Categorized | The Great Outdoors

Poison Ivy Facts, Myths and Contrary Opinions

Poison Ivy facts go side-by-side with Poison Ivy myths, and together they create many contrary opinions. Sometimes it’s actually hard to say for sure which one is which.

For instance, it’s a fact that you can transmit Poison Ivy. However, there are some questions about how exactly you can transmit it. The fact is that this plant contains an extremely toxic and sticky resin-like substance – urushiol. Urushiol is a very stable substance that may stay potent for 1-5 years. All you need to do is touch the clothes or any other object (garden tool, firewood, pet hair, etc.) that has some of this substance on it, in order to develop this type of contact dermatitis.

There exist contrary opinions about whether you can get this dermatitis from another person, such as his/her blisters, affected skin, etc. Scientists believe that it’s impossible, while regular eye-witnesses swear that it is possible. The fact is that sometimes a person does not even know that they still have urushiol remainders on their body. The remainders may hide under their nails, be smeared on their hair or their body hair, etc., making it very easy to spread urushiol until it’s washed off completely.

There is a myth which states that any Poison Ivy blister is contagious. However, can you contact this rash from the remainders of urushiol around the affected skin areas, or only from the urushiol remainders on the hair and under the nails of the other sufferer? It’s very hard to tell.

Poison Ivy facts clearly state that the oil-like urushiol gets absorbed into the skin within about 1 hour after the contact. And here is the next question: does it get absorbed totally and completely, or are there traces left on the skin that is capable of making another person develop this dermatitis? The answer is also not clear.

Poison Ivy facts state that people develop new blisters in a few days after the first outbreak. Many scientists explain it with the following: the skin absorbs urushiol at different rates. However, the question is: can it be that some urushiol does not get absorbed at all for an uncertain period of time, and remains on the affected skin and around the oozing blisters, making it possible to transfer it? The answer also remains uncertain.

Poison Ivy facts leave us with many unresolved questions, but they do give us a lot of information to think about. One thing is clear – if you know or suspect that you, a family member, your pet or any inanimate object around your house may have contacted urushiol, you need to wash everything as well as you can in order to avoid any unpleasant consequences.

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