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Poison Oak

solid7

solid7

I used to be rather immune to poison ivy/oak - until one day, I got it bad, and wasn't immune anymore.  I spent almost a full year with a rash from my wrist to my elbow, that was leaking blood serum at a rate of about a liter per hour.
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2 weeks ago, I became acquainted with this feeling again, but with one of Ivy's cousins.
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These pics are literally 2 days apart.
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That does look bad , have you seen a doctor?
You might have secondary infection and /or underlying vascular insufficiency.
Good luck.
 
karoo said:
That does look bad , have you seen a doctor?
You might have secondary infection and /or underlying vascular insufficiency.
Good luck.
Click to expand...
 
No, it's nothing like that.  I have lumpy looking legs there, cause I just finished a 10 miler in the mountains.  I was all swollen up from activity.  But I don't any problems with vascularity.  I'm very active, and everything works well.  This shit is just my achilles heel...  Today, I started getting hives on my fingers. LOL
 
solid7 said:
I spent almost a full year with a rash from my wrist to my elbow, that was leaking blood serum at a rate of about a liter per hour.
Click to expand...
 
that sucks, but a liter per hour??
 
considering normal people drink ~3-4L per day, you'd be drinking like 27L per day with that injury!
 
i don't think i've ever gotten a poison ivy injury before, but i almost always wear pants in the woods. helps with mosquitos and ticks, too.
 
is it one of those things where you can get stronger reactions with successive exposures?
 
sinensis said:
 
that sucks, but a liter per hour??
 
considering normal people drink ~3-4L per day, you'd be drinking like 27L per day with that injury!
 
i don't think i've ever gotten a poison ivy injury before, but i almost always wear pants in the woods. helps with mosquitos and ticks, too.
 
is it one of those things where you can get stronger reactions with successive exposures?
Click to expand...
 
Hahaha - yes, it was an exaggeration, regarding the quantity.  However, it was not an exaggeration that it was a steady drip.  You could count them, with only a second or two between each drop.  Disgusting.
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I'm not sure that I'd agree that "normal" people drink that much water a day...  One has to work fairly hard to put a gallon away.  And I do believe that modern studies have shown that the idea of drinking a set amount is pretty much bunk.  (drinking when thirsty is king)
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I think that I am proof positive that you can, indeed, develop stronger reactions with each successive exposure, once that initial reaction is had.  This particular time caught me by surprise.  We were on a fairly well worn trail, and we came to one particular section that was mostly grass, but I happened to see the poison oak on the way back. I wouldn't have had anything more than a glancing brush.  In fact, when it started, it was about 7 dots.   No big deal.  But my body apparently produces some vicious histamines.  I'm itching in places that aren't even related, and... the hives on the fingers.  UGH.
 
solid7 said:
I'm not sure that I'd agree that "normal" people drink that much water a day...  One has to work fairly hard to put a gallon away.  And I do believe that modern studies have shown that the idea of drinking a set amount is pretty much bunk.  (drinking when thirsty is king)
Click to expand...
 
i guess. i'm sure i drink more water (as much as needed, really) if i'm sweating like crazy. no need to drink a gallon at once, but a gallon throughout a day is easy if you're working outdoors.
 
but even when i'm sedentary indoors, i find i feel better if i remember to drink a glass of water every now and then even if i'm not particularly thirsty.
 
solid7 said:
I think that I am proof positive that you can, indeed, develop stronger reactions with each successive exposure, once that initial reaction is had.  This particular time caught me by surprise.  We were on a fairly well worn trail, and we came to one particular section that was mostly grass, but I happened to see the poison oak on the way back. I wouldn't have had anything more than a glancing brush.  In fact, when it started, it was about 7 dots.   No big deal.  But my body apparently produces some vicious histamines.  I'm itching in places that aren't even related, and... the hives on the fingers.  UGH.
Click to expand...
 
makes sense. i've heard that can also be the case with bee and wasp sting allergy.
 
solid7 said:
 
No, it's nothing like that.  I have lumpy looking legs there, cause I just finished a 10 miler in the mountains.  I was all swollen up from activity.  But I don't any problems with vascularity.  I'm very active, and everything works well.  This shit is just my achilles heel...  Today, I started getting hives on my fingers. LOL
Click to expand...
Fit and healthy !
Damn , just imagine if you were not.
 
Good luck!
 
karoo said:
Fit and healthy !
Damn , just imagine if you were not.
 
Good luck!
Click to expand...
 
I grew up in the Midwest and most people in my village are real shitshows after about age 35.  Can't get by without a pill for this, a shot for that.  I've eschewed all that, and opted for a healthy lifestyle.  I spent my younger years imagining it then, so that I didn't have to realize it now. :)
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When it comes to allergies, though...  I've heard that almost everyone has allergies - if you have them bad as a kid, they tend to lessen or go away when you're older. And vice verse, if you got away without them as a kid, you may develop them later in life.  Well, my bad allergies all went away.  Except for this damn poison plant nonsense.  I've got hives breaking out all over my hands.  It alwas starts around my fingernails, but this time it's spread all the way past my fist knuckles.
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Skullbiker, if you're reading this...  watch out for mango and brazilian pepper trees, if nobody has warned you about them yet.   The sap in both plants is very closely related to poison ivy/oak/sumac.  I've gotten some proper rashes from both of those.
 
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