05/21/2018 / By Zoey Sky
Hiking is usually an invigorating activity that lets you commune with nature. But what do you do if you accidentally touch poison ivy while you’re on a hike?
Poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans) is a plant that can cause various painful side effects when it comes into contact with skin. (h/t BeansBulletsBandagesAndYou.com.)
Here are several sayings that can help you remember how to avoid poison ivy:
If you’re unlucky enough to touch poison ivy, you’ll know that one of its side effects is a nasty, itchy rash. Since the plant causes an open rash, wherever your skin is broken you increase the risk of an infection.
However, not everyone gets poison ivy rash. The plant isn’t really toxic, but it produces urushiol, an oil that binds to skin proteins. Most individuals are allergic to urushiol, but a handful of people are not.
If you’re allergic to urushiol, the poison ivy rash you experience will be caused by a delayed hypersensitivity reaction that may take about several hours, or even longer than a day, before enough attacking cells are produced to cause the rash.
Even if you’re immune to the rash, you can still develop an allergy later on.
Remember that you can get poison ivy rash on areas that don’t come into contact with the plant since the oil may spread if you touch your bare skin. Since the oil is stable, it can retain its allergenic properties for several months or even years.
If you get poison ivy rash, wash your clothes thoroughly and sterilize your gear before reusing them. To avoid contact with poison ivy, wear long-sleeved shirts and pants when traveling in wooded areas. When gathering wood, wear gloves to avoid any poisonous vines that could be stuck on trees.
If you think you’ve touched poison ivy, wash the infected area immediately with some soap and water. You can also use a poison ivy scrub to avoid getting a rash. Don’t let the oil bind to your skin because it might be harder to remove once you let it sit on your skin.
When you’re out camping or hiking, keep an eye out for poison ivy to avoid getting poison ivy rash. When SHTF, you don’t need an itchy rash and painful blisters that can slow you down.
The following natural remedies could help soothe poison ivy rash:
You can read more articles about effective natural remedies for other toxic plants at NaturalCures.news.
Sources include:
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