Scratching Forever

My husband always claimed, “I could walk through a field of poison ivy and not get it.” Famous last words!


Once while clearing fence rows, he learned people can develop an allergic reaction to poison ivy after many uneventful exposures to the plant’s oily sap, urushiol. Once sensitized, your skin is likely to react to every subsequent exposure. You don’t have to touch the plant to react. Gardening tools, sporting equipment, even a pet that has been in a patch of poison ivy, can cause a reaction.

Urshiol shows up elsewhere, including in the skin of mangos and the bark and leaves of the tree. Cashew shells also harbor the toxin. That’s why cashews are sold shelled and processed at a temperature high enough to destroy urushiol.


Poison ivy has two equally evil relatives, poison oak and poison sumac. And we must learn to recognize all three.

• Poison ivy grows as a small ground plant or a shrub or vine. The vines, green in summer, turn bright red in winter. The leaves, stems, roots, flowers and berries all contain urushiol.
• Poison oak, with compound leaves of three or five leaflets, usually grows as a shrub. In my area of Texas, it’s a vine.
• Poison sumac grows as a tall shrub or small tree. It produces leaves with rows of paired leaflets and a single leaflet at the end. It is found in wet habitats in the Northeast, Midwest and swamps in the Southeast.

Urshiol can penetrate clothes. Long sleeves, pants and gloves cannot guarantee protection. Even rubber gloves can be breached. If you are likely to contact poison ivy when gardening, wear vinyl gloves. Never try to burn a poison plant. Burning releases the toxin, which may land on skin or, worse, be inhaled. Should you contact a urushiol-containing plant the American Academy of Dermatology recommends washing your skin immediately. Luke-warm, soapy water is best but even plain water can limit the exposure to the sap. Take care removing contaminated clothing, and wash them item separately and soon. The sap is so hardy, it can cause a rash in the dead of winter, or even a year after contaminating clothing or shoes.


Beware this evil monster – just ask my husband!