Attacking plants?

[Primalclaws1974]

I love the outdoors. I love the woods and hiking in nature. But there are a few things in nature that I really don't love. One is poison ivy/oak. I got a bad first time outbreak from possibly one of those two plants at the age of 36. I had actually thought I was immune. It took it a month to go away, all the while I was scratching until my legs bled, and later developed blisters. Then the next summer some plant left "burn" mark-like lines on my leg that scarred and are still there two years later. Is it possible I am more sensitive to these type of plants now that I actually made contact with them? I honestly don't know what either plant was, but I reacted different to both. Can anyone take a guess to what they were?

 

[DancingLady]

I am not familiar with a plant that causes a burn, but I am familiar with poison oak. I believe I inherited partial immunity to it because I got a mysterious rash on my arms once that turned out to be poison oak but did not itch. I was actually shocked when I took my shirt off and saw it on my arms because I didn't feel it. Poison oak rash is read and a little puffy. Some say to use cortisone to get it to go away faster, but I do not think it is worth it to use that stuff, it's hard on the liver and there is potential for side effects. I have a pale spot on my arm I believe was caused by cortisone use.

If you are out and you think you have gotten a problem plant on you, the best thing you can do is take a hot shower and wash very, very thoroughly with soap. I would go pretty warm with the water because you want to sweat out any problems while you are washing them off your body. This may not completely prevent a breakout but it should reduce the severity if you get it off in time.

 

[Chuck]

I love the outdoors. I love the woods and hiking in nature. But there are a few things in nature that I really don't love. One is poison ivy/oak. I got a bad first time outbreak from possibly one of those two plants at the age of 36. I had actually thought I was immune. It took it a month to go away, all the while I was scratching until my legs bled, and later developed blisters. Then the next summer some plant left "burn" mark-like lines on my leg that scarred and are still there two years later. Is it possible I am more sensitive to these type of plants now that I actually made contact with them? I honestly don't know what either plant was, but I reacted different to both. Can anyone take a guess to what they were?

If you walk bare legged through bull nettles it will leave red burn like marks that sometimes turn into blisters and leave scaring. There is also an insect called a blister beetle that does the same thing

 

[marlingardener]

There is a pre-contact, post-contact soap on the market that prevents poison ivy/oak rashes. It was available on Amazon, but probably elsewhere also.
I was never sensitive to poison ivy until we removed a two-story poison ivy vine (I'm not exaggerating!) from the first house we bought. After that exposure I get bumps if I even look at the stuff, so yes, I think sensitivity can be developed, Primalclaws.

 

[Primalclaws1974]

If you walk bare legged through bull nettles it will leave red burn like marks that sometimes turn into blisters and leave scaring. There is also an insect called a blister beetle that does the same thing

I had not heard the name "bull nettle" before so I looked it up. A couple varieties (Texas and Carolina) are not indigenous to my area (Iowa), but it is possible they have spread beyond their original habitat. There is a plant that causes a sting that feels and looks similar to a bee sting. I have been hurt by those plants several times in my life. I wonder if the plants are related to the one that "burned" me?