The bigfoot plant finally showed up
Since my childhood I have treated poison ivy with little regard, if not with a mythical sense of it’s very existence. When people talked about it, the conversation was similar to hearing about a Big Foot sighting; certainly people had an encounter but was it real? I always knew it was a real plant, but in all my years of marching along streams, in fields, out in the woods, I have never been burned by or seen it. That was until I made a visit to the township of Unity near Riplinger a few weeks ago and now I will never unsee it, and the scars it has left on my legs and my ego.
My wife called me with a flat tire, and needed someone to save her. Busted on the side of the road I got out the spare. Our van was right tight by the ditch and I saw an advantage to change it by standing in the ditch; away from the traffic and avoiding being hunched over. The entire time I never noticed a thing, but I recalled how many wild strawberries there were around me. With the help of a resident of the area, the van was off and running. Little did I know I was about to endure the worst.
The next afternoon I noticed a red rash on my legs and my arms, and tiny bumps. That evening brought on more bumps, more rashes that spread from my ankles to my knees, my elbows to my wrists and then to my chest. It seemed to be spreading. The burning and itching became so severe that I took myself to the Emergency Room at Marshfield Hospital, and was confirmed to have poison ivy.
When your skin touches the Ivy, the oil sticks to your skin but doesn’t take effect until 24-48 hours later. The oil then makes your skin break out in blisters, rashes, and a deep-deep itchy feeling. It also makes your skin light sensitive. Being out in the sun was agonizing. My wife had me try natural remedies and salves, but the only thing that worked was steroids, anti-histamines, and icing the rash to stop itching. Poison ivy is an allergic plant that is actually in the same family as cashews, mangos, and pistachios. In my past articles this is where I continue a soft introduction of a plant, discussing its unique uses, maybe positive impacts it has made, but you are not going to get that with this jerk of a plant.
Even though there are several different kinds of poison Ivy in North America, the most common appearance is a threeclustered leaf that comes to a point at the end, with each side of the leaves having jagged edges; like a saw. The leaves can be bright green when it’s in new growth stage, but take on a dark green, dull color with red stems as it matures. The plant itself is defined as an ivy, meaning it grows by stretching itself along the ground or climbing up a stump, weaving and winding around. It doesn’t limit itself to being an ivy, but can grow upright and resemble a bush.
It is masterful at misery, even to the point of burning confusion amongst the masses. Having experienced this and doing extensive reading and interviews, I am proud to provide some debunked claims about poison ivy. The oil is easily spread, but once it is washed off it is no longer contagious, period. No, the sores do not produce additional oil. No, you do not need to keep wiping down surfaces after touching them.
OnceIshoweredandwashedmyhands after I changed the tire, I never found the sores on additional areas, on my kids, coworkers, etc. What freaks people out is there are primary and secondary “breakouts.” Places on your body that get direct contact with the plant is primary, and when you touch the oil on a different surface that is the secondary infection. They will fire on your body at different times.
For instance, the next day I had my legs and arms messed up, and a few days later I had it on my waistline and chest. Why? That’s where I grabbed my shirt to wipe my sweat away after changing the tire. Luckily it wasn’t on my shirt and just on my hands, or my face would have been just for radio.
This discussion will continue with part two, in next week’s paper. See you then!
The Soil
Sound-Off
