I’ve written about poison ivy before. It’s the bane of my existence. Unfortunately, over on the wonderful land where RT and I are building a house, poison ivy is plentiful. I work very hard to avoid it. Despite my extreme care to avoid it, somehow a week or so ago, I accidentally touched some poison ivy. Apparently, I touched it directly, too, because on my right wrist I have the most horribly swollen and itchy and oozing patch of poison ivy.Â
And also apparently, while it was oozing, I scratched my stomach because I also have a trail of poison ivy across my stomach. And it is driving me freaking crazy. Like it did last year, it is getting in my system because I have new patched popping out on my legs and my arms - places I KNOW didn’t touch any poison ivy.Â
The place on my right wrist is particularly aggravating because I’m right-handed. I use my right hand all day long. It is very noticeable. I’ve been keeping a bandage over it - which is probably making it much worse - but it looks so bad, I don’t want to keep it out in the open.
So what is the point of poison ivy? Does it have any use in the world other than to make life miserable for people who are extremely sensitive to it? Does it provide food for any creature? Is there some delicate balance in the ecosystem that would be out of whack if poison ivy didn’t exist? Or is it simply something God put on earth just to annoy us?Â
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April 3rd, 2007 at 2:49 pm
When I bought my house 8 years ago, most of the property was covered in poison oak (the California cousin of poison ivy).
1. I paid the poison oak guy a fortune to clear out most of it. I am not kidding, he removed 4 dumpsters full.
2. Thereafter in the spring and throughout the summer, “death to poison oak patrols” were undertaken. I have a backpack sprayer I use just for RoundUp — all those cute l’il sprouts? — SPRAY
3. Zanfel is my friend. It really works, even when I’ve gotten past the original little rashes. I haven’t had to go on cortisone since finding Zanfel.
http://www.zanfel.com/
TMS: My son has a landscaping company and he offered to loan me his backpack sprayer, and he said he had some stuff that would definitely kill it. So that’s my project this weekend. I’ve never heard of Zanfel, but I’m going to check out the website ASAP. I called my doctor awhile ago to see if she would prescribe something for me. Thanks for the information.
April 3rd, 2007 at 4:48 pm
Carol…I was going to suggest you get a family member or someon who does not get Poisn Ivy to spray the weeds away… But it looks like you already have that advice. People who have never had to deal with this do not understand how painful it can be…