Off-Season Scratching:
Kids Corner

Aired on Lifetime Television
Sunday, September 30 and November 18, 2007

Show 420

Teaching your children to watch out for three-leaf plants like poison ivy or oak is a good idea. But poison sumac has seven to thirteen leaves and can be harder to spot. Not to worry—there are ways to treat an accidental encounter with any of these poison plants and prevent it from spreading. Act fast. Gently wash the exposed area with soap and cold water. Urushiol is the resin that causes the allergic reaction, and hot water or scrubbing can open pores and invite the urushiol into the skin. If you're not near soap and water, a toxin removal cloth does the same job quickly. Once that's taken care of, clean everything that may have been exposed to the resin: shirts, shoes, shorts. And any outdoor toys should be cleaned with rubbing alcohol. The plant resin can stick around for three years, so get rid of it quickly. As long as all the resin has been washed away, it's impossible to spread the rash to other people. And scratching the itch won't spread the rash to other parts of the body either, but it could cause infection. Instead, sooth the itch by applying a cool compress or an ice cube. And remember poison ivy, oak or sumac aren't just summer threats. Because plant stems hang around during every season, so does the possibility of an itchy rash. So be prepared all year round.