The weeds won this round, but I'll be back!! (Warning: Slightly icky)

[Siwsan]

I've gotten much better at avoiding poison and stinging weeds, but not this time. What started out as a few small, itchy blisters seem to merge into a line of BIG itchy blisters. So Tea Tree Oil and bandaids are my treatment of choice, along with taking the day off from yard work. Ok, and a medicinal glass of Chardonnay.

At least it's better than the year I ended up with blisters, like this, all over both arms and both legs!

[LakeArenal]

1. Okay this is really icky...

My mom (long dead now) a long time ago got poison ivy. She, not too brightly, took a bath. She used one wash cloth. Scrubbed ivy then scrubbed her lower lady bits. The oil transferred from the cloth to the parts.

She had blisters on her... woo haw. Misery for over a week.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

2. Poison ivy isn't good anywhere - but OMG, *there*?

Gahhh!

I had a roommate once who somehow managed to get Ben-Gay on those same parts. She was not happy.

[LakeArenal]

4. Misery. That's the key description.

[dewsgirl]

6. My cousin did this with Skin So Soft when we were young,

I still remember her crying. Made me scared to death of SSS for a very long time.

[we can do it]

3. I'm just getting over it.

Had on both arms, stomach (how?) and legs.

[Siwsan]

7. My sympathy AND empathy!

One year my cousin not only had it on her arms and legs, she had it on her FACE! Her PCP put her on cortisone and banned her from doing any more garden weeding, for the rest of the summer.

That was the same year I had it on my arms and legs. The itching nearly drove me insane. I was applying oatmeal poultices, as soon as I got home from work. That was quite a sight.

[we can do it]

10. Get better soon!

[quaint]

5. Resembles my line of ant sting blisters acquired while weeding.

I feel our pain

[Backseat Driver]

8. When I was in elementary school, Tom was swinging from

grapevines over the downslope to a ravine. He lost his grip, landed in poison ivy, and was so covered with blisters he needed to be hospitalized for 2 weeks - As much as I've encountered it, first playing in the woods and then hiking along the paths of parks - I don't believe I've ever been afflicted by poison ivy. Leaves of three, let it be!!! Learn to recognize it's ground-covering leaves, it's vining nature on trees; its very pretty summer to winter berry-like seeds of white to red that tend to hide beneath the leaves, and its golden to scarlet leaves in the fall.


Grows pretty much anywhere, all across the country - not just Florida - it's seeds and roots can travel. Birds eat the berries and deposit them on the fly or at their roost, but they are toxic and injurious to humans internally. Stay out of the woods on a windy day and don't burn leaves or vines because the smoke will contain the irritant oil droplets that can get in your eyes and on your clothing/shoes. Protect all skin surfaces if you plan to try to remove the plants.

https://bygl.osu.edu/node/461

https://www.blogthebeach.com/2010/nature/plants-and-trees/learn-to-recognize-poison-ivy-and-avoid-the-itch

https://www.poison-ivy.org/poison-ivy-winter

[Siwsan]

9. What frustrates me is, I always pay close attention to where I'm weeding. Or, I think I do.

This was an area where I've never seen either stinging nettle or poison ivy. I just went back to give the whole area a good spray with home made weed killer, and I still can't see any of the offending plants.

Fortunately I was wearing gardening gloves so the only place it got me was on my wrist.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

12. Poison ivy was the first plant I learned to identify.

It grew all over the area where my grandmother lived and where we visited every summer. I got it a few times, never badly - though enough to get the calamine lotion treatment - because by the time I was about six I'd become pretty good at spotting it.

[GemDigger]

11. You are a lucky one to have just that spot.

When I was a kid I had it so bad that it was in my eyes, nose, mouth, between my toes, the bottom of my feet. Thank goodness the dr made house calls back then.

[Bayard]

13. Yikes!

I hate that stuff!

Biggest problem I'm having weeding in the garden right now are chiggers and voracious little ticks. They like to get in the middle of your back where you can't reach them, and have no problem getting in your pants. SO itchy!