As we pursue the sport we love, we often place ourselves in hazardous situations. The Santa Cruz Fly Fishermen Board supports an informative corner to sharpen our be smart and safe behaviors.

Poison Oak
By Elaine Cook
(with editorial meddling by Kent Hull)

Poison Oak (Poison Ivy east of the Rockies, slightly different leaf shape) is a vine or low shrub found all over the U.S. at elevations below about 5,000 ft. A substance in the oils on the leaves and stems penetrates your skin and attaches to the cells underneath. Your body's defenses think any cell with the oil molecules attached is foreign, and destroy it, causing rash and blisters as the destroyed cells slough off. Almost everyone is susceptible. Even if you've never had a reaction to poison oak, you could, to some future exposure, if you're careless.

Prevention
* Don't touch the plants. All of the leaves are in clusters of three. Leaves are often (but not always) shiny. The leaf edges are not rough, though they're often irregular. Unfortunately, the leaves drop in winter in most places, and the bare stems are just as bad as the leaves. If you don't know for sure what poison oak looks like, be sure to ask someone who does know, to point it out to you at your first opportunity.
* Don't touch animals, clothing or shoes that have touched the plants. The oils are long-lived and effective second-hand if you're exposed.
* Protect exposed skin. Apply deodorant to exposed skin. Liquid Gloves or similar barrier lotion products are also available at most drugstores and many paint stores. But be careful, as the barrier does not neutralize the oils, it just prevents penetration. This means that you must take great care to keep from transferring the oils from protected skin (or contaminated clothing) to unprotected skin or to anything that unprotected skin could touch.
* Clean contaminated clothing with care not to transfer the oils to surfaces (such as a laundry basket or floor) where the oils can contaminate other articles. Clean exposed hands first with undiluted Dawn dish detergent, and wipe it off thoroughly, putting the (paper) towels used in the garbage. Remove clothes inside out, and launder thoroughly with strong detergent.
* Never EVER get anywhere near where poison oak plants are burning, and take care to keep any parts of the plants out of firewood. Exposure to the smoke is dangerous: the oils are vaporized in the smoke and breathing it can be lethal.

After Exposure
* Try to remove the oils before they have a chance to penetrate the skin. Once the oils get through the skin, you'll probably get some amount of rash. But the more oils that penetrate the skin, the worse the symptoms will be.
* Non-prescription treatments such as Tecnu may be effective if applied early enough. Read and follow directions closely.
* Apply undiluted Dawn dish detergent to exposed skin and wipe it off.
* Do NOT take a shower before cleaning exposed skin. You could spread the oils all over your body.
* Animals can be washed with diluted Dawn dish detergent. Be sure to wear gloves and protective clothing and dispose of the gloves and handle the contaminated clothing carefully. Keep detergent and rinse water out of the eyes of the animal.

Treating the Rash
* Carefully follow all directions on any drugstore products used.
* Non-prescription Benadryl will alleviate the discomfort and symptoms to some degree.
* Extremely HOT shower water on the affected area, for as long as you can stand it, will decrease the itching, but will substitute pain. Some find the pain preferable.
* In severe cases, see a physician for treatment with steroids, which will give some relief from the symptoms.

The Last Gotcha
Wax-impregnated cotton clothing (Barbour type rain gear, Filson wax impregnated pants, etc.) will absorb the oils and keep exposing you, particularly in hot weather. Apparently there's no way to decontaminated waxed cotton garments. Sympathy to Sus Danner to finding out about that the hard way.

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