[NatureNS] Re: Poison Ivy

From: "Paul S. Boyer" <psboyer@eastlink.ca>
Date: Mon, 30 Aug 2010 20:59:30 -0300
To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
References: <AANLkTimB02SOiBvHqngkkOpwLmfa2bgu9sJG8iF-DEyA@mail.gmail.com>
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  delicate.&amp;nbsp; Also, one is supposed to ru

--Boundary_(ID_zxYh1LhwAEMOOPJSjFE7kg)
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Yes, I have heard this about jewel-weed, but have never tried it.  It =
puzzles me that such a common belief would not be tested, but I know =
that I never tried it just because I suffer badly from poison ivy, and =
don't wish to try a poorly controlled test.

What we do know is that poison ivy and some of its relatives have an oil =
called urushiol (see article in the great Wikipedia).  This oil =
chemically attaches to skin and other tissue, and causes them to appear =
to the immune system to be alien material.  The poison-ivy reaction is =
thus an auto-immune allergic reaction.  It tends to get more violent =
with more exposure: you do not build up a resistance, rather you build =
up an increasing sensitivity.  Thus having small exposures to poison ivy =
sensitizes you for an eventual larger exposure, which could put you out =
of commission for a week, and could be painful and messy.

As for habitat, poison ivy can grow almost anywhere: woods, clearings, =
sandy soil, or loam.  It is very hard to fight, and in some places, the =
battle is hopeless.  However, for some reason there is not too much =
poison ivy in Nova Scotia.  This just means that we have a chance to =
kill it off in small patches before it spreads.

Once it is established, you will not be able to go into a wild area =
except on wide, mowed trails =97 and people will have to be employed in =
keeping those trails clear, and they will be exposed in so doing.  You =
will never again be able to walk on you property in bare feet.  Whenever =
you work out doors, you will have to be almost paranoid in alertness, in =
order to avoid exposure.  You will have to control children from being =
exposed, and teach them not to roam outdoors.  What kind of life is =
that?  Pets will carry the oil on their fur, so just by petting you dog, =
you will be exposed.

I tell you, poison ivy is one of nature's little mistakes, at least from =
our point-of-view.  Though not as deadly, it is like malaria, or =
botulism: the world would be better off without it.

Some books say birds eat the seeds of poison ivy, and deer enjoy eating =
the leaves.  Well, birds can eat other seeds, and not help spread seeds =
of poison ivy.  As for deer, they will eat most anything (except =
Andromeda), so chances are they can eat whatever else grows after the =
poison ivy is eliminated.

I was exaggerating just a little about using atomic weapons on poison =
ivy, but if it were possible, I would go for it!  ;-)


On Aug 27, 2010, at 4:31 PM, Anne Woolaver wrote:

> Hi all,
> =20
> I was told years ago (by someone who I imagine would know) that a =
useful remedy plant for poison ivy is jewelweed, which -- I was also =
told -- may often be found growing conveniently close by poison ivy =
stands.  Not sure whether you squeeze the leaf juice onto affected parts =
or ??  Has anybody else heard this?
> =20
> A. Woolaver
> =20
> > From: soudekd@ns.sympatico.ca
> > To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
> > Subject: [NatureNS] Re: Poison Ivy
> > Date: Fri, 27 Aug 2010 16:18:26 -0300
> >=20
> >=20
> > Nuke Poison Ivy (PI)? That may be a slight over-reaction. What =
surprises=20
> > me is that PI (Toxicodendron radicans) is included in the Atlantic =
Coastal=20
> > Plain Flora, as per the N.S. Nature Trust's "Guide to the Atlantic =
Coastal=20
> > Plain Flora of Nova Scotia" (2005), in spite of its wide range in =
Eastern=20
> > Canada and U.S. Could someone comment?
> > I continue to be surprised by how many outdoorsy people cannot =
identify=20
> > it in the field, in spite of having spent years in the out of doors.
> > In a recent medical article I've read that 80 % of the population is=20=

> > allergic to the above species. Sadly, there was no indication of the =
source=20
> > of this tidbit of information. Which population? I suspect that the=20=

> > percentage refers to the fraction of the population who become =
allergic=20
> > following repeated physical contact with the plant.
> > Dusan Soudek=20
> >=20


