Well, according to research in my garden book, it’s not poison ivy, it’s poison sumac. Always buy some good books and do your research! According to the book it’s “highly toxic”, far worse than poison ivy (I could have told them that) and even the nice nature-loving garden book suggests chemical herbicide and scorched-earth policy — which is a very last resort for me as I agree with Dad about chemicals. Looking at the scars on my leg and tracks covering both forearms, went for the Roundup, sigh. Both prayers and home remedies gratefully accepted.
Re: off-topic -- a note to friends
Don’t dare take Benadryl — acutely sensitive to all chemicals and I’d be stoned for a week. Not that one would mind being knocked out with poison sumac, but too dangerous in a car.
Re: off-topic -- a note to friends
*never* if I’m going near a car! (The smallest dose only does me in for a day or so but I have taken it twice when I was going to be in bed anyway).
Dome-boro, dome-boro :-)
Re: off-topic -- a note to friends
http://www.uwlax.edu/StudentHealth/HealthTopics/Generalhealth/Poison_ivy.asp
This says the eruption lasts 3 weeks — fortunately it shouldn’t be utterly annoying that long!
Re: off-topic -- a note to friends
Guest — well, the first outbreak on my legs is still giving trouble after more than six weeks, although mostly healed still some infected spot and scars; the second one on the arms I caught and treated faster and it’s improving after ten days, just looks like I had an argument with a rabid cat. Type “poison sumac” in the netscape search and you get lots of fun sites; the fifth or sixth that shows up has hundereds of photos which the site manager identifies as poison ivy or not, and lots of home remedies.
Sue: since I am definitely going to get this again until the garden is cleared out, where can one get that dome-boro?
Re: off-topic -- a note to friends
So sorry to hear this, Victoria! No remedies here, but prayers I can do!
Janis
Re: off-topic -- a note to friends
According to one link it’s also called Blu-boro - my faculty friend said she asked the pharmacist at the drug store and they found it for her. The stuff worked *really* fast for me — maybe that sensitivity working in my favor for once!
DOME - BORO
I used it once with immediate, wonderful relief (after hearing similar testimonials from the faculty room). I think I had to ask the pharmacist for it. (Anotehr time somebody promised to bring me some the next day… and the stuff dried up overnight! I don’t think that was really poison ivy, though.)
My mother took great delight in applying some horrendous herbicide directly to the leaves of poison ivy plants (narrow stream spray)… but to get that close, you can’t be too sensitive to it, I suspect. It got in the leaves & systemically killed the plants (without killing other plants).
I’d be tempted to grab the Benadryl — antihistamine and it renders me unconscious, too.