Poison Ivy?

[3 Hawks]

I have a very small blister like thing on the side of my index finger where I think my finger touched some poison ivy when I was looking for the June Fox 6 Cache last evening. Does this sound like poison ivy to anyone?

I’ve come in contact with poison ivy many times in the past and I’ve never had a reaction. I’ve been told that exposure to poison ivy is cumulative. Does this mean that I may have reached the reaction point?

Thanks for any input.

[Decrepit]

It sounds exactly like the reaction I had last year at the WGA picnic. I had three small blisters on my ankle. It was the first time I had a reaction to poison ivy.

[marc_54140]

The Fox cache is in an area where poison ivy would grow – shady, wet, etc. I do not remember seeing any, but then, since I do not have reaction to it, I usually do not look for it.

[TyeDyeSkyGuy]

Get it reated.

Before last year I was never alergic to poison ivy, or bee stings either for that matter. Last year I found out the hard way that I’m now alergic to both. I had no idea what to expect from the poison ivy I got, so I let it go, and for far to long. I ended up with a NASTY staff infection that has now left a scar on my ankle almost the size of a baseball.

FYI: if it starts weeping, you’ve waited to long.

[3 Hawks]

Thanks for the input. I’ve applied a topical and I’m already taking an antibiotic. It is a very small blister and it has not started to weep. It no longer tingles, so I hope it will just clear up in the next few days.

I should have been wearing my gloves. I’ll have to do a better job of identifying and avoiding the nasty stuff to avoid a much worse exposure.

I’ve seen some nasty scaring on people and I’ve heard horror stories. I don’t want to chance it again.

Thanks again.

[Toecutter]

I just went to the doctor yesterday for a nasty case of poison ivy….there’s some on my other leg and arms, but nothing compared to my left leg…I ended up getting a shot, put on pills, and a topical cream to help with the itching. They said you’ll notice a difference within 24 hours after the shot….it is starting to look better, still itches like mad though.

Live and learn. Unfortunately, I learn the hard way sometimes! 😯

Later
Phil

[EnergySaver]

ok, weird … I’ve never had an reaction to PI in the past … but now I have 3 small blisters on my right arm. I thought PI would be a big rash area and get pink or something, these look more like burns or something. The odd thing, I started noticing it Monday, but the only time I was recently outside was last Thursday … doing the caches at the Schlitz Audubon Center … which are right on the edge of trails, not exactly any bushwhacking going on at the center, as your required to stay on trail. Go figure!

[Toecutter]

It takes a few days for a full breakout….I got this last Tuesday while looking for one of Marc’s cemetary caches…started breaking out a couple days later and was full blown by the weekend. I had found a wasp nest while looking for the cache and ran like a madman getting away…during my antics I took a digger in the weeds along the side of the road…I think I’d of rather gotten stung a couple times than deal with this.

Later
Phil

[3 Hawks]

Ouch!!! Wasps or nasty itching blisters for a few weeks? I think most people would run through a field of poison ivy naked as an alternative to a wasp swarm. We’ve all been stung by a bee or wasp before, but most have not had an ivy reaction. Therefore, the flight defense mechanism will prevail most of the time.

I still have a few blisters that don’t want to go away. I think the fact that I continue to cache in ivy infested areas only fuels the fire even though I’ve been wearing long pants, long sleeved shirts, and gloves.

My reaction has been fairly benign. No infection, severe itching, or scars. I actually talked to my doctor about the blisters because I thought I might have been having a simple allergic reaction to some other substance. My doctor confirmed that I had poison ivy and said that I was very lucky because most people would react significantly worse if they continued to expose themselves while infected.

He also warned me that my next outbreak could be MUCH worse.

Good luck with your exposure.

[LightningBugs Mum]

Though I had PI a few times as a kid, I hadn’t had a breakout through 3 summers of geocaching. Once in a while I would even find myself standing in a patch of it, but no break-outs. Guess I got a bit cavalier about it.

Now – worst – case – ever, and yes, I did wait a bit too long to get treatment. I took pictures of the weepy blisters covering my legs, but I won’t post them – don’t want to gross anyone out. 😈

So now I’m sticking to urban caches until we get a good freeze. Except for the picnic – I’ll just have to be verrrrrrrrrry careful there – no shorts for sure.

[GeoPink]

Must have walked through some last weekend, too. Had the little guy along, but he’s OK cuz he was riding on my shoulders! Good thing!

This time isn’t anywhere near as bad as the first time I had a reaction two years ago.

It’s more annoying than anything!

[Author]

Posts