Geocaching Hazards–Poison Ivy!
Poison ivy is one of the many banes of geocachers. If you’re like me, and I know I am, your reactions can be miserable. I have strong adverse reactions to it. So, searching around for geocaches in a rich crop of poison ivy is asking for trouble. Been there, done that.
I’ve always had a bit of reaction. My first encounters were when searching for morels. That’ll teach me. Later encounters were more virulent. Indeed, later encounters after that first bad one occur quicker, sometimes within one to two days of contact with the evil
urushiol.
Despite old husband’s tales to the contrary, the rash is not contagious. The fluid within the blisters does not create more of a rash or spread it. Rather it can be a reaction developing later or from an encounter that the family dog had in a patch of poison ivy.
My last encounter was bad. We were geocaching in a sandy environment. Somehow, I missed the evil plants. My reaction was severe, lasting over six weeks. Here is what I learned.
If it looks like an infection, do not put creams or lotion on it.
All this does is trap the bacteria. You will only make it worse. Since the poison ivy rash can cover large areas, this makes for a very uncomfortable situation.
If you’ve been in contact, clean the area.
The active ingredient is an oil. Use soaps that will act against oil. Needless to say, using an oil-based soap will spread the oil. The sooner, the better, of course.
Check your surroundings.
Know what poison ivy looks like–and what jewelweed looks like, a natural antidote. Avoidance is the best prevention.
A poison ivy reaction is not fun. Whatever you can do to prevent an encounter will greatly improve your geocaching adventures. This is one hidden object you don’t want to find.
When I encountered poison ivy, Buji worked like a charm. When I had a horrid case of poison OAK, I finally got Zanfel, which did the best job there. For the itching, old-fashioned calamine won out over other remedies. EEEEK!
July 24th, 2009 at 7:49 am.-= EMC of Northridge, CA´s last blog ..How to Be a Geosponge =-.