The "Combined" Poison Oak Thread :-)

Thanks and thankfully it does not. The stuff I'm using gives it a cooling sensation.

 

Having been there before, it feels worse.

 

Crap, now its acting more like poodle dog. Maybe you have been infected by both?

 

I’m guessing you came into contact with PO at the bottom of Guadalasco during your monster ride. I thrives in that area. Shady tree canopy and water source nearby.

 

I would prefer that were the case. At least I would know where it came from.

 

Out of all of the places I have ridden in the last 2 weeks that's the only place I can think of that would have had it.

 

The good news is that oozing is normal for poison oak, ivy, sumac, etc... The bad news is that it can last a couple weeks. More good news... The yellowy secretion does not spread the infection, nor is it contagious... It just looks gross and is horrible to deal with. You feel like a leper. I paid attention to the Doc.

If I get PO again, I'm going straight to the Doc for steroids... I waited too long last time and ended up on steroids for over a month. It was basically a whole summer of being a leper and not sleeping. On the positive side, though, I felt like the Incredible Hulk.

 

Yeah Jennifer already made the comment about not getting my leprosy near her. She's definitely a keeper. Of course she also told me I need to go to urgent care tomorrow if it's not going away.

 

She’s a smart one...

 

Funny story... years back, I got very ill at santiago peak during a lower/upper holy jim ride. I ummm... cleared my bowels along the side of main divide and once again towards the bottom of holy jim. It was a terrible, terrible experience and resulted in me sacrificing anything toilet paper like that anyone had on this particular ride (RIP oakley microfiber sunglass case #1, #2 and #3.) This ride happened the weekend before christmas (which was on wednesday if I recall correctly). I got on a plane 2 days after the ride and flew to my inlaws house in the midwest.

Anyway, the day after we got there, I was itchy as hell but didn't really consider it. Basically on my legs, inner thigh and on my twig and berries. I didn't really think anything of it because it was snowy and the humidity was stupid low, so I just thought I had dry skin. I guess I was scratching my member in the middle of the night in my sleep... (or so my wife tells me) woke up to take a leak and looked down and saw redness and a rash. uh oh.

It got progressively worse over the next day and I had to go to urgent care for ointment and steroids. Word obviously got out within my inlaws which was a story that was told over and over and I had to of course laugh it off and tolerate it.

Long story short... don't get it on your unit... it sucks. Or rather, it doesn't doesn't suck. Not for a long, long time after that.

I'd pull the trigger fast on that one @UPSed once you have sores like that, the medical grade steroids and ointments are a godsend. They really speed the recovery and calms down the itching tremendously.

 

IME, the heavy ozzing was a characteristic of each of the times I had poodle dog contamination.

You ought to consider going in for a cortisone shot.

 

It’s also normal behavior for PO when the blisters break open....as would have happened when he scrubbed it.

 

Less of an issue here, where outdoor burning is frowned upon, but in the MidWest where people burn leaf piles and piles of brush, it is extremely bad mojo to burn a pile of poison ivy and walk through the smoke. If inhaled, it can be fatal. Same issue with poison oak and California wild fires:

https://www.kqed.org/science/1927472/protect-yourself-from-poison-oak-exposure-in-wildfire-smoke

Urushiol oil can remain viable on dead poison oak and other surfaces for up to five years(!)

This guy is kind of a clown, but he has it right... the key to sitting in poison oak and not having a reaction is to clean it off before your body reacts to it. Any time I have ridden somewhere where I "might" have brushed poison oak on my legs, I simply make a point of scrubbing my legs - everywhere - with degreaser. If I see a small area on an arm that looks like it is developing a rash, I scrub it immediately. The reaction is minimized. If you got it on your clothes, get out of the clothes as soon as practical, and make sure you wash those clothes separately in the hottest water setting with lots of soap.

 

My biggest concern right now is how I'm going to get my cycling shorts on.

 

One leg at a time.

 

That is crazy. I have eaten mustard flowers. They do taste like mustard.

You think that will make me immune?

 

Now I'm getting hungry...

 

Gulden's Spicy Brown is da shizzle!!!

 

There is only one mustard that is worthy.

 

True in extreme cases, its happened to me. However, what I have experienced with Poodle dog is that it drains/seeps continuously, once its open, until the rash finally shrinks and dries up. Its a real mess to deal with.

IME, poison oak blisters pop, drain, and then seal up.

I guess Ed can let us know what the case is with him in a day or two.

 

Not to be overlooked...

 

But can it handle french fries? Because ketchup/catsup is just disgusting....

 

Cold water soon after contact works well to wash the oils off, it’s worked for me many times

 

Yes, cold water (not warm) and a degreaser like dish soap. Washing with warm water seals the oil onto the skin. Weird science, this is!

 

Two weeks is typical, but the rubbing alcohol may lessen that time

 

“Patience you must have, my young panawan”
~Yoda
I had it so bad once that I was literally sick, it got into my blood stream through a large gash on my thigh. Be grateful it’s not anywhere on your torso buddy

 

Eewwww mustard...

 

Me too. We were at a campout and we collected wood which was covered with poison oak. We were too drunk to care but a few of us, including me, got so sick that we had to go to urgent care for cortisone treatment. My face swelled up like Rocky Balboa after a fight. I was almost blind from the massive swelling.

 

Wynona's brown is good as well.

 

Ahem. "Padawan." If'n yer gonna use the SW lingo, at least get it right.