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Poison ivy at Alderman's Ford

How to detox poison ivy

April 22, 2010    Sandra Friend

Poison ivy at Alderman's FordHow DO you get poison ivy oil (urushiol) off your clothes? That’s a question I haven’t had to deal with in a long, long time, since little brushes here and there have never bothered me. I always wear long pants while hiking (ones that cover my socks) and don’t handle my shoes all that much.

But Tuesday was different. Talk about stepping in it. I was scouting the final hike for “50 Hikes in Central Florida,” second edition – a new and different place to explore – when I discovered that the trail on the kiosk map ended and flagging continued. Into the mosquito-filled forest I went, wading through some of the heaviest poison ivy I’ve been in, knowing that it was a danger zone. Curiosity kept me going, since I already had discovered Class II whitewater down another part of the trail … and this in Central Florida! No, I’m not talking about the Hillsborough rapids. This is far more intense, like Little Shoals. But I digress.

As the flagging got harder to follow and the poison ivy thicker, I turned around. And then my shoelace came untied. And then I realized … oops! I have a dangerous mess on my hands.

I finished the hike, another 3 miles or so, walking with an untied shoelace. Found an even better stretch of whitewater, so it was worth it. Fortunately, this was an overnight trip and I had spare clothes and shoes in the car. But how to change and carry my contaminated clothes?

Luckily, I was wearing zip-off pants, so I zipped the bottoms off and used them, inside out, to remove my shoes. Stuck the whole mess in a fabric grocery bag and changed shoes. Headed for home … and a drugstore.

I settled on a few tactics: Dawn liquid for soaking the clothes and shoes, since it’s great at cutting grease and oils. I found something called “Tecnu” on sale at Walgreens ($7.99 – $3 coupon!) that said it would work on clothes, but I wanted to clean my ankles and any other potential affected skin before I might break out. Finally, I got a tube of anti-itch cream, just in case, so I wouldn’t spread anything I missed.

When I got home, I carefully stripped off the socks and pant tops without touching them, washed off with Tecnu and took a shower.

The clothes and shoes are soaking and awaiting their own special trip through the washer.

This is the first time in a good 15 years I’ve gotten into a bad patch of poison ivy, so if this regimen was – or wasn’t – successful, I’ll be sure to share a follow-up!

Follow-up: It worked!

Category: Articles, Health & Safety, How To

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