Forums >Health and Nutrition>What are the odds of being immune to poison oak?
I've never had poison oak. I grew up in the midwest, and I'm pretty sure I remember having poison ivy as a kid, but only when I was really young.
It's not like I want to deliberately rub some on my skin to test this out. I do try to avoid it, but I've also spent enough time hiking and running trails in places that are covered with the stuff, it's kind of hard to believe that I haven't had an exposure. I've heard it said that if you grew up in Northern CA, spent really any amount of time outside, and have never had poison oak, you can assume you're immune. Just on the theory that kids will be kids and find a way to get to the stuff, I guess. It really is everywhere.
So, how common is immunity? Maybe I just haven't had a significant enough exposure at the right time of year. I admit I'm a little nervous to even be asking, because I feel like I'm jinxing myself!
Good Bad & The Monkey
Some people react to poison ivy and oak. Some people do not. And it can change over the course of your life. And among people who react, there is a wide range of severity.
It is not a true allergic reaction. And what you have is not immunity. You just potentially lack the hypersensitivity.
Me? I'd test it out.
I'm running somewhere tomorrow. It's going to be beautiful. I can't wait.
Poor baby
Best Present Ever
i don't know what the likelihood is, but it's not that uncommon to be resistant I don't think. I live in poison ivy central (it's everywhere here) and have spent a lot of time outside as a kid and an adult. Kids in summer camp would all have it, and I never would. As an adult, I've had it twice, both times after spending hours pulling weeds and carting armsful of vegetation around. I run on trails and other folks who are very sensitve will have it on their ankles, arms (from falls or from grabbing branches) or, like my poor friend currently does, on their backsides from squatting in the woods. : ( My understanding is that with enough exposure, everyone will eventually react, so I do try to avoid it.
Time of year doesn't matter that much -- every part of the plant is potentially a problem. I guess it's a bit harder to avoid this time of year. Even running in town, I sometimes brush up against it growing up a wall or fence or tree near a sidewalk.
Some people react to poison ivy and oak. Some people do not. And it can change over the course of your life. And among people who react, there is a wide range of severity. It is not a true allergic reaction. And what you have is not immunity. You just potentially lack the hypersensitivity. Me? I'd test it out.
I would warn against testing it out using the "toilet paper" method.
I don't half-ass anything
"I have several close friends who have run marathons, a word that is actually derived from two Swahili words: mara, which means 'to die a horrible death' and thon, which means 'for a stupid T-shirt.' Look it up." - Celia Rivenbark, You Can't Drink All Day if You Don't Start in the Morning
See, this is part of my superstition - what if it's something where once you've developed a sensitivity, then you'll have it from then on out?
I've wondered if people can get it from dogs. A lot of the trails in the hills here are designated off-leash and I see dogs romping through the stuff, wonder what happens when their people pet them. It must not be easy to transfer that way, or far fewer people would walk their dogs off leash.
I also don't develop an itch reaction to mosquito bites, and I *know* I've been bit by them. I did when I was little, but not since.
See, this is part of my superstition - what if it's something where once you've developed a sensitivity, then you'll have it from then on out? I've wondered if people can get it from dogs. A lot of the trails in the hills here are designated off-leash and I see dogs romping through the stuff, wonder what happens when their people pet them. It must not be easy to transfer that way, or far fewer people would walk their dogs off leash. I also don't develop an itch reaction to mosquito bites, and I *know* I've been bit by them. I did when I was little, but not since.
Some people react to their dogs (like my friend with the rash on her hindquarters right now). And I'm pretty sure Trent was joking. Because you're right -- once you react, you'll react again. And you become sensitive with repeated exposure. You could be someone who will never react, or you could be one more contact away from reacting ...
MTA: I wish I didn't itch from mosquitos!
This is me. I've never had a reaction to it. I must lack sensitivity.
To poison oak, I mean.
Not going to test that theory either.
5/11/24 Grizzly Peak Marathon, Berkeley, CA
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9/21/24 Mountain Lakes 100, OR
A Saucy Wench
My mom was not sensitive as a young adult. She was the one everyone called on over the years to pull the ivy from their property. She eventually became sensitive.
I am extremely hypersensitive to it - usually I require oral steroids to control an exposure. But then am I sensitive to the distant cousins mango and cashew in exactly the same format (blisters - in un-fun places)
The last time I had it my husband who is only a teeny tiny bit sensitive got in some and then drove my car. Several days later I drove my car and got it. Unfortunately I hadnt realized I had it on my hands when I applied moisturizer on my face. dh said "oh yeah, I had an itchy spot on my hand, I wondered what that was". Prednizone is my friend
Despite that I am not very good at identifying it. I tend to assume everything is poison oak/ivy.
