Poison Ivy Facts

In order to protect yourself against poison ivy, it is important for you to know some poison ivy facts. Poison Ivy is found all across the continental  United States and Southern Canada.  Due to an increase in the levels of carbon dioxide over the past several decades poison ivy has been become ever more prevalent across North America.  The number of poison ivy plants has been increasing steadily since the 1960’s.  Poison ivy doesn’t grow in the drier regions and deserts of the western and southwestern United States.

The rash from poison ivy is caused by an allergic reaction to the oil in the plant’s foliage.   The allergy causing compound of the poison ivy plant and other similar plants such as poison oak is called urushiol.   The word urushiol is derived from urushi which is the Japanese word for lacquer.   One nanogram (one billionth of a gram) of the urushiol oil is all is needed to potentially cause an uncomfortable allergic reaction resulting a rash.   Poison Ivy is the most common allergy in the United States and at least fifty percent of the people in the United States are allergic to poison ivy along with other plants that contain urushiol such as poison oak and sumac.

The average poison ivy rash sufferer comes into contact with 100 nanograms of urushiol when they develop a reaction to the poison ivy or poison oak plant.   One quarter of an ounce is enough to give a rash to every single person on the planet.   Five hundred people could be caused to itch from the amount that covers the head of a pin.

Urushiol oil can remain active on surfaces and can potentially cause rashes in people for anywhere from one to five years.   Though samples that were centuries old have been found to cause an allergic reaction in people who are sensitive to the effects of the poison ivy plant. 

Urushiol oil has been found to be very useful as a protective lacquer in Japan.

The gold leaf on the Golden Temple in Kyoto, Japan was coated with lacquer made from urushiol oil in order to preserve and protect it.

An individual can develop an allergic reaction to urushiol at any time without prior warning.   Because of this inability to predict urushiol’s effects, people who believe that they are immune can eventually suffer from an allergic reaction if they are exposed to the poison ivy plant over time.   Individuals can also develop an allergic reaction if they come into contact with large enough quantities of the rash causing urushiol oil.

The allergic reaction occurs when the urushiol oil comes into contact with the skin.   It can take anywhere from a few hours to a few days for a rash to appear after an individual has come into contact with poison ivy.   If the plant is burned people can be affected by the oil internally if they breath the smoke and/or fumes.   This can lead to serious damage to the lungs and other internal organs and people who breath the smoke of burning poison ivy may require immediate medical attention and often times need to be hospitalized.

AIDS patients and other people suffering from problems with immune deficiency may not have an allergic reaction to the urushiol oil of the poison ivy plant.

If the urushiol oil comes into contact with cuts and open wounds, it can enter the bloodstream and cause serious internal problems that require the sufferer to be hospitalized in extreme cases.

The most effective solutions and cures are the ones that actually destroy and eliminate the urushiol.   Reactions to various treatments vary from person to person.   What works great for one individual may not work as effectively for another.

Contrary to popular belief the rash that is caused by poison ivy is not contagious.  However, the oil can be picked up from the surfaces of inanimate objects and animal fur and this can cause an allergic reaction.  You can only get an allergic reaction from coming into direct contact with the urushiol oil.  Urushiol can remain active on any surface including the dead matter of the poison ivy plant itself.  Because of this it is never safe to touch a poison ivy plant even if it is dead.

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