Recurring Poison Oak!

[ItchyRash]

I was badly affected on the forearm by mistakenly cutting Poison Oak with a chainsaw. This was two full years ago. It was treated with Prednisone, properly tapering off. With absolutely no possibility of contact since then, the rash has recurred in EXACTLY the same 10" X 1" spot caused by the pitch from the chainsaw blade. Does the Poison Oak oil lie dormant in the skin and periodically resurface?

[W1CAS]

I am going through this very issue at this time.  About this time of year in 2011, I had my first and a horrible experience with poison ivy rash.  I cut our own Christmas tree at one of those farms and apparently cut through very mature poison ivy vines, ripped them out of the tree with my gloved hands.  I had lesions on my lower torso, left thigh, and particularly my left forearm.  It was really gross and kept going and going.  I took a lot of photos.  Friends commented that I had leprosy, gangrene or such.  It finally went away after what must have been a month.  I was on both topical steroids and had a brief and intense dose of prednisone - a several day "pack".  I could not believe how much fluid oozed from my arm over the course of several weeks.  It was so gross!

Well, I have had absolutely no exposure to the outdoors like this and yet, I had itchy spots appear in the same generalized areas as before - not as severe (yet), but uncomfortable.  I was able to stop scratching the arm and even though the large bumps are very swollen (raised >1mm above mean surface), they have not begun to discharge.  My left thigh is another matter.  The rash is about the size of small banana and the middle has an oozing area, about the size of 2 U.S. quarters.  I tried to make due with the first aid kit at work today, but it oozed through my pants all day.  So gross.  Fortunately, I was able to avoid interacting with people today for the most part.

This is insane.  The professionals tell us it can't be and yet here we are with these symptoms.  I do recall my dermatologist told me in 2011 that the areas that were compromised may scar and be sensitive going forward.  I wonder if this isn't what's up.  Really, we talk of "having poison ivy" or "having poison oak", as if that were a condition.  The oil is just the trigger - the nasty freaking trigger.  What I'm and you're going through is a reaction.  So it stands to reason what my dermatologist was telling me could explain this on some level.  Why these spots only?  Well, I am extremely stressed and getting very little sleep at present.  The weather very recently changed to very cold and the heaters are on in full force.  So the air is dry.  I drink way too much caffeine.  My skin is generally already sensitive, even when I'm sleeping and not drinking so much coffee.  So it gets really dry and all of my skin is shocked generally the same... but the areas that were whacked by poison ivy 2 years ago, they are somehow more sensitive / weaker.  So they display the issues.

This is my theory for now.

Good luck to all of you!

Chris

[bootness]

I have a similar issue; I got a really bad case of poison oak two years ago, which went systemic, and I had to take prednisone for quite a while before it got better. Ever since then, if I eat anything with mangos in it, or sweetened with mango juice, I will have a recurrence of a rash in the exact same spots! (Mangos are in the poison oak family.) Also, any kind of skin irritation (I am prone to contact dermatitis as well, and I'm reactive to metal also) may cause those spots to erupt in a rash again. I hate taking prednisone, due to the many uncomfortable side effects and weight gain, but so far that is the only thing that can calm my skin reactions down. All I can figure is that it is some kind of auto-immune related thing, that my skin "remembers" where it was damaged and any kind of irritant will make it rash up.

[poisonoaknj]

I was covered in poison oak in 2001-2002 at a maintenance job and I've had nothing but problems with my skin ever since. I've been to allergists, they keep saying it's a coincidence and I had a pre existing condition (contact dermatitis) and they're extremely dismissive of my story. I've had to take zyrtec ever since (we're on 13 years now) and it's the only thing that helps. Both forearms, my hands, my left eye and my legs were covered and completely swollen and are still sensitive. I was working with guys who thought it'd be funny to do this to the new guy (me), to clear brush and send me in knowing I didn't know what I was dealing with. Anyway, the reason I'm on here is that I've had a huge problem with my right hand, to this day the palm blisters up from touching old metal, cardboard, dust, etc. The allergists keep saying it's contact dermatitis and that I already had it, but this never ever happened until I was covered with poison oak and now it runs my life. I was very active before this, now I have to work my life around it. I've only started to take off most of the 70 lbs the prednisone had put on me being the case was so severe, it really turned into a long term nightmare. I would LOVE to hear that someone had an idea of something I could do to calm this blistering down. Maybe a shot of some kind? The reason I've gone to allergists is to ask that question and they poo poo the whole thing, which just adds insult to injury. If anyone has any similar problems or ideas, I'd be hugely grateful. Thanks

[Pruner]

Thanks for your comments - now I don't feel so alone!  My story is that I was dragging a poison oak "tree" after cutting it and somehow the sharp trunk got between my gloves and sleeve and cut my wrist!  I immediately applied Technu as deep inside the cut as possible and on the skin of my arm.  Sure enough, I developed a bad rash at the site of the cut and the rash continued to pop up in a variety of spots over the next month.  The worst were two large oval areas on the tops of both thighs---the right one was larger and it became severely edematous and eventually developed oozing ulcers!  By the end of 2 months, all was well and I went a whole month without a rash ...until 3 days ago when both thigh lesions re-appeared suddenly!  They are growing and getting itchier as I write this.  Would love to know the medical mechanism for recurrent poison oak without re-exposure.  

[ChrissyB5]

I got poison oak about 2 months ago and it was the worst thing that has ever happened to me physically.  It started on my neck and spread all the way around it, down my chest, up to my face, all around my stomach and hips, down the front of both legs to the backs of my calves...it was bad.  I was miserable for 3 weeks and almost couldn't function for the first 2.  Needless to say it finally went away with treatment and I have been symptom free for a month. All of a sudden 3 days ago I wake up itching...look at my leg and I've broken out in the rash again. I did began my work out regiment 3 days ago since summer is quickly approaching and I am 100% positive that I washed and cleaned EVERYTHING that I had with me that day 2 months ago and haven't been re-exposed.  The only thing that can explain this is that I have irritated these poison oak foreign bodies that are obviously still circulating my lymphatic system possibly through excessive sweating.  If this IS the case then poison oak has now become the bane of my existence.  Oh if I could just go back 2 months ago and just be more careful.

[ChrissyNN]

I had a bad case in December on my knee mostly, which kept popping up in random places on my body, elbows, hips...finally got rid of it.  Felt an itch last night, looked at my knee and there was a fresh set of blistered up poison ivy!! What is going on??  I have been stressed out all week, could that have ANY connection?  Only other possiblity, a blanket I used, may have been touched back in December...but how long does it stay on fabric, and also, what are the odds it would appear same spot on my knee from that anyway?  Not likely, I think.  It seems like it's just harbored in my body and chooses to re appear.  Glad I'm not crazy or the only one experiencing this strange reaction.