Is there a better way to remove a poison oak plant than with a chainsaw?

[Danny D.]

I and others have noted becoming
less sensitive to poison oak over time and have attributed
it to drinking the milk of goats that eat the stuff.

I suspect that very well could be the case. Allergies are clearly complex
things, and they clearly have competing actions.

For example, we all know that to be exposed to allergens as a child when
our immune systems are developing is a way for the body to learn to
ignore harmless things such as almost invisible pollen or mold or dust.

Yet, there's the conflicting statement in this UC Davis site:
http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7431.html
Which says (verbatim):
"Once a reaction occurs, repeated exposures further increase
sensitivity. Conversely, long periods with no exposure will
reduce an individual’s susceptibility."

That sentence makes sense based on how cell mediated immune responses
work in the body.

Yet, on the contrary side, as you noted, you can be exposed to the
allergen via other methods (in your case, via goat's milk).

For example, this site says some people were sensitized to urushiol via
mangoes:
http://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/sis/search/a?dbs+hsdb:@term+@DOCNO+7485

And this Wikipedia article says the same thing about cashew nuts:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urushiol-induced_contact_dermatitis

Of course, people with AIDS or other immune disorders are said to have
vastly less of a response to poison oak.
http://waynesword.palomar.edu/ww0802.htm

And, just as our eyes and muscle mass deteriorate as we age, I suspect
our immune systems go downhill also as we age, which would potentially
affect the effect of urushiol on our bodies.

So, my only point is that the immune system is so complex, and so variant
by individual and age, that I don't doubt that goat's milk might help
confer greater immunity to the urushiol.

As for me, if the rash on my neck, ears, cheek, wrists and ankle is of
any evidence, I'm clearly not immune. Of course, this site says that a
single drop the size of a pinhead can infect 500 people:
http://poisonivy.aesir.com/view/fastfacts.html

So, I would be shocked if I did not get a rash, after all the globs of
sap that I was exposed to this week.

[Danny D.]

The other thing to remember is that the oil is NOT on the outside of
the plant. Not outside the leaves, stem, berries, or root. But it's
inside all of them, so, you (and I) can pick it up (gingerly)
and nothing bad will happen.

Ah, I would question that as well.
Before my resistance developed, the slightest contact
had severe effects.

Botanically, a pristine plant has cell walls, and these cell walls keep
the urushiol-laced sap from being on the outside of the roots, vines,
stems, leaves, flowers, and berries of Toxicodendron diversilobum.

However, in nature, a pristine plant would be hard to find, so, I don't
doubt one bit that there may be oils on the OUTSIDE of the plant!

For a graphic example, look at this picture of me holding a Pacific
Poison Oak plant that I just cut with a chain saw.
Loading Image...

Clearly the oils are on the outside of this (brutally damaged) plant!
Loading Image...

It turns out it doesn't take all that much to damage a cell wall, so, I
don't doubt that urushiol sap would be on the OUTSIDE of a (damaged)
plant. Here, for example, is a shot from yesterday where I circled all
the obvious areas where the urushiol-laced sap bled from the vine:
Loading Image...

Given that a pin head worth of urushiol can infect 500 people, and that a
quarter ounce of the stuff can infect every human on earth
(REF: http://poisonivy.aesir.com/view/fastfacts.html)

I wonder what the CONCENTRATION of urushiol is in the dripping sap in my
photos (because I clearly was exposed yesterday to a thousand times what
it takes to infect everyone on earth).

[Danny D.]

This post might be inappropriate. Click to display it.

[Danny D.]

I am applying the following five-ingredient poor-man's
a. oxidizer (common household sodium hypochlorite or non-chlorine bleach)
b. wetting agent (household rubbing alcohol or acetone)
c. surfactant (common household dish detergent)
To a 1:1:1 solution of those three ingredients, I will dab a paste of d.
non-oily spermicide cream plus a squirt of e. abrasive toothpaste
And, then, I will rub all five ingredients into the rash on my neck,
ears, cheek, wrists, and ankle, and call you in the morning!

Here is the detoxifying 'kit', sans the oil-free spermicide:
Loading Image...

[Danny D.]

Post by Danny D.
http://www4.picturepush.com/photo/a/11926557/img/11926557.jpg

I'm reading the patents, one by one, and I'm finding out shocking information.

For example, I had no idea the sap we saw literally oozing out of the cut vines is nearly pure urushiol.

It's from 10 to 100 times as potent as anything in the leaves!

And, that toxic sap stays potent in the wild for 5 (wet) to 10 years (dry climate)!

(REF: http://tinyurl.com/5b78ua).

[Wes Groleau]

Post by Danny D.
Yet, on the contrary side, as you noted, you can be exposed to the
allergen via other methods (in your case, via goat's milk).

Well, that's the hypothesis. I don't KNOW that it's in the milk.
In fact, it probably isn't. But something derived from it may be.