----- Original Message -----
From:
s*@yahoo.com
My father removed a fence and took out the posts that had Poison Ivy
growing all over them and piled the posts in the garden. He did not get any
reaction. I was a child in a snow suit with boots and mittens and it was
Winter in Michigan, USA and I played on the fence posts by walking on them and
got Poison Ivy so bad that I had to go to the doctor. Whenever I work in the
garden and it is hot and I am sweaty, I get a very fine rash on exposed
body parts that generally goes away after a shower and lots of soap. Going
into a row of sweet corn also gives me a rash. It seems the older I get the
greater reaction.
Lorraine
With a lot of allergic reactions the main
problem seems to be that once to immune system is sensitized it
never loses the tendency to react to the same and sometimes also other
irritants, and indeed the effect may build up every time you are re-exposed.
Some people for instance are very allergic to wasp or bee venom. The first
time they are stung it may raise a weal, but each time after the swelling
increases in extent and duration and in may cases can become life-threatening.
The only effective treatment in such cases is a shot of ephedrine which
rapidly counteracts the reaction and severely at risk people can get special
ephedrine applicators (called pens I think) which they have to carry with
them at all times.
With such swelling even a few minutes can
sometimes make the difference between life and death. Our daughter when
young and with a sore throat was given one of the old M and B drugs to which
she proved allergic and began to swell all over. We live a good twenty minutes
drive from our hospital and its emergency room and at that time our local Dr
was more or less on his own and this emergency happened on his afternoon
off. I had not myself grasped the full urgency of the problem or I would
have taken off for the hospital anyway, but by the merest chance he actually
stopped at the neighbouring house to visit and I spotted him and ran to ask
what I should do. After one glance he rushed to his car for his bag
and gave her an ephedrine injection. What I had not appreciated was that the
swift swelling of her head was actually closing her throat and in a very short
time would have strangled her.
Happily that was the end of the scare as it
stopped the swelling in its tracks, though for several days afterwards until
all the symptoms finally vanished she looked a bit like a little lion. I
am happy to report she and her husband are just at this very time celebrating
her 50th birthday by an overseas trip to Britain, so did actually manage to
rear her successfully after al!.
I know at one time specialists were offering
desensitizing treatments for the worse sufferers, but I have not heard
much of these in recent years, so maybe they were not all that
effective.
Moira
