I'm being poisoned.
It was a surprise when I realized it, and now I am left wondering:
When is this torture going to end?
Wait a minute! Don't arrest Mr. Holleygarden yet!
I'm being poisoned by - poison ivy. Or poison sumac. I'm not really sure which. I just know it's something poisonous!
 |
| I think this is the offender! |
Yes, I am medicating all those red spots. Trying not to scratch. All the time thinking:
Surely, this torture has to end!
Somehow, I run into poison ivy every year. You'd think I'd be immune by now! Or that I would have eradicated it. But, obviously I've done neither.
That was a month ago!
Then it spread to my upper back. Up my head, under my hair. On my shoulders. Arms. Then to my legs.
And now, on my waist.
Again. :(
Is it ever going to end???
I'm beginning to have doubts.
In other, brighter, news, Helene of Graphicality-UK has awarded me the Illuminating Blogger Award.
Thanks, Helene! I really appreciate it.
I am supposed to pass the Illuminating Blogger award on to five other bloggers. I am going to pass on that requirement, as it has become increasingly difficult for me to pick out only a few blogs.
I am also supposed to give one random piece of information about myself. Hmmmm...... here's one:
Poison ivy. Barbed wire. Trust me - you don't want to get into either one!
For years I thought barbed wire was spelled Bob wire because that's how it's pronounced with a Texas drawl. Bob wire. :) I even wondered who "Bob" was!
Poison ivy. Barbed wire. Trust me - you don't want to get into either one!
How miserable. Can't believe it has gone on so long though.
ReplyDeleteCher Sunray Gardens
I think its about to wind down, finally! It was the worst when it was on my head, under my hair! I think I spread it myself when I showered or while sleeping!
DeleteGosh, I hope you get some relief soon from the poison ivy or whatever it is that has messed with you.
ReplyDeleteHugs ~ FlowerLady
Thanks. I get ant bites, scratches, and bruises from gardening, too. But the poison ivy is the worst!
DeleteThat does sound miserable, Holley! Hope you can find the offender and give it what for (while wearing body armor). My dad says Bob wire, too. My mom could not figure out what he was talking about for the longest time!
ReplyDeleteI've just been trying to avoid it. I've pointed it out to my husband, hoping he would do something with it! Usually he'll kill the vine if it's in our usual pathways, but this is close to the storage shed, and I only go in there for the lawn mower. Funny that your dad says Bob wire, too! haha I felt so dumb when I realized it was BARBED wire!
DeleteA poison ivy allergy can actually get worse with continued exposure. My husband gets into it from time to time, because he refuses to remember what it looks like, and he has had to take Prednisone for it a couple of times to reduce the irritation. I have only had it once, thank goodness.
ReplyDeleteFortunately, it responds really well to a good shot of brush-strength Round Up. No need to get the version labeled for Poison Ivy ... I just mix my concentrate a little stronger. After it's dead, I either leave it in place and mulch over it, or I put on rubber gloves and carefully cut it off and throw it away.
I have learned not to scratch - at all! I made that mistake the first year I had it. Thought it would never go away! Now I keep Itch X and Ivy Dry on my nightstand. Good to know about the Round Up. I'm not sure if it dripped on me, or was on a limb that fell out of a tree. I drug it out of the way, and wondered later if it was on the limb somewhere.
DeleteHolley, I'm very sorry you're poisoned. I've read that allergy causes a poison ivy oil. Perhaps you had better visit a doctor and take antihistamines.
ReplyDeleteI hate to visit doctors, so I've been trying very hard not to get it near my face. I knew someone that had gotten poison ivy in their eyes once, and I don't want that!
DeleteOh no! I've never had poison ivy, and it does not sound fun. Feel better soon!
ReplyDeleteIt's not fun. You must not be allergic - or just very lucky! It's everywhere here - and the farther out I garden, the more I run into it!
DeleteOh, that poison ivy! I know it all too well. I usually have to head to the doctor for creams and prednisone to get rid of it or, just as you are experiencing, it spreads and spreads AND spreads. I was weeding the other day in an area I haven't been in for awhile and stopped dead when I saw the three shiny leaves winking back at me. Off to the house for the Tecnu wash and scrub down. That was a few days ago, so I must have caught the oils in time.
ReplyDeleteThe persistent burning itching is awful; gads how I hate it. I hope you are itch-free soon!
I know exactly what you mean about stopping dead in your tracks when you see it! That's exactly what I do! I'm usually pretty good about staying out of it, but for some reason it always seems to find me!
DeleteHope you're well soon. It sounds as if you have had a very bad reaction. I am very allergic to poison ivy so I watch fot it anytime I'm in the garden. I haven't had a rash this year so I am hoping for the best. If it is a small vine my husband can pull it up without gloves but even he is cautious around anything of any size.
ReplyDeleteI hope you don't get a rash this year. I can't imagine pulling it up without gloves! A friend of mine many years ago had some all over her hands. She had to wear gloves everywhere for a while. What torture it was for her! She later realized she had gotten it from her firewood!
DeleteYou probably have pulled it as a weed, then got the offending oils on your hands or gloves and passed it on to your waist by simply touching there. I got spots of it but never very big. My mother used to have us wash off with salt after being in the woods. She'd have us wet down our exposed arms and legs then sprinkle the salt on liberally then scrub with if and rinse it off. Somehow that countered the offending oil of the poison ivy or oak.
ReplyDeleteGood luck. I think calamine lotion is the best for relief then there's always Ivy dry which I think you bathe in to relieve the itch.
You must be right! I bet that's how I got it! I have been pulling some very suspicious looking weeds lately - and never thought about it getting on my gloves! Thanks for the tip, too, about the salt! I'm going to give that a try!
DeleteSomeone in our home gets a steroid shot for poison every summer this year it was the 16 year old, I feel for you!
