Re: [Az-Geocaching] Poison Oak/Ivy

I once heard a story about a kid who ate poison ivy to show off for his
friends. Since this was the first time he was exposed, nothing happened.
So he tried it again to show off one more time. This time he almost
died. One more example of the reverse nature of this plant.

Jerry-offtrail

On Thu, 10 Jan 2002 13:56:01 -0700 "Baja Fleg" <fleigle@hotmail.com>
writes:
> I believe your correct. I used to be able to roll around in the
> stuff when
> I was growing up but then one summer I got it, bad. Now I can't go
> anywhere
> near it. Case in point I was just in SoCal on a buisness trip and
> was told
> that Poison Oak/Ivy was dormant this time of year. That person was
> wrong
> and lucky me got to prove him wrong. Sure enough I did the Stephens
> Creek
> cache located just south of San Jose and a few days later I get the
> dreaded
> itchy rash.
>
> Michael
>
>
> ----Original Message Follows----
> I have read everything I can find on the internet on poison oak/ivy
> during
> the past several weeks. The first person was right. People are
> born with
> some immunity. Continued exposure to the poison oak/ivy oils will
> make the
> body more prone to getting the rashes. The body's resistance gets
> weaker.
> The body is in effect reacting quicker to the invasion of the
> bothersome
> chemical.
>
> This is the opposite of what happens with other allergies where they
> try to
> desensitize you with allergy shots. There is no such thing as
> immunity from
> poison oak/ivy. You get in it enough and you'll eventually get it.
>
> When the poison oak/ivy rash appears, it can't be spread. The oil
> has
> already been absorbed by the body and what you're seeing is the
> body
> reacting to the presence of the oil. Scratching just causes
> problems
> because it causes an open wound that is susseptible to infections.
> Poison
> oak/ivy is very messy because it shows up as blisters and likes to
> stay
> around for as much as 2 weeks.
>
> The difference between poison oak and poison ivy is very minor.
> About the
> same difference between a basset hound and a beagle.
>
> > Everyone is born with some degree of tolerance, or immunity to
> these
> > chemical "reactions." With repeated exposure, this tolerance
> will
> > decrease, until the body develops a defensive reaction - which
> results in
> > the rash, etc. Some people only need one exposure to get the
> body to
> > react. Others require many, but it's not infinite.
>
> That sounds like the exact opposite of the way the immune system
> works.
> Isn't the reason you get shots to give your immune system practice
> so that
> it knows what to do what it gets the real thing. Seems like it
> should work
> in a similar way with poison ivy/oak.
>
> Brian Cluff
> Team Snaptek
>
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