Don’t Scratch that Itch – Poison Oak

It was a beautiful evening picnic in the hills overlooking the bay and city of San Francisco. Good friends, good wine and, little did I know, poison oak. Two days later I woke up in the middle of the night thinking I had a mosquito bite. But I when I turned the lights on and looked at my leg my heart sunk. I clearly didn’t catch it early, so I was going to be in for some painful itching.

I’ve had poison oak so many times that I keep a bottle of Technu soap in my shower (a true live-saver). But I was amazed at what I didn’t know about this nasty plant and its insidious urushiol oil. I had always thought that scratching spread the stuff. I also thought that the oil “got in your system” and popped out in other spots. None of this is true! Click on the binder below to get the real story about poison oak from sources such as the FDA and the American Academy of Dermatology.