Leaves of Three, Let Them Be!

THE CULPRIT

There is a wonderful swimming hole down at the creek--it's just under the narrow bridge and behind a curve and small waterfall. It's my special place where I can let Byrdie swim and fetch the ball until I get too tired to throw it anymore. It's an idyllic sort of place--right out of a Walt Disney G-rated film.

I've been taking the dogs there almost daily unless it's been raining. It's a wonderful place to feel hidden, take photos over and over just because I can and be out of view of passers-by.

 How could such a wonderful spot harbor the vicious, evil plant known as poison oak? Did I even know what poison oak looked like? NO. Did I know I could pick it up from a dog's coat? NO. Did I know how much pure misery poison oak could cause? NO. Did I know that 10 days from the first nasty blister I would still be breaking out? NO.

This is what poison oak looks like in the spring.

Don't look at the pretty fern--check out the POISON OAK in the left background--and under my feet.

Do you know that the chemical from poison oak, urushiol, is similar to carbolic acid? You have 15 minutes to wash it off your skin before a reaction occurs the binds the oil to your skin cells and then you're in for it.

After using the OTC creams and soaps I decided to see what the homeopaths were suggesting. Here it is:

Many people reported good results from rubbing the rash with banana peel--what a mess! And it didn't do a thing.

Box of the baking soda in very hot bath--that gets an F--made me itch and sweat and run for anything cold--sans clothing. Not a pretty sight.

Cucumbers sounded great but I ate it before I got around to plastering it on the blisters. Sigh.

Oatmeal sounds horrible but I trudged down to Safeway and bought a box of the real Quaker stuff. I'll let you know. I don't think there's anything to like about oatmeal.

Vinegar--now this stuff worked to stop the itching!! I filled a water bottle with it and now carry it around. There's only one drawback--one simply can't dab vinegar all over the body when one is out in public--that stuff stinks! People are not that understanding. But I give an A to the vinegar for itch relief that lasts nearly 2 hours.

So far, all these treatments are enhanced by a healthy dose of actifed and adult beverages.

http://poisonivy.aesir.com/view/kitchen.html