Leaves of Three, Let it Be

 Have you ever had one of those minor annoyances that isn't really a big deal in the grand scheme of things, but is just intrusive enough to cast a pall over everything? Like if you step in a puddle of water just before entering a really nice restaurant and can't focus on the juicy steak in front of you because your are distracted by your wet shoe and squishy sock under the table? That's what my last few weeks have been like. My "puddle" was poison ivy.

This series of unfortunate events started one evening. We have a small tree in our front yard surrounding by an "island" of ankle high plants. (I'm sure there's some fancy landscaping term for that arrangement, but you get the idea.) At one edge of the "island" there was some kind of fast-growing "weed" sticking up here and there, creating quite an unsightly mess. As this was right next to where my (newly moved-in) neighbor's yard starts, I thought I'd take advantage of the fact that they were out for the evening and do some quick cleanup. 

I put on a pair of gloves and pulled out anything and everything that was sticking up more than the surroundings. At one point, I stepped onto the "island" to pull some stuff from closer to the interior. The whole job was done in about 15 minutes. 

That happened on a Friday. On Monday, I noticed some raised red scratches or welts on my wrists and arms that were a little itchy. My first thought was mosquito bites or, worse, bedbugs or something. I did briefly consider poison ivy or poison oak, but couldn't recall touching any plants that day. I bought some over-the-counter cream to on my way home from work to help with the itching. 

By Wednesday, it was pretty clear that I was getting a rash that might not go away on its own, so I made a doctor's appointment for that afternoon. That's when I learned that, depending on the person, a poison ivy rash can take several days to appear and, because the plant's oil (which actually causes the reaction) gets on different parts of skin in different amounts, the rash can appear to "spread" as the reaction occurs. 

The doctor prescribed some steroid cream, though I had to wait until Thursday evening for my local drug store to fill the prescription as it was initially out of stock. Even after using the cream twice daily for a few days, the rash still seemed to be slowly "spreading" towards my fingers.

That's when I learned one of those tidbits of information that are kind of scary when you think about them -- the oil from the poison ivy plant can remain active for up to a year after contact, so any oil residue left on clothing, etc., can cause the same kind of reaction as touching the plant, depending on the amount. I had washed the clothes that I had been wearing, but had neglected the shoes! Covid-19 has trained us all to avoid touching our face when we are out and about and to always wash our hands when coming back inside. This made perfect sense as to why I was getting a "spread" to my fingers, but never had anything on my face...

So there was another round of washing (sheets, shoes, pillows, etc.) anything that I might have inadvertently contaminated with poison ivy oil.

Now three weeks on, the rash is finally beginning to subside. I was usually able to resist the urge to scratch, but there were a few days (ironically right at the start of annual leave from work) when the itching between my fingers was quite annoying and frustrating. (It is very hard to avoid moving your fingers if you actually want to do anything.)  

Though dealing with poison ivy is small potatoes compared to so many other problems people are facing these days, it is still a good idea to heed the advice we got as kids, "Leaves of three, let it be."