Poison oak, poison sumac, poison ivy, chiggers, and ticks. A great way to be misery!

[Disc Dog]

On 2 different occasions my life has become an itchy nightmare. Because anyone can get one into the shule this can happen to any of us. So I figured I would pass along some lessons learned.

The first was chiggers.

They cannot be seen by the human eye but nothing I know of itches worse. I was covered from my waistline down. I tried every remedy known to man. I found that nail polish and calomine lotion worked the best. The nail polish apparently blocks the air from contact and kills the egg that is laid and the lotion soothes it afterward.

Recently I got into some poison oak and while it did not itch as much the sores were nasty. I found that hydro cortisone helped some. But the best thing I did was to take a shower and immediately after, before even drying, to rub salt into the area. This drys them out, and yes it does sting some but the itching and sores are worse, and they can then heal. A buddy of mine will take a towel and get it wet and then cover it in salt and rap it around the area. This seems to work also. I also found that rubbing alcohol will dry them out but it stings more.

I just thought I would pass this on and see if anyone else had any thoughts or ideas.

 

[REDARMY]

plain ol' benadryl cream works plenty well for me afterwards.

during a game? just drink enough that you don't notice the itching

but yeah, shower and toss those clothes in the wash ASAP. and don't forget to wipe down your car seats/switchgear and bag and discs if you're REALLY covered in the stuff.

 

[billnchristy]

I found a tick on my hip the size of my pinky (width) yesterday...freaked me the hell out...I saw it coming out of the shower and thought I had an ingrown hair or something, later in bed I was fiddling with it and realized it felt more like a mole...then I saw it had legs....ACK!!!

Nasty f'n thing. Being in a hotel room I had no tweezers either...luckily my nails had grown a bit while away from home and I was able to pull it off with them.

The area has decreased in size to less than half in one day...I will keep an eye on it though. Bad part is it is right on my waistline so my jeans, underwear, everything irritates it...couldn't figure out how it got on there and I realized this morning when I packed up to leave the hotel that my bag sits right there...mustve crawled onto me from the bag.

Needless to say my ass is gonna be sprayed down from now on.

 

[BrotherDave]

Chiggers, nasty little buggers they are.

 

[mashnut]

I got a horrible case of chiggers from my ankles to my knees, those stupid little things itched for a couple weeks.

 

[Despare]

I've never had a tick or chiggers (knock on wood) but mosquitoes bug the crap out of me. That's about it though, I'm immune to poison ivy so I don't have to worry about that at least.

 

[Airfishey]

I recently got into some poison ivy or something along those lines. Needless to say, my legs have been itching like hell the past couple days. I'll be sure to try these out.

 

[davidjd21]

I'm super sensitive to ivy. If you think you've come into contact with any wipe the area with rubbing alcohol ASAP and then shower. Just soap won't get the oils off your skin.

 

[Roc1Time]

Chiggers are the number one reason that I bought 40$ pair of goretex socks. Those little bastards chant go through gore tex. Well worth the investment

 

[rikardob]

I'm immune to poison ivy so I don't have to worry about that at least.

I would if I were you.

http://pediatrics.about.com/od/poisonivy/a/06_poison_ivy.htm

"It is true that some people don't have an allergic reaction when they are exposed to poison ivy, but others don't have their first reaction until they are exposed multiple times. So it is very hard to truly know if you are really immune. It may just be that you just haven't had your first reaction yet, so even if you think that you are immune, you should still try to take steps to avoid poison ivy."

I was "immune" to it all my life until 2 years ago I got the biggest breakout I've ever seen while cutting down a tree surrounded in the vines.

 

[Disc Dog]

Chiggers are the number one reason that I bought 40$ pair of goretex socks. Those little bastards chant go through gore tex. Well worth the investment

Anything is worth a so I will give these a chance.

 

[Roc1Time]

I havent had them around the ankles for years!

 

[bayouace]

Try a tub bath with a couple of caps of Household Ammonia in the water for chiggers or red bugs. Obviously, do not wash your eyes. Old home remedy that has been working for 62 years that I know for sure.

 

[Lewis]

Back when I was a kid I got some scary cases of poison ivy rash. My body would be covered in the rash, from neck to foot. The last and worst time, it was so bad it almost looked like shingles. But then for some reason I stopped getting it. I don't know if it was because I learned to be extremely cautious, or because I stopped doing whatever got me into it. It's been probably 20 years since I've had any poison ivy or poison oak rash, and I honestly don't know what changed. Can't say I'm complaining, though.

My current nemesis is mosquitos. Nobody I know gets bit by them as bad as I do. Sometimes I'll just wear long pants to ward them off.

 

[Neophyte]

I have never really had a problem with poison ivy but I got a really bad case of poison oak last summer. I got it will working out in my yard and it was all over my arms. It looked like a really bad burn and blistered pretty bad and those blisters started "weeping" like crazy. Of course it itched like mad.

