How bad is poison ivy in Georgia?

imported
#1

I’ve read that in Georgia, the P.I. is so thick by the trail that sometimes it reaches out and grabs a hiker by the ankles. How bad IS it?

How bad is poison ivy in Georgia?

#2

The Sassafras Gap that is north of tray mountain and after swag of the blue ridge in Georgia has some. It was dormant (without leaves) in april whe nI hiked thru, but I noticed it as I looked for a campsite. There were a couple of “established sites” there in the fallen leaves, with little upshoots of poison all over them.

Theres a more established site right next to the trail worn to dirt, I camped there. but lookign around for a site elsewhere, I got a little bit on me. Natures call also had me looking around in the brush there too.
I would say that the poison I got was well worth the amazing night of owl chatter!! It was quite memorable.

Most of the poison will be dormant unless you start in may. so you won’t know it unless you are an expert at “exposing yourself” to it like I am.

NEVER TOUCH THE MOSSY VINE THAT CLINGS TO THE TRUNK OF THE TREE. A lesson learned the wrong way in my past…
BTW- the trail is lined with it in VA, PA, NJ, MA…blackberries and poison like to grow near each other

Don;t let the little itch of poison scare you, staying inside all summer is the best way not to get any.

bandito

#3

There’s a relatively new poison oak/ivy cream called Zanfel. It’s expensive. Like $30-$40 for a one-ounce tube. But, it’s amazing. As soon as you see the start of the blisters, or as soon as you know you touched the leaves, put the Zanfel on the infected area. It will STOP the spread of the rash, and will STOP the itching. Well worth the weight and cost to carry.

It saved my skin on the PCT in 2003.

yogi

yogi

#4

Hi Yogi! Where did you get that p.i. cream; Zanfel? Is it in regular stores, or did you have to get an Rx? Its sounds like good stuff. thanks…liz

liz

#5

Yogi is 100 percent correct. Zanfel is a miracle. I carried it last year. Instant relief. Eckerd’s carries it, or you can get it online. Google it in.

LiteShoe

#6

I found it at Rite Aid. It was $30, on sale from $40. Go to somplace like Rite Aid, Osco, Eckerd, etc. and as the Pharmacist. It’s on the shelf, but I couldn’t find it until someone pointed it out to me. I will NEVER hike without it. For some reason, those little three-leafed plants hunt me.

Calamine only helps with the itching.
Zanfel STOPS the rash from spreading.

yogi

#7

I too am vulnerable to the PI but not the PO apparently. Everyone has a different chemical makeup and reaction to poison. I get PI all the time. Especially here in GA. Have a little bit right now, as a matter of fact.

This is probably less effective as Zanfel, but might come in as lower price, more available option: “Benadryl itch stopping cream” NOT just any kind, but the EXTRA STReNGTH 2% Diphenhydramine Hydrocloride (the BLUE labeling). I carry it with me, has saved my ass (literally) many times and usually eliminates the blemish in 2-3 days, while stopping the itch immediately.

Of course the most effective method is avoiding it. Remember that PI is NEVER DORMANT. Even in the winter, the leafless vines exude the poison. “If leaves are three, let it be” , OR don’t touch the vines. Learn to identify clymidia (spell?), which is different and non-poisonous, and then avoid everything else. But hey, I still get it ALL THE TIME! :smiley:

Tha Wookie

#8

I got a really bad case of it last year in GA. Took 4 days from my hike and a shot of cortisone to fix it. I almost went home.
Just remember it doesn’t have to have leaves to get you- touching the vines will do it too.

Beesknees

#9

I may have just lucked out, but I never had a problem with the poison ivy at all. Georgia didn’t seem so bad, and Sassafrass (after NOC) was covered. As someone who has been highly allergic in the past (poison ivy = swollen body = can’t see = hospital), I was on the look-out. It is definitely avoidable, just make sure you know what it looks like.

Zanfel sounds like something good to carry if you are highly allergic, too.

bearbait

#10

It would be well worth the cost and weight of anything that immediately put a stop to the spread/itch. Last summer I got poision ivy oil in my eyes, not pretty. I was worthless for a week.

guru

#11

I’m picking up some Zanfel. Can order it over the internet. I agree with guru, $30 is well worth it.

steve hiker

#12

thanks for the info folks. I don’t have a lot of problems w/p.i., bu (prob. due to luck more than skill) but have been out w/folks that do, & it is NOT pretty or fun. May be worth it to have just in case my luck runs out. :girl

liz

#13

In an extreme case of chainsawing thru poison oak on a forest fire, much of our crew was on prednisone, a prescription oral steroid. I juiced uncle sugar for an extra prescrip that I carried in my pack the rest of that summer, just in case.
That was only for a severe case, but some people react moreso than others, if you are feeling superparanoid, that is definitely an option. Especially once you are talking $30 creams. unless you have an orgy in the stuff or wipe you butt with it, for an extra couple ounces in your pack you can just educate yourself on the leaf ID. A case of 60% body rash and hives is a pretty powerful motivator to educate!
The steroid does have side effects, it causes enlarged lower body musculature, while oddly enough shrinks upper body muscle mass at the same time. I am just kidding, it might make you more sun sensitive or something.
I consider myself SUPER allergic to poison oak and ivy, and I carry nothing except this half wit of mine for protection.:pimp and yes the airoborne burning poison ivy thing is a straight myth

Hurl Schaefer

#14

Hrm…I knew a family who put their clothes on the line to dry while the dad was burning leaves and junk in the back yard. The winds changed a blew right through the clothes, but they didn’t realize those “roots” were poison ivy. The daughter broke out…but only in the areas under her bra and panties, because that’s what was on the line at the time.

If it was just a romp in the woods her whole body would have been affected…not just localized in those areas.

Jeff

Jeff

#15

Jeff… that can definately happen. I know someone who was burning a a brush pile with unknown poison ivy inside it. They were rushed to the ER with a severe breakout. The oil can easily travel through the wind while it’s being burned. This person even had poison ivy inside their nose/mouth, etc. from breathing the smoke… it was the most dangerous case I’ve ever heard of.

guru

#16

Some years ago I worked with the California Department of Forestry, and overheard some of the rangers discussing colleauges who were exposed to burning poison oak smoke while fighting forest fires. They sustained serious injury from inhaling that stuff, unlike ordinary wood smoke.

steve hiker

#17

PUFF PUFF GIVE

Smokey