Why poison oak is dangerous?
Poison oak belongs to the same category as poison ivy since both plants contain the common toxic oil urushiol. This oily sap is highly contagious and causes irritable rashes on your skin at the slightest touch. In fact, when you are out camping you will never know whether you are coming across a poison oak shrub or how much allergic you are to it.
How to identify poison oak?
The easiest way to identify a poison oak plant is to look for three leaflets, very similar to oak leaves. The poison oak is mostly found in British Columbia and Southern California. Its leaves assume a bright orange or red color in the fall season. So, resist the temptation of picking a bunch of these attractive leaves to avoid the deadly rashes.
Some immediate steps after getting poison oak rash
If by chance you brush against a poison oak, wash the infected place within 10-15 minutes with warm water and antibacterial soap to remove all traces of urushiol. Srubbing the affected area with salt will exfoliate the blistery skin layer. Washing the garments exposed to poison oak with detergent or bleach is also important.
You can soothe the burn and itch of the rashes by applying an aloe vera, menthol or calamine based cream. You could also take an OTC antihistamine pill like Benadryl that keeps down itches and induces a peaceful sleep. However, you must allow your skin its own time to heal.
One of the natural ways to aid this healing process is rubbing the inner side of a banana peel directly on the rash. You should leave on the juicy pulp of the banana for some time and then wash the skin with cool water. Bleaching the rashes by a cotton wool dipped in chlorine bleach or cider vinegar also dries up the rashes fast.
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