 

[kinfolkfan]

COLD SHOWERS COLD SHOWERS COLD COLD COLD

Hey guys just a bit of advice from a poak( poison oak) player. I play in poak every day and all you have to do to avoid it spreading is take a COLD shower.

DO NOT TAKE A HOT SHOWER!! I repeat DO NOT TAKE A HOT SHOWER!!

Your pores open when heated, letting the Poison oils right on in. Cold water will make your pores seal up tight so that the oil washes off instead of being sucked in.

Do not wear the same clothes that have been exposed until you wash them.

Dont sleep in the clothes you play in or it will be in your bed and you dont want it there.

I can not stress the cold shower. COLD!

 

[Roc1Time]

I dont get it, am I supposed to take a cold shower or a hot one?

 

[Timber]

Poison Ivy may not always be apparent

Wooded courses often have establshed vines 1/8" to 4" thick growing up the trees to reach the sunlight. These hairy looking vines use their light gathering capacity to send out offshoots standing up to 3' tall in the vicinity of the tree. The individual leaves on this variety are large (4" to 6") and quite apparent. Identify this variety during the summer but wait until winter to cut them. You must make 2 cuts about 3" to 6" apart, as close to the soil as possible, and dislodge the section between the cuts or they will just fuse back together. Disposable gloves and impermeable clothing is recommended for this procedure even in winter.

Patches/stands or individual plants are usually along the periphery of the woods in the sun/shade zone ranging from 6" to 4' in height. The leaves are usually about 1" to 3" long and are quite recognizable unless they are mixed with other plant species. RoundUp will work to remove this variety in areas that are not ecologically sensitive. In a sensitive area next to a stream bed (Chesapeake Bay Watershed Act) I have actually just ripped it out of the ground wearing heavy rubber gloves and a raincoat. Yes, I am extremely allergic and I did get a bad case on my wrists but I would have gotten it anyway the next time my disc landed there. The raincoat I used still has black urishiol spots on it. Take the battle to the enemy!

Another version, which newly cleared grass fairway courses have, is a small leaved (1/4" to 3/4") variety mixed in with the grass. It eventually goes away after a few years of regular mowing but there is one key difference to this variety. It is extremely oily and often appears to be wet when everything in the surrounding foliage is dry. The urishiol oil is practically dripping off of it. The leaf in the top right corner of this photo is the best example I could find.

You may not have physically touched the plant but your disc probably did. Wiping the sweat off of your face with your disc towel is not a good idea.
NEVER burn Poison Ivy
Wash your clothes in hot water and your body in cold soapy water ASAP after exposure.

 

[peabody]

Nettles all over our course. Hate them darn things. Make you burn like a houseafire for 10 minutes.
We have lots of Poison Ivy there too. If you think you brushed against it wash the area with
Naptha soap. If you get the bumps, Calamine lotion dries the bumps up if you can keep the stuff applied.

 

[discgolforegon]

heh... here is a fun experience with Poison Oak for you... and a couple of nice pictures of the aftermath!

So I will begin with this... Never hunt for firewood in the dark, especially without a good light source. I had aparently stumbled upon some "Old" Growth poison oak at "Whistlers Bend" Well i had no idea... i thought it was just really good dry stuff. Keep in mind this time of year there is no leaves.

I remembered when we were burning it around camp... and the smoke got in my face a couple of times that i can remember. The reason i know is the smoke "stung" a bit more then normal. Well needless to say we figured out it was poison oak and took it out, and cast it all away.

Well the damage was already done.

I went to bed in the car with my better half thinking really nothing of it. Only to awake a couple hours later knowing... I was in serious trouble.

Here is the photo of when i got home from Whistlers, and i only live 19 minutes away.

Now you can plainly see the area of effect on my neck, ears, face... Yeah you can say i got a real good dose of poison oak oils, in airborne form.

Here is a picture about 14 hours later.

Right eye is completely shut... Left eye is about 85% shut. It took alot of effort to open my eyes. I was rushed to the emergency room. Was very upset when i found out what i was looking at.

They do have sort of a miracle shot... well... NOT REALLY! The shot they give you when you have my level of exposure is not fast acting. It takes more than 48 hours to start to reverse the poison oak oils from my skin.

At this point i have no further photos... i came home from the hospital and lay in bed for 50+ hours. Missed 4 days of work, took 3 weeks to fully recover. The only thing that i found that helped me...

Carefully apply as much calamine lotion as humanly possible... i mean a thick layer of that stuff... ALOT!!! ALOT!!! okay... get what im saying? Calamine is the most gentle way to draw out the oils.

On top of that thick layer of calamine i put a cold damp cloth, turning only once! then discarding into the laundry, this aided in drawing the oil laden calamine off my face... Rinse repeat... etc. etc.

On the 4th day after exposure i returned to the doctor for a final followup... I was advised to never come in contact with poison oak again... he advised me that next time it could be more serious... I was like???

Told me that i was lucky that i hadn't inhaled the airborne oils... otherwise i might have spent a few days on a respirator. BUMMED!

HEH sorry that is so long... but thought i would share what a worse case scenerio looks like.