How to Avoid Poison Oak

Hikers and campers beware: Poison oak, found mainly in the western and southwestern United States, Canada and Mexico, causes rashes when its resin makes contact with your skin. Learn to identify and avoid this infamous outdoor plant.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Athletic Socks
• Hiking Boots
• Long Pants
• Long-sleeved Shirts
• Poison Ivy/oak Killer
• Poison Oak-ivy Protective Lotion
• Poison Oak-ivy Soap

1. Learn to identify habitats in which poison oak is likely to be found. Poison oak is found below 5,000 feet in moist ravines, canyons and hilltops without much sunlight.

2. Learn to identify the leaves of poison oak. The basic rule, "leaves of three, let it be," refers to the three leaflets on the leaves of the poison oak shrub (and the more uncommon vine). Hair can be found on the shrub's fruit, trunk and leaves.

3. Wear a pre-exposure armor lotion on exposed parts of the body to minimize the effects of poison oak should contact occur.

4. Wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants to cover exposed skin when hiking in an area populated by poison oak.

5. Wear socks and hiking boots to protect ankles and feet.

6. Wash hands and exposed skin with soap and water immediately following contact, or use a special soap formulated to wash resins of poison oak from skin and clothing. Such soaps are available in sporting goods stores and outdoor equipment stores.

7. Wash clothes and shoelaces with a mild soap and dry them in the sun if you make contact with poison oak.

8. Wash clothes and shoelaces and dry them in a clothes dryer immediately following a hike in an area populated with poison oak, even if you don't believe you had any contact with the plant.

9. Shower and wash your hair thoroughly after being in an area where poison oak is present, even if you don't believe you had any contact with the plant.

Tips & Warnings

• Poison oak can often be found growing near or in blackberry bushes.
• Since dogs can easily carry the oil of the plant on their coats for a few hours after exposure, it's best to bathe Rover after being around poison oak.
• This information is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice or treatment.

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on 11/22/2005 Rub any skin areas that might have come into contact with poison oak with rubbing alcohol within a few hours of contact. Make sure to get parts of your face and throat that you might have touched with contaminated hands. This works. I used to get poison oak all the time while mountain biking, but rubbing alcohol put an end to this.

on 11/22/2005 In the winter you may run across some poison oak branches that don't have any leaves on them. One year I didn't realize the stick I was twirling throughout my hike was poison oak..until it was too late.

on 11/22/2005 Whenever I hike in areas infested with poison oak I wear long socks I pull up above my knees. Once I'm done, I carefully take them off and put them in a plastic bag. It's not the best fashion statement - but it works.