27 Surprising And Interesting Poison Ivy Facts That You Didn't Know

Poison ivy is a vine-like plant that grows in North America and Asia.

The plant contains an oil, urushiol, that can cause mild to severe skin allergy upon touch. Poison oak and poison sumac trees also have this oil.

If you come in contact with a poison ivy leaf, root, or stem, it will cause redness, itching, or swelling at least. If the poison ivy rash is severe, it might cause nausea, fever, shortness of breath, and more other symptoms.

Poison ivy is not only known as a plant but is also known as a fictional supervillain character among comic book fans.

Read on to know more facts about poison ivy and if you like this article, then also check out yucca plant facts and yarrow plant facts.

Fun Facts About Poison Ivy

When we hear poison ivy, the first thing that comes to mind is the poisonous plant that gives you rash, redness, and swelling. However, there is actually much more to poison ivy. The plant can be used in homeopathic and other treatments and there's even a comic character named Poison Ivy.

Poison Ivy aka Dr. Pamela Lillian Isley is a fictional comic character created by Sheldon Moldoff and Robert Kanigher and subsequently published by DC Comics. The character debuted for the first time in the comic Batman, numbered 181 back in 1966. The character is a villain who is an enemy of Batman, another fictional character created by DC Comics.

The superpowers of 'Poison Ivy' reflect her name which is supernatural control over plant life, the power to transfer poison through touch, the ability to project mind-controlling pheromones, complete immunity to all toxins and poisons, and enhanced strength and stamina. Many movies, series, and animations have been made on the character.

Renowned actresses, like Uma Thurman, Drew Barrymore, Peyton List, and many others played the character in the movies.

There was once a serious case of skin irritation caused by poison ivy plant. The victim was a wildlife student who was looking into the body of a recently killed deer. Searching through the stomach content of the dead deer, the student found that the diet of the deer consisted of many poison ivy leaves.

The poison ivy is not contagious, so you cannot give the allergic rash to someone else unless you bring them close to the oil that is found in the poison ivy. The oil may stay in your skin or your clothes and if someone else touches it, that might cause them blisters.

You can cause an infection by scratching the places it itches.

Poison Ivy: Treatment

For mild infections, you can use some remedies at home. However, if it's severe, then do go to the doctor to check if it can cause harm. The main part of the treatment is enduring the itchiness as the infection causes scratching which will cause further infection.

Once you come in contact with the plant, the poison ivy rash might not appear right away. However, once the rash appears, your first and foremost priority would have to be not scratching the rashes. The poison ivy rash goes away on its own within two to three weeks, but till then, keep the rashes cool, dry, and clean.

If the poison ivy rash has appeared in many places on your skin, the doctor might prescribe you oral medicines, like prednisone to reduce any swelling or antibiotics to cure any bacterial infection. The main thing to remember is that scratching the rashes can cause severe infections.

You can do a few things on your own to be relieved from the itches.

You can use some cortisone ointment or cream and calamine creams or lotions that contain menthol for the first few days. These are usually over-the-counter creams.

If you're having trouble sleeping owing to the itching, you can take oral antihistamines, like Benadryl to help you sleep. Claritin, Alavert, and other kinds of loratadine are some over-the-counter antihistamines that won't cause you drowsiness throughout the day.

You can soak the blisters in a cool-water bath with oatmeal-based bath products and about 3.5 oz (100 g) baking soda mixed in it. Do this for 15-30 minutes many times every day.

Don't even wait for rashes to appear if the poison ivy has come close to your eyes, genitals, or widespread over the body.

Swelling, redness, and itching is normal, but if you start to have extreme soreness near the blisters, fever, swollen lymph nodes, shortness of breath, or nausea, then go to the emergency room and if you feel faint or start to have trouble breathing, then call emergency services as soon as possible.

Poison Ivy: Spreading Of The Rash

Poison ivy rashes are caused by urushiol, an oily resin that is also present in poison oak and poison sumac plants. This oil is found in all sorts of poison ivy, oak, and sumac trees.

The oil may get attached to your skin or clothes and from the clothes to your skin. Once it reaches your skin, it will cause an allergic reaction.

Poison sumac, poison oak, and poison ivy contain an oily resin in their roots, stems, and leaves. This oil can cause mild to severe allergic reactions once anyone comes close to the plant.

If you realize the moment you've come in contact with the plant, wash the place right away. It will lessen the chances of getting rashes. These plants are found across North America in abundance.

That's why, it becomes pretty hard to avoid the plant when you've gone gardening, hiking, camping, or other outdoor activities. You can make sure to take a few precautions to avoid coming closely in contact with these poisonous plants.

The safest thing you can do is cover your entire body as much as you can. You can wear gardening or other kinds of gloves, long pants, long-sleeved dresses, and shirts.

Even with covered dresses, you cannot always know whether you've come in contact with the plant. Hence, remove them safely and wash your clothes well enough the moment you reach home.

The allergic reaction usually begins with redness and itchiness. The rashes can start to appear between 12-48 hours after you've come in contact with the plant. A mild allergic reaction can last about 5-12 days, while a severe reaction can last many weeks.

Poison Ivy: Appearance

Poison ivy plants can be hard to recognize. They look similar to a lot of plants. However, the few things that can help you recognize poison ivy are, poison ivy leaves will always be in three-leaf clusters and the plants don't have thorns.

There are four things that define a poison ivy plant: there are always three leaves on a cluster where two leaves are on each side and one in the front, these three leaves grow out of their own stem which connects them to the main vine, the leaves can be seen in alternative arrangements, and the plant does not have any thorns.

Leaves of poison ivy are smooth and shiny with notched edges.

The poison oak leaves are quite rounded and larger in size with hairy, textured surfaces and the clusters of leaves can be of three, five, or seven leaves. Clusters of poison sumac leaves are seen in 7-13 leaves with one leaf by itself at its end.

During spring, the leaves of the poison ivy are either red or are a mixture of green and red. As summer approaches, the leaves become completely green in color. However, the newly blooming leaves start as red.

In the autumn, the ivy leaves become red, yellow, or bright orange-colored. Finally, during winter, the leaves grow deep red in color and then shrivel and fall off. Poison ivy grows like vines on outdoor structures or spread across a large area on the ground.

Characteristics And Features Of Poison Ivy

Poison ivy plants can be benefitting in some cases where they are used to prepare homeopathic medicines. It's still unknown how exactly these medicines work and the proper dosage a person would need depends on a lot of factors.

Homeopathic doctors have worked to make a certain type of medicine from these plants that can be used to treat swelling, rheumatoid arthritis, itchy skin disorders, menstrual problems, and pain. It's not yet known how the medicine works, but the dosage of the medicine depends on the person's health, age, and many other biological factors.

If you don't take the right dosage it might cause severe internal issues in your body which can even stimulate your immune system. If you absolutely need to take the medicine, be very cautious and follow the directions written on the labels of the product and consult with a healthcare professional, your physician, or pharmacist.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for 27 surprising and interesting poison ivy facts that you didn't know then why not take a look at wild ginger plant facts, or teasel plant facts.