I have made a few videos about poison ivy so I made one covering all of the things people seem to ask me about whenever I make a new PI video. This video covers six of the things I get asked about the most.

Thanks for watching and let me know what you think!

Thanks, Anthony

I watched it on YouTube prior to you posting it here Anthony. As always, well done video with great information.

I read an article on PI once that said a person's sensitivity to Urushiol runs in a 7 yr cycle. If you get a strong dose of PI and have a large reaction to it, and manage to avoid it for 7 yrs, your sensitivity will diminish over the 7 yrs, till you're almost back to pre-exposure levels. BUT, there's no immunity build up, so another exposure will get you the same reaction.
Urushiol will bind to your skin within an hour or so, so washing with soap and water will help if done quickly.

From personal experience, The rash is your body's Hystamine reaction to the toxin, so if you have a bad case of PI, scrubbing the effected area with water as hot as you can stand it will deplete your body's supply of Hystamine and will buy you about 6 hrs of relief so you can get some sleep. An OTC Anti-Hystamine will help too.

Urushiol sensitivity varies widely among people - some stay quite sensitive their entire lives, others never become sensitive to it, and for many it changes over time. I never got it until I slid down a tree and ground it into my arms and face. After that I would get it with light exposure. Now 25 years later it doesn't really bother me anymore. I'm in it everyday and rarely react and if I do it is a small bump or two.

Good video, good info here BB.

As one who gets PI in the winter, I'm always on the lookout for the plant. River bottoms here are horrible with it. And as BB suggested, hitting the affected area with extremely hot water will dampen the itch for awhile. Same goes for skeeter bites, or chiggers, or most anything else that causes scratching.

I keep a tube of StingEze in the boat and truck. Rubbed over the affected area gives you some relief while you're out and about. Does for me, anyway.

Thanks Anthony. Glad this isn't out here where I'm at.

Nice video! I used to get my dose of PI every summer as a youngster. Not so much anymore.
There are so many remedies out there. I found Zanfel to be the best.

Been lucky in life with PI, I’m one that can use the vines to climb and take leaves and use in place of TP and no adverse effects. I have a brother that can ride by it with the windows down and look at it and get it.

Great video. Been in and out of the woods most of my life, can’t ever remember running into it.

Many years ago I picked up a PI brochure in a dermatology office. I said that a repeat reaction is far more likely following an initial reaction. The longer we can go between outbreaks, the less likely we will have a new outbreak. Also said, nobody is totally immune to PI.

Interesting side note: Cashew Nuts are in the same family as PI, and that's why they need processing to be edible.