Never Have a Severe Poison Ivy Rash Again

I have a feeling this information is going to change some lives for the better. And no, I’m not exaggerating. You’re about to learn how to avoid poison ivy rashes even after you’ve touched it.

Here’s what we hear early in this short video:

If you understand how poison ivy works, you never need to get a serious rash again for the rest of your life.

A bold claim to be sure, but give the guy a chance. He says he’s “put together a simple, easy program that stops urushiol from entering [his] skin.”

Urushiol is the irritating oil found in poison ivy, poison oak, and poison sumac. It can get on your hide and give you a rash even if you don’t touch one of those plants — because the oil is long-lasting and can remain on tools or tractor tires for months or years.

This is important: You don’t get a rash because you get urushiol on your skin; you get a rash because you didn’t get it off of your skin fast enough. If you clean off the bad oil “within 2 to 8 hours of contact,” that’s good enough. But it’s not as easy as just taking a quick shower.

The video provides good imagery by using black axle grease to simulate urushiol, which itself is nearly invisible. If you’ve been exposed to poison ivy, you need to clean thoroughly using a washcloth. He even says a damp washcloth with no soap or cleanser is more effective than any sort of soap without a washcloth. Friction and thoroughness are key.

He advises us to wash and rinse three times to get it all, and make sure you wash everything you touched. Take a leak in the woods after being exposed to poison oak? Yeah, you’d better give ol’ Willie some cleansing friction.

Enjoy the video.

Russ Chastain

Editor & Contributing Writer Russ Chastain is a lifelong hunter and shooter who has spent his life learning about hunting, shooting, guns, ammunition, gunsmithing, reloading, and bullet casting. He started toting his own gun in the woods at age nine and he's pursued deer with rifles since 1982, so his hunting knowledge has been growing for more than three and a half decades. His desire and ability to share this knowledge with others has also grown, and Russ has been professionally writing and editing original hunting & shooting content since 1998. Russ Chastain has a passion for sharing accurate, honest, interesting hunting & shooting knowledge and stories with people of all skill levels.