--Boundary_(ID_zxYh1LhwAEMOOPJSjFE7kg)
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<html><head><base href=3D"x-msg://24/"></head><body style=3D"word-wrap: =
break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: =
after-white-space; ">Yes, I have heard this about jewel-weed, but have =
never tried it. &nbsp;It puzzles me that such a common belief would not =
be tested, but I know that I never tried it just because I suffer badly =
from poison ivy, and don't wish to try a poorly controlled =
test.<div><br></div><div>What we do know is that poison ivy and some of =
its relatives have an oil called <b>urushiol</b> (see article in the =
great Wikipedia). &nbsp;This oil chemically attaches to skin and other =
tissue, and causes them to appear to the immune system to be alien =
material. &nbsp;The poison-ivy reaction is thus an auto-immune allergic =
reaction. &nbsp;It tends to get more violent with more exposure: you do =
not build up a resistance, rather you build up an increasing =
sensitivity. &nbsp;Thus having small exposures to poison ivy sensitizes =
you for an eventual larger exposure, which could put you out of =
commission for a week, and could be painful and =
messy.</div><div><br></div><div>As for habitat, poison ivy can grow =
almost anywhere: woods, clearings, sandy soil, or loam. &nbsp;It is very =
hard to fight, and in some places, the battle is hopeless. =
&nbsp;However, for some reason there is not too much poison ivy in Nova =
Scotia. &nbsp;This just means that we have a chance to kill it off in =
small patches before it spreads.</div><div><br></div><div>Once it is =
established, you will not be able to go into a wild area except on wide, =
mowed trails =97 and people will have to be employed in keeping those =
trails clear, and they will be exposed in so doing. &nbsp;You will never =
again be able to walk on you property in bare feet. &nbsp;Whenever you =
work out doors, you will have to be almost paranoid in alertness, in =
order to avoid exposure. &nbsp;You will have to control children from =
being exposed, and teach them not to roam outdoors. &nbsp;What kind of =
life is that? &nbsp;Pets will carry the oil on their fur, so just by =
petting you dog, you will be exposed.</div><div><br></div><div>I tell =
you, poison ivy is one of nature's little mistakes, at least from our =
point-of-view. &nbsp;Though not as deadly, it is like malaria, or =
botulism: the world would be better off without =
it.</div><div><br></div><div>Some books say birds eat the seeds of =
poison ivy, and deer enjoy eating the leaves. &nbsp;Well, birds can eat =
other seeds, and not help spread seeds of poison ivy. &nbsp;As for deer, =
they will eat most anything (except <i>Andromeda</i>), so chances are =
they can eat whatever else grows after the poison ivy is =
eliminated.</div><div><br></div><div>I was exaggerating just a little =
about using atomic weapons on poison ivy, but if it were possible, I =
would go for it! &nbsp;;-)</div><div><br></div><div><br><div><div>On Aug =
27, 2010, at 4:31 PM, Anne Woolaver wrote:</div><br =
class=3D"Apple-interchange-newline"><blockquote type=3D"cite"><span =
class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"border-collapse: separate; =
font-family: Times; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; =
font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; =
orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; =
widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; =
-webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; =
-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: =
auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-size: medium; "><div =
class=3D"hmmessage" style=3D"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Tahoma; ">Hi =
all,<br>&nbsp;<br>I was told years ago (by someone who I imagine would =
know) that a useful remedy plant for poison ivy is jewelweed, which -- I =
was also told -- may often be found growing conveniently close by poison =
ivy stands.&nbsp; Not sure whether you squeeze the leaf juice onto =
affected parts or ??&nbsp; Has anybody else heard this?<br>&nbsp;<br>A. =
Woolaver<br>&nbsp;<br>&gt; From:<span =
class=3D"Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span><a =
href=3D"mailto:soudekd@ns.sympatico.ca">soudekd@ns.sympatico.ca</a><br>&gt=
; To:<span class=3D"Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span><a =
href=3D"mailto:naturens@chebucto.ns.ca">naturens@chebucto.ns.ca</a><br>&gt=
; Subject: [NatureNS] Re: Poison Ivy<br>&gt; Date: Fri, 27 Aug 2010 =
16:18:26 -0300<br>&gt;<span =
class=3D"Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span><br>&gt;<span =
class=3D"Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span><br>&gt; Nuke Poison Ivy =
(PI)? That may be a slight over-reaction. What surprises<span =
class=3D"Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span><br>&gt; me is that PI =
(Toxicodendron radicans) is included in the Atlantic Coastal<span =
class=3D"Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span><br>&gt; Plain Flora, as =
per the N.S. Nature Trust's "Guide to the Atlantic Coastal<span =
class=3D"Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span><br>&gt; Plain Flora of =
Nova Scotia" (2005), in spite of its wide range in Eastern<span =
class=3D"Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span><br>&gt; Canada and U.S. =
Could someone comment?<br>&gt; I continue to be surprised by how many =
outdoorsy people cannot identify<span =
class=3D"Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span><br>&gt; it in the field, =
in spite of having spent years in the out of doors.<br>&gt; In a recent =
medical article I've read that 80 % of the population is<span =
class=3D"Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span><br>&gt; allergic to the =
above species. Sadly, there was no indication of the source<span =
class=3D"Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span><br>&gt; of this tidbit of =
information. Which population? I suspect that the<span =
class=3D"Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span><br>&gt; percentage refers =
to the fraction of the population who become allergic<span =
class=3D"Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span><br>&gt; following repeated =
physical contact with the plant.<br>&gt; Dusan Soudek<span =
class=3D"Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span><br>&gt;<span =
class=3D"Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span><br></div></span></blockquote=
></div><br></div></body></html>=

--Boundary_(ID_zxYh1LhwAEMOOPJSjFE7kg)--

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