[Northkeep] poison ivy and other nasty plants

[LRA]

Ian, I'm very sorry to hear you have another batch of poison ivy. It can 
be very nasty; please take care of yourself.

The following info will probably come across as preachy, that is not my 
intention. As someone who has had some ugly poison ivy episodes, I've 
tried to educate myself about it. The following is intended to help 
educate others. If you already know about poison ivy and it's unpleasant 
cousins, please feel free to skip the rest of this message.

For those who do not know about poison ivy, poison oak, and other nasty 
things that can make your life miserable for a good chunk of 
time....poison ivy and such can be found in almost every region and 
state in the US. And it is quite prevalent in Oklahoma, Texas, Missouri, 
Arkansas and other states in this area where we are likely to tramp around.

Do not think poison ivy/oak are found only in rural areas; they can also 
be found in urban areas -- parks, your backyard, your garden, your kid's 
playground.

The following web site has a very good showing of lots of pictures of 
the various forms poison ivy takes.... yes, it can have different looks.

http://poisonivy.aesir.com/view/pictures.html

Do yourselves a favor and take a look at the site and look at the 
pictures. It may help you recognize this nasty stuff before you get in it.

Most people have a terrible rash with blisters from contact with this 
plant (or contact with things that come in contact with the oil this 
plant makes... such as your garden gloves, pants or shoes you were 
wearing while walking through a patch, or the furniture you sat on while 
wearing the pants you walked through the patch with, or maybe the wash 
cloth you used in the shower to wash it off). The rash and the blisters 
spread easily and are quite miserable.

And if that is not bad enough, some people are so allergic to poison ivy 
(and other such nasty plants), that they can have SEVERE allergic 
reactions, such as airways swelling and followed soon thereafter by the 
airway closing off. Definitely not good.

People who have had only a mild reaction (but still extremely 
unpleasant)  the first time they come in contact with poison ivy may 
have increasingly more severe reactions with future contact.

Poison ivy is serious.

Save yourself some serious problems by learning to recognize it (and 
it's nasty cousins)and eradicating it from your yards or other places 
you may visit on a regular basis. It is much easier to avoid poison ivy 
than it is to treat it.

Okay. I'm clicking off teaching mode now. You may return to your 
regularly scheduled list.


Lynn the Inquisitive


Kelandra Carmichael wrote:
> Well...we had planned on being at Scribal and Armorers today but I
> apparently have another outbreak of Poison Ivy. We will be staying home and
> coping. Everyone please have fun and make lots of scrolls and armor.
> 
> Ian
> Baron
>