I have become Death, the destroyer of electronic gadgets
"When I got too tired to run anymore I just pretended I wasnt tired and kept running anyway" - dd, age 7
I used to do a lot of fieldwork in the native vegetation of northern and central California. LOTS of poison oak. My experience with working with numerous different people is that it isn't unusual to be relatively immune to the effects but you are definitely in the minority. After one weekend excursion where we hiked up an abandoned trail that had been heavily colonized by poison oak I was the only person out of a good half dozen to not be affected. Of those that were affected most were simply itchy but one was pretty bad and another had to go to the emergency room as their whole face swelled up and their eyes were affected.
My wife is pretty sensitive to poison oak and I can say with certainty that sensitive people can be affected by secondary contacts. ie if you are doing fieldwork and camping and your dog decides to roll on your bedding, or if I have hiked in poison oak and driven her car then she can be affected later from contact with the seats. If you are sensitive, or simply live with someone who is then Tecnu is your friend. It may not smell great but it really does work. I believe it was originally developed to remove radioactive fallout dust but found a new home in the kit bag of firefighters and fieldworkers. Towels on the car seats and bags at the door for 'field clothes' are also a good idea.
Washing does remove the oil from clothes but UV light also seems to degrade it fairly quickly so your car seats won't be permanently contaminated if you sit on them.
I have heard anecdotal cases of people developing sensitivity over time but have never known anyone in this category.
John
This is a bit off topic, but Trent, would you please give a brief overview of some of the different kinds of "reactions", like allergic, sensitivities, etc? I run across this every time I come into contact with a new medical professional. They ask if I'm allergic to any medication. The conversation usually goes like this:
Medical Professional: Are you allergic to any medication
Me: Penicillin and Codeine
MP: What happens when you take them?
Me: Penicillin makes me break out in hives and codeine gives me vertigo and uncontrollable vomiting.
MP: You're not allergic to codeine, you probably just have a sensitivity.
I actually have no idea what to do with this information because I don't know what the difference is. All I know is that I don't want to take either of them.
true allergies are a specific immune reaction that results in antibodies and histamines being produced. You get symptoms that people know about (hives, itching, swelling, shortness of breath) and things folks sometimes don't think of as allergic reactions -- diarrhea, vomiting, runny nose among others. Even though lactose intolerance causes diarrhea (which can go with allergic reactions), it isn't the same thing as milk allergy because the intolerance isn't association with the IgE antibodies and histamines. Your reaction to codeine is uncomfortable to you so you should avoid it, but it isn't going to kill you. A more severe reaction to penicillin could.
MTA: I'm obviously not Trent.
People can have any number of adverse reactions to medications, substances or other therapeutics. Allergies are those reactions that involve certain aspects of the immune system, typically the histiminergic branch (as opposed to the lymphocyte branch that is involved typically in viral infections or the humoral branch that is used for viral and bacterial infections or the granulocytic branch that is used for bacterial infections). Interestingly, the histiminergic branch seems to exist to manage parasites and worms, and allergies are the consequence of this branch becoming too sensitive or uncontrolled.
When you come into contact with pollen and sneeze, this is a true histiminergic allergic reaction. When you develop an itchy blotchy rash after taking penicillin, this is a true histiminergic allergic reaction. When a peanut causes you to wheeze and stop breathing, allergic reaction.
When a medication makes you nauseous, this usually has nothing to do with any aspect of your immune system, but is instead a direct chemical irritation from a substance in the pill against your stomach lining or the result of the inhibition of a stomach enzyme (ibuprofen can do both of these things, by the way). When an antibiotic gives you diarrhea, this also is not an immune-mediated allergic reaction, but instead the result of chemical irritation from one of the drug's component substances (i.e., the clavulonic acid).
Interestingly, there are five types of hypersensitivity reactions that are often considered as types of allergies. Type 1 is your typical histimine-mediated allergic reaction. Type 4 is your contact dermititis such as you see with poison ivy. Here is an overview. From wikipedia, of course.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypersensitivity
MTA: I'm Trent
Thanks to both of you, even though mamaofthree isn't trent. For the record, I am not trent, either.
When a peanut causes you to wheeze and stop breathing, allergic reaction
BTW, who can name all the ways a peanut can kill you?