ReplyDeleteOh, that doesn't sound good! It seems it springs up every year, no matter how hard we try to eradicate it! And I've heard the birds like to eat the berries, and it can grow from bird droppings, too! I guess we'll never get rid of it all! Hope your 16 year old feels better soon!
DeleteHas a doctor confirmed this is from posion ivy? Since it's lasting so long, could it be shingles? Just a thought...
ReplyDeleteOh, my gosh! I am very aware of shingles. It is a horrible disease. My grandmother had them, and I've know several other people that have had that, too. What a miserable thing to have to experience. Thankfully, mine is not shingles - and I plan on getting the vaccine as soon as I'm of the recommended age! I don't want to have to go through that! Thanks for bringing up the possibility, though! :)
DeleteDear Holley: I'm so sorry about the Poison Ivy! For some reason, I think I'm immune. I can remember jumping in it as a child, and I'm sure I've rubbed against it in the woods. But I've never had the symptoms. I know--never say never. So I'll continue to try to avoid it. Congrats on the award--you deserve it!
ReplyDeleteI envy people that are immune to this. I think I've become more sensitive as I get older. Or maybe I'm just getting more careless!
DeleteOh Holley, I am so very very sorry... Poison Ivy has attacked me a few times too... NOT FUN... Please take care of yourself... Your beautiful flowers need you!!!!
ReplyDeleteHugs,
Betsy
No, it's not fun! I'm still working out in the garden, but I'm trying to stay away from anything that closely resembles poison ivy!
DeleteThe infamous Poison Ivy, yikes! Sorry to hear you got ill from it. Hope you feel better soon and recover quickly!
ReplyDeleteThanks. Every time I think it's going away, it pops up somewhere new. I noticed this morning I have some new spots on my neck and my leg! :(
DeleteOh no Holley how awful...you really got a dose of it...it seems lots of poisonous plants are prolific this year and they are seeing lots of cases. Sending lots of healing thoughts your way...because of this and the bug bites I am forced to weed in long pants and shirts which is why I can only be out in the early morning heat...feel better soon.
ReplyDeleteI can not even imagine working outside in long pants and shirts in the heat! But it's probably a smart thing to do!
DeleteThanks to the birds, poison ivy appears every year somwewhere in my garden, but I have an eye open for it all the time! WHen I get it, it is systemic and I go out of my mind! The Doctor gives me something to calm it all down, but the resulting skin looks pretty yucky until new skin appears.
ReplyDeleteDo you have it just on one side? Or all over? All over - poison ivy. On just one side of your body - could be shingles...but I think you are too young for that!
Interesting about the shingles being on just one side - I never knew that! Well, it's definitely poison ivy! It's all over - both sides!
DeleteOh how terrible!! I never knew it was so vicious. I only have stinging nettles that burn abit, but Poison Ivy! Oh No! Is there nothing you can take - calamine lotion?
ReplyDeleteWe have some stinging nettles, but I am very careful around them. I haven't been stung by them since I was a child - I remember the pain well! Yes, I am treating it topically, and am hoping it goes away soon. I can't believe it has gone on this long!
DeleteI've had to take Prednisone for poison ivy before. That was the case of poison ivy that just kept coming and covering me everywhere. Within five hours of taking the medicine the itching has almost stopped and the rash had started to go away on parts of my body.
ReplyDeleteIf you have to pull it out use a plastic shopping bag like a glove, yank out the plant and then while holding the [plant, flip the bag inside out. Horrible plant in the bag, no oil on the outside, ready for disposal.
Wow - I didn't realize the medicine would work that fast! I'll keep that in the back of my mind. GREAT tip about the plastic bag! I'm going to do that from now on! Thanks!
DeleteOh, I feel for ya! Hope you get over it soon. It's awful I know. I get it every year - I think I get it even being near it... My Mom has it now and is miserable, but she hasn't been out here lately, so she says can't blame it on me this time. LOL
ReplyDeleteI hope your mom recovers soon! I know what you mean about just looking at it - then breaking out!
Deleteoh my goodness, a moving rash, I can't even possibly comprehend how awful that must be. I've been lucky to never have even seen poison ivy before let alone tangle with it.
ReplyDeleteYou are one lucky gal if you've never even seen it! I thought it grew everywhere. It sure grows everywhere in my garden!
DeleteOh I feel so sorry for you, I am terribly allergic to a lot of things, and I know how awful it is. Luckily I don’t have poison ivy in my garden, although it grows here in Britain too. Incidentally, I have read that people who react to poison ivy also can be allergic to mangos, as it is the same plant family – ever had a problem with eating mangos? Hope you get better soon!
ReplyDeleteI don't recall being allergic to mangos, although I don't remember the last time I actually ate one of those. That would be a good experiment to try! (or not!)
DeleteOuch! It hurts just to read about your suffering! I hope it ends soon!!!
ReplyDeleteOh, I hope so, too. It's so frustrating to itch all over - and not be able to scratch!
DeleteSo sorry to hear about your miserable affliction. I hope you are feeling a lot better now. I once accidentally dropped my little sister into a bed of stinging nettles. Amazingly she had no welts but she screamed so loud the neighbouring farmer raced over thinking there had been a terrible accident. I was mortified.
ReplyDeleteI bet she never lets you forget that incident, either! Funny story! :)
DeleteTerrible for you Holley. The neighbor behind us has a huge amount growing and it is always coming through the fence. I am lucky because I never did get a poison ivy rash.
ReplyDeleteI would have to spray that neighbor's patch, I believe! I am obviously very sensitive to it, and I would not put up with someone growing it around my garden. Here, it just comes up. We try to get rid of it as soon as we notice it! I'm glad you've never gotten the rash. Some people are naturally immune. I hope you're one of them!
Delete