#i really want to touch the poison ivy root vine things because I'm so curious about what it'd feel like

[ceaseless-rambler]

@rowan-the-dragon poison ivy facts!! I'm pretty sure these first couple are fairly well know but. The poison ivy rash is caused by an oil called urushiol, which most people are allergic to. This oil is also on poison oak and poison sumac, and is why you want to keep pets away from these plants. Even if they can't get poison ivy, you can pick the oil up off their fur.

Poison oak and poison sumac aren't the only plants closely related to poison ivy. Mangos, cashews, and pistachios are all part of the same family. I've heard that it's common for people to have sensitivity to eating mango skin and that it's often recommended that you don't do that. I've eaten a lot of mango skin in my life (it's not very good. I don't know why I ate so much) but I'm also immune to poison ivy so I'm not a good source on whether mango skin is comfortable to eat.

This brings me to my next fact! Poison ivy immunity is a thing, but it's a thing that goes away with exposure. Poison ivy sensitivity in general gets worse with exposure, so if you get poison ivy several times it's likely to be worse each time. I still try to avoid poison ivy because I like my immunity and I would very much like to keep it.

Poison ivy isn't super easy to treat, but if washed off immediately you can avoid the worst of it. There's also a plant called jewelweed that can treat it fairly well, although you have to apply the sap pretty early on. Once the rash develops, getting rid of the oil won't get rid of the rash. Luckily, jewelweed tends to grow pretty close to poison ivy, so if you've been exposed while out hiking and might not have access to soap for a while, there's solid chance you can find jewelweed, in which case you should apply the liquid from the stem to the exposure site.

Of course, avoidance is really the best method, so wear long pants if it's feasible, and keep pets on trails so they don't spread the oil to you. Identification is useful too. You've probably heard a little rhyme about "leaves of three", but plenty of plants have groupings of three leaves. Poison ivy leaves are pointed at the tips, are not serrated or smooth on the edges but rather have irregular notches along the outside. The stem is smooth, no thorns or anything. Also, do not touch the furry ropes that you sometimes see going up around trees. These occur when the poison ivy grows higher in the tree, and are the roots. Because every part of poison ivy has urushiol, these will also give you a rash

Every time I see one of those capybaras in an orange bath I think about how capybaras are one of the only non-human animals that can get scurvy. Humans, guinea pigs, capybaras, and a handful of other primates consist of everyone who can get scurvy because most animals can synthesize their own vitamin C. Interestingly, guinea pigs are pretty much the only non-human with any sort of poison ivy sensitivity, although it's not nearly as bad as ours. There are maybe a couple other primates who are sometimes sensitive but again, much less sensitive than we are. I don't remember what my point here was but it's cool information