16 July 2004 00:40
cause and effectyes, i'm up past my bedtime.
no, i haven't fallen into a hole.
yes, i've been out of it for a while.
that might have had something ot do with me falling into a ravine yes.
but hole? no.
but i'm back. and it's nice to be alert for once.
that probably has something to do with me quitting drugs.
no, i haven't been doing cocaine
but they had me doped up on some antihistamine
so i'd come home from work and go to bed
and i don't remember much.
i remember falling into the ravine.
that was kind of funny actually, at the time
{creepy music & stage whisper} ...AT THE TIME..
oh yeah, i came down with poison oak somewhere in there
not mentionioning any names {cough}ravine{cough}
i woke up the next morning with a very itchy spot on my right bicep
which was annoying, because my right bicep is hard enough to find in the first place
much less when it's covered with blisters.
i'll spare you the details with the short short version.
because basically, it's not pretty.
but i did take pictures
(just for posterity)
so if you're really curious...
but my sister said it was completely gross.
and she didn't even look at them, so imagine how much worse it would be if she did
but htere's good news!!
i've ditched the drugs and gone homeopathic.
i was reading this website (it was on the internet, it has to be true)
that said to use hot water.
"Be sure to cleanse the skin, even if you are too late to prevent the rash entirely before using a hot bath or hot shower. Heat releases histamine, the substance in the cells of the skin which causes the intense itching. Therefore, a hot shower or bath will cause intense itching as the histamine is released. The heat is gradually increased to the maximum tolerable and continued until the itching has subsided. This process will deplete the cells of histamine and the patient will often obtain eight hours of relief from the itching." --poisonivy.aesir.com
that made sense to me (but remember, i was on benadril)
so i gave it a shot... likta made me pass out, but it worked.
but i still have issues. i did two loads of laundry, ran the dishwasher, and my roomate took a shower.
which might explain why i'm boiling water on the stove right now...
but completely fails to mention why i'm still awake.
and i'm almost eager (almost is critical)
to get a mosquito bite to see if it works there too?
the water has to be ver ver ver hot.
maybe time will tell.
but i doubt it will tell why i went into the ravine in the first place.
moral of the story?
never get poision oak or ivy or maple
never learn to spell poision
never mechanically fasten your shoes to your bicycle pedals in such a manner that makes it impossible to remove your person (preferably with dignity intact) from the bicycle before it tumbles into aforementioned ravine.
stay away from ravines too, but if you decide to go near one, at least take a friend who will laugh at your dumb antics as you're asuming a vertical velocity vector. then it's at least worthwhile. tk was one such friend. after i disappeared, he came running to my rescue, but once he found out i was still alive, he stopped have a good laugh before he pulled my bike out. "dude, you just kept going. first you disappeared, then your bike disappeared. i was like, 'now what am i gonna do?'" meanwhile, i was sliding further into a deadly bed of poison oak vines. then he had the gall to ask me three days later when i wanted to go riding again. "when i can move my right arm, i'll call you." yes. i'm typing all this with my left arm, which incidentally, started getting blisters on day four. yes, i was being sarcastic. about the typing bit.
but i'm telling you, this hot water thing really works. if you have a hotwater heater that can take the stress, a hot shower every six hours or so makes a medium case of poison oak seem nonexistant. i say medium because of some research i did (day five, when my elboe swelled to to 130% it's normal size).. this stuff takes out wildfire fighters and forest workers in droves. if you inhale smoke from buring poison oak... it'll blister the inside of your lungs. youch. but medium might not get across to you exactly how extravagent i was when rolling around in this stuff. the only way to do that would be to show you pictures, but i'd like to keep my friends ;).
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[urushiol oil is hte oil secreted by poison oak]
Only 1 nanogram (billionth of a gram) needed to cause rash
Average is 100 nanograms for most people
1/4 ounce of urushiol is all that is needed to cause a rash in every person on earth
500 people could itch from the amount covering the head of a pin
Specimens of urushiol several centuries old have found to cause dermatitis in sensitive people.
1 to 5 years is normal for urushiol oil to stay active on any surface including dead plants
Derived from urushi, Japanese name for lacquer
When the Japanese restored the gold leaf on the golden Temple in Kyoto, they painted the urushiol lacquer on it to preserve and maintain the gold. Guess you could say that you would be caught red handed if you stole it.
from: (very useful)
http://poisonivy.aesir.com/view/fastfacts.html
for quick info:
knoledge.org
these people went all scientific on me:
waynesword.palomar.edu
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