LEAFLETS OF THREE, LET IT BE
“Leaflets of three, let it be” is the saying that should be imbedded in your minds and in the minds of your children. IT IS POISON IVY.
Leaflets may be dull or glossy, smooth, toothed or lobed and any number of colors from red to green to yellow then orange in the fall. Poison ivy plants develop greenish clusters of flowers which later turn into waxy, whitish berries. During the winter after the foliage falls, poison ivy vines growing up on trees have a fuzzy look where they attach themselves to the trunk.
Most people start off with a sort of immunity to poison ivy but with more and more exposure to the plants, we become more sensitive to the oils from within that is the actual cause of the itchy out-break. The oil, urushiol, penetrates the skin at different rates according to the tenderness or toughness of the skin that has been brushed by the leaves. *Please note that the spreading can be minimized simply by washing the infected area with soap, water and rubbing alcohol, as quickly as possible. It is also good to know that right after you wash, you are even more susceptible to catching the “itch” so do not go back around the ivy again.
Scratching the oozing blisters is not the cause of spreading the poison ivy but scratching can cause infection. With no treatment at all poison ivy should disappear within 14 to 20 days. For relief of the itch try cool water compresses and/or calamine ointment. Other OTC products include baking soda, aluminum hydroxide gel, kaolin or zinc oxide. Prescription, oral drugs may be necessary especially if you have a history of severe reactions to poison ivy. These oral drugs will probably need to be taken for 14 to 21 days. Cutting the oral treatment short could cause a rebound of the rash that may be even more severe.
Urushiol, the poisonous oil, can only be contracted from damaged plants but most poison ivy plants are damaged in one way or another. Damage can occur by animals running through the patch or even by wind and rain. Urushiol can cause a rash on you by sticking to your clothes, your garden tools, pets or even a ball rolling across the ivy plants and the oils stay effective for years! Most pets are not sensitive to urushiol oil. But people are, so rinse your tools and the kids toys with alcohol and water to remove the poisonous oil. And remember that even dead poison ivy vines are still capable of infecting you if you touch them.
Killing poison ivy is best done with Round-up (active ingredient, glyphosate). This product will kill beneficial plants as well as the targeted ivy so be careful when applying Roundup and only spray the ivy. New grass and other plants can be re-planted within only 10 to 14 days without worry of residual effects. Ortho Poison Ivy Killer and Brush-B-Gone (active ingredient, triclopyr) can also kill poison ivy but does not kill grass so this means to me that it may not be as effective as Roundup. Another interesting problem is that after using triclopyr it is recommended that trees be planted in the sprayed area for six months.
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