I'm a steriod guy myself when it comes to this nasty weed. I get chronic cases of it I'm a fan of GOJO® Orange Pumice Hand Cleaner. Seems to work as well as Technu, smells nicer too! I then wash with 90% alcohol. I carry both in my riding bucket so I always have it. Also, Ivy Block seems to help me although it makes one look quite pasty... As far as the folks in the bush, I always say to them: "It must be really nice to be immune to all that P.O. I can hardly get near it without getting a rash". BTW, NEVER use Technu before a ride. It strips the oils form the skin and you will get PO much worse.
Another vote for Simple Green or dish soap after exposure. It's been working for me for a year now. I still try not to touch any plant-life just to be on the safe side. Maybe I'm just really good at avoiding it. I rode in Indiana a couple of times this summer. It's pretty much impossible not to touch plant-life out there. I still can't tell what Poison Ivy looks like, so again to be extra safe I used Simple Green and dish soap after my rides. No PO/PI this summer. The last time I got PO/PI was over a year ago from a ride in Indiana. It had been a while since I'd had it. I'd forgotten how damn itchy the stuff is. I don't want it again if I can help it. BTW - None of the PO/PI stuff you can buy in the store has worked for me...even the really expensive stuff. The lotion with the grit in it feels really good though...at least while rubbing it in. Makes you not want to stop until you're bleeding.
+1 on the simple green, I have been useing it for years, after Holly Jim. Poisen Oak is in the air. Allow 3 weeks to heal up. Make sure your clean your tires on your bike. Good healing vibes.
Ok...thanks again for all the solutions to this itchy problem. Its been over two weeks now and I am almost healed up. Don't doubt though, that with some vigourous scratching that I could start a new breakout all over again. It just feels that way. Been riding a whole bunch since the first exposure and I make sure to clean with Simple Green as soon as the ride is over!
Cortaid by Johnson & Johnson has a product called "Poison Ivy Care Scrub Removal" It has all the same stuff as Zanfel but at a fraction of the cost. I get it at Rite-Aid. I have a very bad time with P.O. and this works better that anything I have tried. I can even break out in the same day! During and after my rides where I can be around P.O., I carry and wipe down with baby wipes several times, and then again after the ride. This thread has about all of the different ways of addressing P.O. that I have ever heard of. Try them all and find one that works for you..........
Lots of info online suggesting that Zanfel is a ripoff of Mean Green hand cleaner. Anyone tried it? There's also the possibility of using a histamine 2 blocker like cimetidine (sold OTC for heartburn); I'd be interested to hear if anyone has experience using it for poison oak.
I am HIGHLY allergic to poison ivy. Depending on your sensativity, it could take a couple days to show up. It could be all over EVERYTHING by then - your phone, sheets, the bar of soap in the shower, which means your rubbing it on yourself each time you shower. Lots of soaps don't break the oil. You need a degreaser, as mentioned above, or TECHNU works great. But you have to use this BEFORE you start showing itches/bumbs/red spots. If I've been around poison ivy, I rub technu on any exposed skin then wash off with reg soap and water...
Tecnu after a ride (don't be a afraid to use a lot with a firm rub) then wipe off with baby wipes...that simple
"...will soap remove oil after a week..." no! most soaps don't break down the oil. You need some heavy duty degreaser. but a week later, the oil probably isn't on your skin anyways, its just your body r reacting. Try benadryl, try steroid creame, try ice, try to get a heavy duty steroid pack from your doc - if your like me, the multi day course is better than the single shot (I learned the hard way that if the single shot deosn't work your out of luck) Also, you could be re-irritating yourself, be sure to degrease anything that you came in contact with after contact with the evil plant. My cell phone re-irritated my neck and face twice before I realized what was happening.
I get it bad. I haven't gotten to the steroid shot stage yet, but I'm getting close. The Simple Green/dish soap ideas both seem to work well for me post-ride, and once it's hit and the rash has started weeping the only thing that seems to help is calamine lotion. Also, once you have the rash and it's settled in, you can hop into a very hot shower and blast the area. It's going to really sting, but once the initial pain goes away, you'll have at least of couple of hours itch free.
Toxicodendron diversilobum. Learn to identify it esp in the winter (if you can call this winter) Right now sticks with little shoots of buds. If climbing: Guad has it mostly on the last reach to the fire road. That last switch back ride "think narrow". If you drop it: mixed in brush on both sides of the trail all the way down, no problem there unless you roll the chaparral. I use tide to wash if I have any direct contact. I will tide wash even if I am not sure. Be careful right now, it is still toxic and can spread to family members too. Nasty bubbly badness.
I carry tecqnue with me for the Santa Ana mountains. lots of poison oak. I hope the doctor shot helps you quickly. Good healing vibes.
Ok don't get me wrong... but Zanfel is $28 for a 1 oz. tube?! I get really nervous about any product that (1) charges this much and (2) advertises via talk radio hosts. EDIT - I just did some research about the product. Check THIS out. The article seems to suggest that Zanfel is based on an "improved" version of Mean Green Organic Hand Scrub.
I'm really concerned that the PO seems to be taking over. with all these rains I'm sure we will see much more this year too
Ahhh the oak, a love hate. Love the circumstances getting it, hate to have it, not unlike other rashes, what? These work well and are convenient: http://www.amazon.com/Permatex-25072-Orange-Cleaner-Wipes/dp/B000AL9CT4 Also I use soccer socks when I know it will be out. You can pull them down on the climb, usually made of the technical fabric and can be pulled up to the knee when foraging through the oak. Remember to wash them in bucket of diluted Simple Green before the washing machine. Cornstarch baths feel good.
It wasn't too late for them... You do not react to PO immediately. They had plenty of time (hours) to remove the oil from their skin. Since they would also have the urushiol oil all over their clothes, it is possible that someone else may have come into contact with the urushiol oil when doing laundry. My opinion is that it would be a good idea to say something.
The good news is that it only affects single speeders. If you go past really slowly in your granny gear, you don't brush up against it fast enough to get infected
I've never heard of anyone else doing that. When I have itchiness from thistle, poison oak, or whatever, I put the shower on pulse, get out of the stream, turn it up as hot as I can stand it, then even hotter still, and then blast the scalding water at the affected area. It's like eating super-hot chilies: both excruciating and wonderful. It seems creepy and masochistic, but when it's over, the itch is gone for hours. I read an article once that seemed to explain it. I'm no doctor, so I don't remember much, but I think it had something to do with stimulating the localized production of histamines.
