|   Best defense against Poison Oak | Ridinascared
Apr 3, 2002 9:44 AM | | Gonna ride a trail soon known for Poison Oak everywhere. What is the best defense?
Anyone use a blocker cream or after wash? |
| best thing out there is... | dan_the_bike_man
Apr 3, 2002 9:58 AM | | well i guess you could say the best thing out there is imunity (like me), but, my father does orienteering. Basically you run through the woods, and almost always are lucky enough to get into some poison oak. He has tried everything, but Technu (sp) is by far the best. You can get it almost any store (rei has it). After your ride, put it where you thought you went through it, leave it for a couple of minutes, wash it off. You may feel a little itching that day, but you will not feel any itching that night or the next day. It is great stuff (or so my dad says). definately give it a shot. |
| Right, Tecnu | Mikey
Apr 3, 2002 10:24 AM | | It should be in most chain drugstores - Walgreens, RiteAid, probably your supermarket too. |
| Technu didn't work very well for me | retro slouch
Apr 3, 2002 2:11 PM | | Of course, everyone's different. Even after using it, I had a rash and sores for a month or so, just like always. I'm just really allergic to poison ivy/oak/sumac and have the scars to prove it. There is some kind of cream that you can apply before exposure that's supposed to work fairly well, but I've been too lazy to try it and don't know how well it would stay on during rides in the 90-100 degree heat anyway. |
| re: Best defense against Poison Oak | DIRTJUNKIE
Apr 3, 2002 10:56 AM | | The best defense is to pedal right through it with leg's and arm's a flailing sticking your nose up as you go through [just jokeing com down]. But seriously I don't get it lucky me because my buddy get's it so bad he has had it for six month's with numerous trip's to the doctor and still can't get control of it.He continue's to ride but he use's long leg and arm slip over's [warmer's]it suck's in hot weather but the main thing is to get all your skin covered for preventitive purpose's. |
| I don't know the best defense, but the cure is...... | StinkyDiver
Apr 3, 2002 2:21 PM | | Tea tree oil...I get poison oak every year and I've tried everything, even that technu stuff. I went camping last week with my new girl friend and sure enough I now have poison oak. She turned me on to tea tree oil. It's by far the best stuff I've used. I found it at Wal Mart for 6.00 a bottle. The stuff smells kind of funny like gasoline, but dries up the rash in a few days, and kills the itch. |
| Try Fels-Naptha heavy duty laundry bar soap..... | sheebo
Apr 3, 2002 3:57 PM | | It is used for pre-wash spotting and is found in the laudry section of grocery stores. It's only about $1.50. The faster you can get to a shower, the better with poison oak exposure. The soap lathers up like regular soap, but removes the plants oils from your skin. I've also used Tecnu skin cleanser with mixed results. If getting to a shower after the ride is going to be a problem, go with the Tecnu Shield before the ride. Just my 2 cents after too many years in the Oak. Cheers. |
| Ivy Block before ride; Tecnu after ride | Suds
Apr 3, 2002 4:33 PM | | I purchase mine at Osco drugs. |
| Avoid it!... | B R H
Apr 4, 2002 9:53 AM | | I've had to make many trips to the doctor for prednisone (which only helps the first few times for some reason) and I've tried all the crap that "dries" it up, "stops the itch", "heals", etc. All that stuff (cortisone, calamine, witch hazel, etc.) is a joke. The key is to get the urishoil (poison oak juice) off before it attaches to your skin. Better yet, learn to avoid it.
That's made the biggest difference for me. After many horrible experiences I can now spot the stuff a mile away. I used to think this was obvious, but it wasn't for me. I was just never quite sure what was poison oak when I was actually surrounded by green leaves of all sorts. The photos make it seem easy to identify, but it isn't. Now I can't understand how I ever had trouble recognizing it... it just seems so obvious.
The next best thing is to bring a bag & cleanup of some sort with you and get out of the contaminated clothing ASAP afterwards and wash exposed areas. For me the magic window of opportunity seems to be about 2 hours. If I can wash it off within about 2 hours after a ride I'm usually OK. Sweat seems to make it attach to the skin more readily though. So really hot days can be hopeless if you run into the nasty weed.
Ivy Block helps (I use it when cutting wood), but it's sort of a mess (dried up pasty white legs). Plain old hand lotion works just as well in my opinion. The goal is to saturate your skin with a good oil so the bad oil can't attach.
If you are unfortunate enough to get a rash (it usually takes a day or so after exposure before you know), the best thing I've found is burning hot showers. I mean hot. As hot as you can stand until it almost burns you and you have to jump back. Something about how your body reacts to a burn (or nearly a burn) seems to alleviate the itch for half a day or so. It also makes it heal up faster, but that's probably just because I'm not itching as badly so I'm not tearing my flesh off as much. Works better than anything else I've tried by far.
Also, don't believe the BS about scratching spreading it. It's an allergic reaction that, once started, simply has to run it's course. It's simply your body over-reacting to a bad chemical. Anyone who thinks they're immune will realize some day that it's just not true. With enough exposure you'll eventually get a rash... guaranteed. It took me 3 years of heavy exposure and my girlfriend nearly 7 (now she breaks out if the wind blows wrong).
Oh, one more thing. Cut your fingernails short. That way they hold less decaying flesh when the time comes. |
| Avoid it!... | Itch
May 6, 2002 7:22 AM | | Scratching does spread the oil around your skin. The only way that blisters develop is exposure to the oil. Scratching the blisters once the oil is off of your skin does nothing but cause infections.This is of course the oil itself does not make it into your blood stream. Then you are screwed. THe best thing I have found for after the rash breaks out is zanfel. It is available almos every place or at zanfel.com. THe rash still needs to heal but the itch is gone. It breaks open your pores and pulls out the oil.It is pricey but it truly works. Get out and ride............................. |
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