How do you protect yourself from poison ivy?

[Danielle]

I work at a community college as a groundskeeper. The heat is bad, but what bugs me even more than that is the poison ivy. I wear gloves, arm sleeves, but I frequently get and give poison ivy to my bf.
My boss gave me several suggestions like using disposable gloves (unsure if those actually keep you safe or not from the ivy), using a grab stick instead of touching it (w/ or w/o gloves)
I have poison ivy all over and I'm tired of it. But somebody has to take care of the ivy around the campus, no one else wants to touch it.

 

[Lou]

We don't have poison ivy on the West Coast. We have Poison Oak. they must be different. When I lived on the east coast I never got poison ivy. When I worked in the woods on the west coast I got poison oak a bunch of times. So not sure if they work the same way - but here is how I dealt with Poison oak

I think over time I became even more susceptible to it.

First off, don't touch it. And don't touch it with your gloved hands either. I think the oil gets on your gloves (or clothes, or tools) when you take off your gloves you end up getting it on your skin.

If you do touch it or touch something that it has touched you should wash your hands. Right away.
Castille soap seems to work the best. and use cold water. if you get it on your gloves or clothes you should isolate those things and wash them in cold water in Castille soap too.

Disposable gloves might be a good idea. but learn the proper way to take them off without the outside of the glove touching you. there are YouTube videos on that. or any health care provider can teach you in 30 seconds.

I think once you get a rash you need to be very careful so it doesn't spread. I don't know the biology but its seems like the rash secrets the poison. so keeping that form touching other parts of your body is really a good idea. Dressing it like a wound is recommended. One time I had it so bad, I was told to sleep with my hands in mittens and to tie my hands together to keep from scratching. See your doctor for a prescription strength cortisone cream and if it gets bad you might see your doctor for a cortisone shot. Shots have some side effects so they are last resorts but they do work great.

Good luck. this is one of those things where an ounce of prevention is ...

 

[Tom L.]

I find that it's hard to avoid poison ivy. I know how to recognize it, but it seems that even when I had been near it and was sure I hadn't actually touched it, I got a tiny, watery, itchy blister on one of my fingers afterward- not enough to bother me, but it showed me I had contacted it. I know all parts of the plant have that irritant oil, and it can cause a rash even when not in leaf. The only thing I can think of to solve the problem once and for all is to eradicate it from the campus somehow.

 

[Danielle]

Well good news is I haven't got a poison ivy rash in months.
Heres all the things do incase I touched poison ivy-
Change clothes at lunch
Wear arm sleeves and gloves
Use the poison ivy wipes
Cold showers with liquid soap and a rag
Make sure to scrub under the nails.

Sometimes I'll still get a little bit on me but it isn't as bad as before and I'm not spreading it to my bf.