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The Description, Prevention and Treatment of Contagious Poison Oak

Contact with poison oak results in an itchy, red rash. About 85 percent of people are allergic to poison oak according to the American Academy of Dermatology, but not everyone will break out in a rash when they first come in contact with the plant. The first known cases of poison oak were noted in the early 1600s. David Douglas, who the Douglas Fir is named after, discovered western poison oak.

  1. Background

    • It is an oil called urushiol, found in poison oak, that causes an allergic reaction when it comes in contact with human skin. It only takes one billionth of a gram of urushiol to cause an allergic reaction to poison oak. You can come in contact with the oil three different ways: direct contact, indirect contact or airborne contact. A person's sensitivity to poison oak usually decreases with age.

    Symptoms

    • It takes just minutes for urushiol to penetrate the skin, but it can take up to 12 to 72 hours before a rash develops. The rash is normally red and swollen and may have blisters present. It is also accompanied by severe itching. The rash may also show streaks or lines where the plant came in contact with your skin. The rash is not contagious. If you still have urushiol on your skin, you can pass that to someone else and cause them to have an allergic reaction.

    Prevention/Solution

    • The best way to prevent coming in contact with poison oak is to recognize and stay away from the plant. Poison oak is a shrub with leaflets of three. Each large leaf on the plant has three smaller leaflets. The middle leaflet is longer than the other two. You should also wear long pants, long sleeves and gloves if you know you will be in an area where poison oak could be present. Buy and apply an over-the-counter skin product, containing bentoquatum, before you go out. This medicine helps keep urushiol from entering your skin.

    Treatment

    • Once you notice a rash or know you have come in contact with poison oak, you should wash your skin immediately with lukewarm water and soap. Wash any clothes or anything else that may have come in contact with the poison oak. The oil, urushiol, can stay alive and cause an allergic reaction for up to five years. Buy an anti-itch cream and take oatmeal baths for a mild case of poison oak. If you have a more severe reaction, you should contact a dermatologist or go to the emergency room. They may need to prescribe medication to reduce the reaction.

    Interesting Facts

    • Urushiol is so potent that ¼ of an ounce could cause a rash on every person on earth and 500 people could suffer a rash from the amount of urushiol it would take to cover the head of a pin. Some samples of urushiol, hundreds of years old, have caused a reaction in people with high sensitivity. Some states, including California, cover a poison oak rash under workers compensation.

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