A portrait of Poison Ivy. It’s so vital and healthy looking. It seems to really thrive wherever you find it. It’s easily transferred onto you either by touching it directly, brushing against it and then touching clothing, or walking a dog who walked through it and then you pet the animal. Misery ensues. You’ll live through it, but it’s no party. If you happened to touch it by mistake and need to know what to do, follow these steps:

Ever wonder what you should do if you mistakenly touch poison ivy (or poison oak or poison sumac)? Well according to the American Academy of Dermatology Association (AAD) – you may be able to avoid the rash (wouldn’t that be nice?) with some immediate measures. As quickly as possible wash your hands (or whatever part of you may have touched the plant) with rubbing alcohol, dishwashing soap (like Dawn) or laundry detergent. The AAD says to wash your skin gently (if you scrub you can make it worse) – then rinse with cool water (and rinse for a while). Be sure to get underneath your nails, as the evil oil may have gotten there and can be easily transferred. Click HERE to read their article. Of course, there are a few people out there who may not be bothered by poison ivy. #iwouldliketobeoneofthem

Do you have a poison ivy story? I remember a sweet neighbor of ours, she had two small dogs that she would walk, they would tire and she would pick them up and carry them. The dogs were fine, but she was not. She had an awful rash on her hands and arms – I always remember that and am vigilant when walking Charlie. I ran across this the other day (photo above) – texted it to a neighbor to verify this was indeed Poison Ivy, I had a screenshot of an image of poison ivy that someone posted long ago and I saved it in my Photos, so I could search on “poison” and pull it up. It looked the same to me. It was. So now, we walk around it and give it a wide berth!

The power this plant must feel, ha ha… Happy weekend and keep your eye out (and let your neighbors know)!

👩‍💻 Until next time…