As summer is near there will be many individuals being exposed to poison ivy, oak and sumac. None of these species are actually poisonous. Poison ivy is not from an ivy plant, nor is poison oak from oak, and poison sumac has nothing to do with the sumac trees. The irritating substance is an oil called urushiol which is also not poisonous . It is just that so many individuals are allergic to the oil. The oil creates an immune reaction . The immune reaction gets worse with each exposure. 50 % of people will break out in a rash when they brush p against the plant, while 25 % have no reaction to it at all.
There are many remedies both homeopathic and herbal that can be used.
I recently read that if you are highly sensitive to the poison ivy, oak and sumac you might also be allergic to the cashew tree, mango tree and the lacquer tree.
Until tomorrow…