Poisonous Natives

This picture can only mean one thing. It's poison ivy season. This is an old remedy that helps a little when it's oozing and you're not willing to go to the doctor yet. It's just baking soda in water and you put it on and let it dry. It's supposed to pull out the ooze and help it to dry out. I don't know how much it works but it takes forever to dry. I like to put it on while I'm in the outdoor shower since I know I can get it all over the place and it won't matter. But then I have to stand in the shower until it dries and that can get boring. Today, I read the whole newspaper before it dried.

How did I get it, you ask? I've known for many decades what it looks like and I know I have to stay away because I get it just by looking at it. I have a theory. I found this great, organic stuff called Burn Out that has clove oil in it and supposedly messes with the oil on the leaves and kills it. It works very well, especially if the area happens to baked in the sun all day. Within days it's dead as a doornail. By theory is that by spraying this stuff on the leaves, it makes the poison ivy oil go into the air and I breathe it in. This is the second summer I have used this stuff and the second time I've had it about 3 days later. Always in a place that even if I touched the plant, I wouldn't get it here. Like my waistband! I am certain not to touch the leaves and I use gloves but somehow I still have a little bit, just enough to be annoying!

Last summer, I had to go to the doctor to get some prednisone but I really don't like to do that. Hopefully the baking soda paste and calodryl will keep it all at bay.