Basics of Poison Ivy and Urushiol Oil
Poison Ivy Cures, Help and Information

Poison Ivy, plus poison oak and poison sumac, are just regular plants. Poison ivy is in fact a member of the cashew family! The difference is that there is a special type of sap in the plants, known as urushiol. This clear, colorless sap is fine as long as it stays within the plant. You can touch a maple tree without getting sap on your fingers! But as we know, plants are often stepped on, torn, pulled aside, etc. So if you touch a plant with any damage at all - or perhaps damage it yourself as you wander through a patch - you now have these clear oils on you. If only the oils were bright, flourescent orange! Then we would know exactly what was contaminated. But unfortunately, the oil is clear.

So here's the problem. That oil stays "active" for a year or more. And it doesn't go away on its own. Let's say you get poison ivy on your shoes. When you take off your shoes, the oil gets on your hand and now every body part you touch is going to get contaminated. You take a week and cure the rash - but then you go to put your shoes on for another walk. Now your hands are re-contaminated again, everything you touch gets a fresh contamination, and it begins all over again. You truly have to cleanse EVERYTHING that might have gotten the oil on it, to break this cycle.

Poison Ivy Cures, Help and Information