Poison ivy – again

With all this rain, new leaves have been growing all over. Usually, by now, the forest is dryer than it has been these past two months.

I've been fighting poison ivy (or poison oak!), for two months. I tried using my Rx cream, but it didn't eradicate it. The cream worked last year, when I only had a spot or two, but this year it keeps erupting with painful, itchy boils are forming on my hands and lower legs.

I broke down, my doctor saw me the same day I phoned, June 20th. Hooray for Canadian healthcare. He gave me an ointment, a little stronger than last time. The prednisone pills are hard on the stomach.

Common and Rare Side Effects for Prednisone Oral - WebMD

I was at my wit's end, however. You can see, from the photos at the bottom, how it spreads if it isn't kept under control. I went into Perth ER,  and happy people were in there, working on July 1st, Canada Day.

Canada Day ER staff - GWM Hospital, Perth, Ontario pic.twitter.com/zksUgYhaW2

— alan drummond (@alandrummond2) July 1, 2017

In and out in 29 minutes. It was a quiet day, and staff were great.
As is the case, it had many people who were working on

#Canada150

 Bless their hearts!

I knew it would happen. My Canada Day is now complete! pic.twitter.com/eidqsR7iUq

— alan drummond (@alandrummond2) July 1, 2017

2017-01-01 Prednisone, 50 mgs  @ 7 days = 350mg. Feeling pretty woozy.

I am over the worst, nearly done my drugs. Thank goodness.

What I have learned is that Virginia Creeper is a good indicator for poison ivy. They inhabit similar habitat, wetland forest. Leave of three, let them be, for sure. But the 5 leaves on the Virginia Creeper fooled me until I caught on to it. Then there are the young raspberry plants. They start with three leaves, but grow on long stems.

2011

The last photo of this set, is the huge area I first tackled in 2011. My mistake? Not throwing out the gloves I used. I ripped out a garbage bag full of vines. Then, set the gloves aside. I used them to stack wood. It spread on my arms, and to my belly. I was a mess. That was a nightmare.

Both Daisy and Dorah manage to find the poison ivy! Or oak. Whatever.

I first contracted it in July, 2011. With each infestation, it gets worse in me. 

July => OCT. 2011: The open boils spread onto other areas if unchecked. The doctors couldn't figure out what it was, at first. The first one, July, 2011, was minor. After that, in September, it was back.

Poison Ivy and contact dermatitis

Wild parsnip abounds in Ontario ditches - it's poisonous

Contact dermatitis
Poison Ivy rash in October, 2011.
Another long story!

There are lots of weeds that are toxic to us, most give us Contact dermatitis.

The Wild parsnip worries me, as it is ubiquitous in Southeastern Ontario ditches.  The government has a website for weeds. I drove home from my daughter's house, and stopped to photograph them.

I'd noticed them after cleaning them out from around my mailbox.
I've had some boils, so I know I've been infected with the poison, either from this, or from our Poison Ivy patch down by the meadow. I made the mistake of going over the ivy with the law tractor.


Contact dermatitis begins with an itch or boils. If not treated, and spreads throughout your system. Usually, with the first contact, you'll spot a little boil or two, about the size of a pencil dot on paper. It percolates throughout your body. Mine, on my arm, spread to my stomach.

First bout in the summer: July, 2011.
These boils are terribly itchy.

OCT. 2011:
The open boils spread
onto other areas if unchecked.

I found two boils on my ankle a few days ago, again. This was my second contact.

Each time I am in contact with another poisonous plant, the attack is worse. These poisonous plants give us Contact dermatitis. If not checked, it can be horrible, as I can attest. The ER doctors failed to diagnose it, while the Triage Nurse suggested that was what it looked like. I learned my lesson and apply the cream at the first sign of it.

I found Wild Parsnip in my garden, likely transported by birds. It is an invasive species. It is moving from South and Eastern Ontario, across the continent to the west.

Wild Parsnip
Pastinaca sativa

Wild parsnip is an invasive plant native to Europe and Asia. It was likely brought to North America by European settlers, who grew it for its edible root. Since its introduction, wild parsnip has escaped from cultivated gardens and spread across the continent.

This is what they look like:

First year plant

The government website is very clear about which chemicals may or may not be used these days. I used spray-on bottles, designated to kill poison ivy. They work, after a few days being absorbed, on the Wild Parsnip. You can spot the Wild Parsnip with the pretty, yellow flowers appearing in an umbel. It looks like Cow parsnip, which is harmless, and has the same umbels. In fact, the plants look much like dill weed, with the same system of umbels!

Almost looks like dill weed!

You can tell the difference as the dill weed has skinny little leaves, and smaller flowers in an umbel, much like cow parsnip, Queen Anne's Lace.

Other Resources

• Ontario Invasive Plant Council
• Invasive Species: A Threat to Ontario’s Biodiversity
• Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs – Ontario Weeds
• Invasive Species Centre

Here are the incredible numbers of plants in ditches.

I went in and told the family this was poisonous
-see it to the right of and below the blue?
They knew and had been trying to get rid of it.

Stay away from it. It is terrible stuff.

This is white, Water Parsnip,
found in our dried up frog pond.
It is a marsh plant.

This plant I sprayed with
Poison Ivy killer spray.
Thankfully, it died.

They look innocuous.