Poison Ivy image courtesy of D. Bjorn, Cathin' Up on Flickr |
Quick tips for avoiding injuries from poisonous plants:
- Suit up to avoid it touching your skin.
- Wear gloves in case it came in contact with your hose or tools.
- Watch animals. They won’t be itching but it can be carried from their fur to your body.
- Wear the respirator your department provides in case any of these plants might be burning nearby. The gases from these plants can cause serious respiratory problems.
- Watch out for it. Poison ivy grows as a vine or shrub and can be found on riverbanks and woodland edges. Poison oak usually grows as a shrub. Poison sumac grows as a woody shrub.
- Poisonous Plants (CDC)
- Protecting Yourself From Poisonous Plants – Print and put up on your bulletin board (NIOSH)
- Poison Ivy, Oak and Sumac (NIH)
- Poison Oak and Ivy Training Video
Do you have experience with poison plants?
Some people swear by comfrey, alcohol rubs, soap and water, over the counter products, and even shoe polish for removing poison ivy from tools or for treating poison ivy rashes. The FDA suggests Ivy Block for preventing rashes. What’s your trick for treating, or preventing the spread of, poison ivy when you’re unlucky enough to get caught by it?
We use to have firefighters get into poison ivy while doing hydrant maintenance. We were able to reduce those exposures by educating them on what those plants looked like and by stressing the washing of exposed skin.
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