[pct-l] poison oak

[jeff.singewald at comcast.net]

Zanfel as well as other creams/lotions will definitely help to relieve the itching that is common with PO and certain products will aid in removing the oil from your skin.  However, the biggest issue is frequently not with the oil that comes in direct contact with your skin, but that which comes in contact with your clothes and shoes.  The oil can remain on your clothes/shoes for many hours after you have come in contact with PO and while you may be able to rinse off the oil from your skin after contact, you may find the rash develop if you come in contact with the oils that remian on your clothes.

My mother would frequently "catch" poison oak from simply doing the laundry when we were kids in the mountains of northern california after a day of hunting or fishing.

The BEST product of choice to avoid the rash is AWARENESS and KNOWLEDGE.  Be aware of your surroundings and the trail and have knowledge of what PO looks like.  There are a number of plants and brush along the PCT that is frequently mis-identified as PO, but if you know what you are looking for you can avoid it.  I have been hospitalized twice over the years with severe symptoms of PO and was able to avoid any reaction in 2006 thru-hike.

One advantage of hiking with poles is that when you keep them out in front of you rather than dragging them behind you, you can use them to move plants aside as you walk buy.  Remember to clean your poles though before grabbing anything but the handles.

We don't have Poison Ivy on the PCT, so if you are worried, spend some time and learn to recognize the infamous 3 leaf PO.


-------------- Original message -------------- 
From: Trekker4 at aol.com 

> 
> 
> Bob "Trekker" 
> Big Bend Desert Denizen 
> Naturalized Citizen - Republic of Texas 
> 
> Government cripples you, then hands you a crutch and says, 'See, if it 
> wasn't for us, you couldn't walk.' 
> -- Harry Browne 
> 
> "If you think health care is expensive now, wait until you see what it costs 
> when its free." 
> -- P. J. ORourke 
> 
> 
> 
> In a message dated 3/10/2008 8:39:47 A.M. Central Daylight Time, Trekker4 
> writes: 
> 
> In '05, a wet year, immediately after the long CA-14 culvert and a mile 
> or two before the state park on the edge of Agua Dulce, the trail had become 
> completely overgrown with a thicket of Poison Oak and other stuff. One was 
> forced to rock dance down the creek for a couple hundred yards before the trail 
> reappeared on the right side of the creek. Both sides of the creek had lots 
> of Poison Oak. 
> Stumbling on a rock, I touched some with two fingertips, at the same instant 
> realizing what it was. Since the stumble resulted in one foot standing in 
> four inches of water anyhow, I immediately scrubbed those fingertips on a rock 
> and rinsed them in the creek. A couple hours later at the Saufley's, after a 
> shower, I put a bit of Zanfel (recommended by Yogi and others) on those 
> fingertips; fortunately I never had a reaction, because fingers are a bad place 
> to get Poison Oak. 
> 
> Bob "Trekker" 
> Big Bend Desert Denizen 
> Naturalized Citizen - Republic of Texas 
> 
> Government cripples you, then hands you a crutch and says, 'See, if it 
> wasn't for us, you couldn't walk.' 
> -- Harry Browne 
> 
> "If you think health care is expensive now, wait until you see what it costs 
> when its free." 
> -- P. J. ORourke 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> In a message dated 3/9/2008 9:44:18 P.M. Central Daylight Time, 
> billbatch at cox.net writes: 
> 
> The general rule seems to be to wash off as quickly as possible. Sometimes 
> though you wont know you hit it. Then once it starts to itch - wash it off. 
> Any mild soap will do, even a bit of tooth paste and water will do. As for 
> the itching after the fact, my impression has been (and I have had it bad a 
> couple times) that the powders, creams, etc just give you something to do 
> while it works itself out. 
> 
> Most people report seeing very little along the trail. While I have only 
> hiked the Southern Calif section, the only place I ran into it -and there 
> was a boat load - was on the final couple miles approaching Barrel Springs. 
> Funny, most of the Poison Oak was tagged with a pink ribbon. When you get 
> to Barrel there is a sign for south bound hikers noting that the pink ribbon 
> indicates poison oak. For the bulk of people hiking north though, no such 
> indicator. 
> 
> PGumby 
> 
> -----Original Message----- 
> From: Len Glassner [mailto:len5742 at gmail.com] 
> Sent: Sunday, March 09, 2008 6:21 PM 
> To: pct-l 
> Subject: [pct-l] poison oak 
> 
> I've not had a run-in with poison oak, but I expect I may have an upcoming 
> opportunity. I see there are various products that remove the oil (some 
> very expensive, some not), and others that address only the itching. Any 
> recommendations as to what to carry? Try to remove the oil or just treat 
> the itching? 
> 
> 
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