathe deep, the gathering gloom, watch light fade from every room. I thought he was going to go into respiratory arrest. I tried not to laugh in his face. That Bruce patch is kid stuff. Just cover it with Calamine and go fishing. Leaves of three, let it be. I used to get a lot of eradication calls on it, not so many anymore. DIY with specifically made products.

I have to ask. Bruce what remedy are you going to try?

I have a very close acquaintance with that stuff.

Starch water dries it and steroids help a bunch. James Holt is right about the zanfel.

Does anyone know how one comes into contact with the urushiol? Can you walk through a patch and have leaves brush a hand or leg and become affected - or does one have to break a stem or leaf and have the sap come into contact with the skin? I guess my question is whether urushiol exists on leaves and stems...

The urushiol unfortunately is on the leaves, stems, and roots. It is sticky. It will last for a long time on anything it transfers to -- like clothing, tools, or animal fur. It transfers really easily. Whatever you do -- don't ever burn it. The oil will transfer with the smoke, and cause serious mouth and throat problems. My mother was extremely sensitive to it. My two sons are quite sensitive to it. It has minimal effect on me for some reason. My father was the same, until he was in his late 50s.

We mostly just have poison ivy east of the Mississippi. But, it has a number of forms, from low lying leaves, to huge ropes that entwine massive trees. Learn all the forms.

Ken

P.S. If you think you have come in contact with it, or your pet has been in contact with it, get some Fels-Naptha soap. As soon as possible, wash thoroughly in cold water. I always keep a bar on the deepsink in the basement. I may be far more sensitive than I think I am because I do wash regularly with this nasty old soap when I've come in from bush hogging, weed whacking, pulling weeds, picking berries, etc.

Thanks Ken, great advice. My kids have learned to ID it well, we get VERY close to it and I demonstrate it's characteristics with a stick - red stems, notched leaf, groups of three leaves. Unfortunately our spread also has many patches. I've been spot spraying it in high traffic areas but am not confident I'm doing much to abate it's spreading.

My home remedy, break open the the infected area so the pus is on the surface of the skin, Use something like a popsicle stick or dull side of a knife. Pour hydrogen peroxide on the area and let it dry. Then pour rubbing alcohol on and let it dry, This will stop the itching and very quickly dry it up. It will be cleared up in a couple of days. This has kept me from going to the doctor for years

Bill

Bruce, that would be very unusual to have poison ivy just in that area. You have Shingles my friend, not poison ivy. I would bet my unbuilt pond on it. Go see your PCP.

+1 on the shingles diagnosis.

I hate poison Ivy. I'm one of those ridiculous allergic people that if you mention that it exists within a 5 mile radius of where i am currently standing, Likely that i will break out.

A few years back someone had a lawn-refuse fire next door to me and apparently i inhaled it (the only answer the allergist and dermatologist could give me...yeah i had it bad....). Although i don't know if that is accurate, i will tell you that they both agreed on one thing, that you cannot personally spread the actual poison ivy rash yourself once you have gotten the oil off of your skin.

People think it is "contagious" like that but it isn't. According to them, the "spreading" is a result of 2 things:
1) it's an infection that is spreading, it likely came from a few of the broken blisters, and seems to crawl out from the area slowly in people who scratch a lot.
2) you can get the rash in different strengths and severity at the same time. Like you get nasty P.Ivy on your hands, then no so bad on your neck (from wiping sweat away or something). The hands can show up days even weeks before the neck will, even though you got both cases at the exact same time.

Personally i take a ridiculously hot shower, and try not to itch. If it is localized, i'll take the wife's blowdryer, set it to hot, and point it at the affected area for a minute just until the pain is too much to bear. That dries it up for good. Careful, though, i hear that can cause nerve damage (which explains a lot!)

Finally....I agree that there aren't the right kind or concentration of blisters for PI. Also....no clue what shingles looks like. Hope you feel better, Bruce.

My behavior begged for poison ivy irritation. There were several 15 foot vines of PI in a fairly tight area. They were creeping up some big cottonwood trees. I was shirtless, and was bending over to grab and twist the base of the PI stems with a Vice-Grip (smart, eh?)...So my back definitely came in contact with some of the ivy.

What do I do with the vice-grips now? Just wash in soapy water? They've been bouncing around the floor of my truck for a few days now with that oil on them.

Yeah, a mild detergent usually does the trick for me. But there is a special soap at your local drugstore that specifically breaks down that oil. Technu? Tenchu? Don't remember exactly how to spell or pronounce it but you'll see it on the shelf at walgreens, CVS, etc.

Yeah, lol....sounds like you were begging for poison ivy.

The rash can look different on all parts of your body, like i get itty bitty tiny blisters in the finger webbing, huge puss-filled ones on my forearms, and it just looks like hives or mosquito bites on the outsides of the elbows or tops of knees. and as i understand it eveyone's looks a little different. So even when we say it doesn't look like it, we could all be very wrong. My physician doesn't believe me that that's what i have sometimes when i ask for the roids, and asks for a second opinion. But the dermatologist at this point has learned that when he sees my name on the appt list, get the roids ready...thats what the problem is.

I only use chemicals as a last resort, but for poison ivy, chemicals are one of only two ways I know of getting rid of the darn stuff. Ortho makes a very effective product product called Brush-B-Gone. When sprayed on the leaves, it makes its way all the way to the roots, and will kill a pretty large area of poison ivy. The root systems are very extensive and propate if cut. The other effective way to get rid of it is with goats. They love to eat it, and it doesn't affect them.

As for the vice grips, I'd used diposable gloves to get them out of the truck. Then spray them down with a good detergent, or wash them in good soapy COLD water, wipe them off with paper towels, and then lubricate them well.

Ken

Shirtless at the Quarry? Trying to impress your landscaper? Jeesh - BSKI, JHAP - calling reinforcements here - we simply cannot allow this hanging curveball to get past us! Bruce must be dealt with appropriately!

Bruce:

I agree with Ken about using latex gloves to handle the vise-grips, but don't forget to wash where they were bouncing around in the truck. You could have transferred some of the oil to the truck.........

Given the history of poison ivy touching that EXACT spot, I will recant the Herpes Zoster diagnosis. History is everything.

Also, please ignore the bill in the mailbox

LOL.

I keep a bottle of Oak-N-Ivy brand product called tecnu outdoor skin cleanser. If I have been in contact with the poison oak or ivy I wash the oil off with the tecnu. Works very well if used promptly.

I quite often have to throw away a perfectly good pair of leather gloves due to contamination of the oils. Small price to pay.

That's stuff does help, but only temporarily. Zanfel is approximately the same cost as a copay for a doctor to shoot you up with steroids (Prednisone).

Within a day or two the rash starts subsiding and within five days its pretty much gone. I've had to do this twice in the past ten years.

A huge plus one. I'm hyper allergic to Poison Oak/Ivy. The Tecnu works great.

Also you can pre-apply a product called Ivy Block, it works great as well. I wear disposal coveralls and throw away gloves anytime I know I'm going to be working around Poison Oak.

I have found using the the pre-block, the disposable clothes and then washing after with Tencu works great.

Thank goodness you clarified. I feared that was a picture of your butt!

And remember that just washing with regular soap may not cut the oil sufficiently, but rather spread it. I've read that using a dish soap like Dawn or something similar is a great way to ensure that you cut the oil as opposed to smearing it. There are also some poison ivy soaps that help prevent it in the first place if you think you were exposed, and that also help prevent any spread once you have it.

Zanfel is the shizzle for P.I.