There just may be, holed up in some university library somewhere, a scholar of human history who knows just when the first piece of advice was ever given from one person to another. Maybe it had to do with cave insulation or maybe how to clean campfire soot off a loin cloth. Something like that. But I’d be willing to venture a guess that soon to follow were a few ideas on how to avoid one of summer’s biggest bummers: poison ivy.

“Leaves of three, let it be; berries white, danger in sight.”

“Leaves of three, let it be; hairy vine, no friend of mine.”

Like all things nasty or disagreeable, the best way to handle poison ivy, poison oak or poison sumac is simply to avoid it. Recognize the “leaves of three” because, when touched, the three will almost always lead to misery.

The nasty three produce the oily toxin urushiol which adheres to virtually anything it touches and, more importantly, will remain toxic unless thoroughly washed off, for as long as a year. Clothing, tools, gloves, shoes and even your loving pet can cause infection and re-infection if not properly cleansed.

Hot water and detergent will eliminate the toxin from clothing, tools and pets but there seems to be some disagreement as to the effectiveness of soap in removing the toxin from affected skin. Although all sources strongly recommend flushing exposed skin with water within 15 minutes of exposure, the use of soap differs. The Mayo Clinic recommends mild soap and the barrier cream Bentoquatam following a shower. Alternative Medicine and Health recommended only brown laundry soap or the over-the-counter cleanser/lotion Tecnu. Debbie Markel of Apothicarian Herbals in Powhatan suggests no soap at all, simply a thorough shower. She fears the soap could retain the toxic oils.

Unfortunately, in the vast majority of exposures to the “three,” most don’t recognize the plant, don’t react properly to contact with it and thus have to deal with the effects of the urushiol. The bad news is that there is no cure for the resultant rash, blisters, bumps and swelling. The good news is the effects of the toxin can be reduced while the irritation runs its course, normally two to three weeks.

The Mayo Clinic suggests over-the-counter hydrocortisones, Calamine lotion, creams containing menthol, such as Sarna, oral antihistamines such as Benedryl, cool water soaks with colloidal oatmeal, Aveeno or cool compresses several times per day.

Alternative Medicine and Health added baking soda and water, cortisone creams and suggested that Vitamin C “seems to help speed the healing.”

Debbie Markel confirmed the benefits of baking soda mixed with Witch Hazel, Aveeno, Calamine, Benedryl and the hydrocortisones. She added some more natural products to the list of potential irritation relievers; Tea Tree Oil, Aloe Gel, Chickweed salve, and Rhus Tox, a homeopathic oral remedy. Markel also shook the Home Remedy tree more than just a little in her attempt to find some relief for her own severe case of misplaced urushiol. She found the following suggestions on the internet: Mix camphor and moon shine and rub it on the rash, rub your own urine on the affected area, soak copper pennies in vinegar for twenty-four hours and rub the vinegar on the rash, or spray WD-40 on the affected area.

There are also numerous soaps, tablets, tinctures and sprays advertised on the internet, primarily with a Jewelweed (Impatiens capensis) base which claim to be “effective natural herbal remedies for the treatment of poison ivy.”

All of the sources agreed that the rare severe cases which do not respond to the over-the-counter or “home remedies” should be treated by a physician.

Although obtaining and sustaining concrete relief is often difficult to achieve in treating the effects of the “three,” there are some hard and fast rules in dealing with these pests. Never burn the plants. The smoke can carry the toxin and cause eye, nasal passage and lung problems. Personal contact cannot spread the poison. The blisters do not contain the toxin. Wash any and everything that comes in contact with the plants thoroughly.