I'm thinking of adding a hotel sized bar of soap to my first aid kit. For basic sanitation after treating a wound, but also for poison ivy/oak washing and removing similar oils. ( might help with thistles as well.)

Great idea! Maybe keep it in a ziplock bag so there's no post-use leakage?

germicidal soap - yes. you need nothing special. buy a normal large bar from the supermarket and trim off the ends if you need something smaller.

word of caution - does not work well for poison ivy. you will need other things to get that off.

Pete2

Not a bad idea at all. Peraps adding a baby type wash cloth would be a good companion to the bar soap also.

Imho, ymmv: bar soap is bulky, creates a nasty mess once used, functions poorly with cold,hard water generally available on an outing. Liquid soaps are easier to manage and better suited for cold water function in my experience: betadine scrub, Dr. Bronners or dawn detergent might be a better choice.

IME, washing a wound in a timely fashion beats all the antibiotic topical goop in the world.

I agree with nursemike. Bar soap is better than nothing, but it takes a lot of clean water to rinse away the residue. That's a consideration since wound cleansing is done with the cleanest water available (your drinking water supply).

Liquid soap all the way.

we always used dish washing detergent when we went camping when I was a kid.

Pete's right. The inflammatory agent of poison ivy/oak/sumac is Urushiol. It's an oil so water and soap won't do much more than spread it; not good. Do a search for tecnu. It removes the urushiol. No connection.

I keep a bar of soap, wrapped in a wash cloth, inside one of those plastic mesh fruit bag thingies, with a little zip tie closure. It's in a ziplock bag in my BOB, but in my hygiene kit not the FAK. Even a small bar has always seemed to big to me for a FAK, when there are other cleaning options available.

For example, I read the other day about washing poison ivy off with rubbing alcohol rather than soap. More effective, apparently, and alcohol pads seem like they could save space in the FAK over soap and water.

Hmmm ...

I've always read that washing thoroughly with soap and water ASAP is the best reaction to contact.

Center for Diseases Control says:

"Immediately rinse skin with rubbing alcohol, specialized poison plant washes, degreasing soap (such as dishwashing soap) or detergent, and lots of water.

Rinse frequently so that wash solutions do not dry on the skin and further spread the urushiol."

Of course the real problem is when you don't know you've contacted poison ivy (or similar) ... until the rash start showing up. By then its typically too late.

Besides the more commonly known poisonous plants, don't forget the nightmare of wild parsnip. Its leaves have a "solar accelerator" that can lead to 2nd degree burns and will pigment the skin for years.

FDA Advice

Poison ivy and other poison plant rashes can't be spread from person to person. But it is possible to pick up the rash from plant oil that may have stuck to clothing, pets, garden tools, and other items that have come in contact with these plants. The plant oil lingers (sometimes for years) on virtually any surface until it's washed off with water or rubbing alcohol.

The rash will only occur where the plant oil has touched the skin, so a person with poison ivy can't spread it on the body by scratching. It may seem like the rash is spreading if it appears over time instead of all at once. But this is either because the plant oil is absorbed at different rates in different parts of the body or because of repeated exposure to contaminated objects or plant oil trapped under the fingernails. Even if blisters break, the fluid in the blisters is not plant oil and cannot further spread the rash.


Tips for Prevention


Wash your pet if it may have brushed up against poison ivy, oak, or sumac. Use pet shampoo and water while wearing rubber gloves, such as dishwashing gloves. Most pets are not sensitive to poison ivy, but the oil can stick to their fur and cause a reaction in someone who pets them.
Wash your skin in cool water as soon as possible if you come in contact with a poisonous plant. The sooner you cleanse the skin, the greater the chance that you can remove the plant oil or help prevent further spread. per FDA Here

I will agree with most of the above - but not quite all. I happen to have skin that is very sensitive to the poison ivy toxin. definitely I can tell you that soap and water is useless for me. But I can also say that very definitely I can spread the stuff from one area of my body to another by rubbing. the secondary "infection" is not nearly as bad as the primary spot - but it's there alright.

it makes sense to me that it is some kind of oil. thanks very much to the person who suggested tecnu - have not heard of it but will try it.

finally, I will mention this. at one time I learned that Native Americans in California used to increase their resistance to poison ivy - by nibbling tiny amounts of the small leaves. I was tempted to try this - but fortunately sanity prevailed and I did not. I can't imagine how much of a mess my stomach and intestines would have been in - if I had done something crazy like that. I say "crazy" because I later learned that the same Native American tribe already had a pretty good resistance to the effects of poison ivy - it was something in their genetics. They had lived in those bush-covered environments for a long time and built up natural resistance. But for people like me with no resistance - internal contact would not be good.

cheers,
Pete2

Pete2 - I knew a guy in New Jersey that was very sensitive to poison ivy. His solution? Goats. He was a caretaker of Nigerian Dwarf goats. They loved poison ivy (and shoe laces). He milked the goats and made yogurt. His immunity to poison ivy increased dramatically.

Would hand sanitizer work?

"Pete2 - I knew a guy in New Jersey that was very sensitive to poison ivy. His solution? Goats. He was a caretaker of Nigerian Dwarf goats. They loved poison ivy (and shoe laces). He milked the goats and made yogurt. His immunity to poison ivy increased dramatically."

sheer genius! I knew there was a reason why I loved this forum. I will keep that in mind.

Pete2

Hand sanitizer-high in alcohol-will break down the oil which carries the Urushiol. You will still need to wash your hands, or at least rinse them well, though.

As for the topic of this thread, myself, I prefer povoiodine swabs for wound disinfection. I carry a quarter of a bar of soap in my pack, just for hygiene purposes.

"Hand sanitizer-high in alcohol-will break down the oil which carries the Urushiol"

so wiping with rubbing alcohol would also work?
I never thought to try that.
Pete2

I usually carry a 1oz bottle of Dr Bronners unscented soap (the one with pink label) in my EDC bag. Great for travel too.

You will find several poison ivy treatments in individual packets on this site.

http://www.minimus.biz/search.aspx?keyword=poison+ivy

I didn't look for wash type packs but I am sure they carry them also.

I have no affiliation with the company--I just happened to have them in my bookmarks.

Off to get some 1-2 oz soap containers

Wikipedia: "Tecnu is an over-the-counter skin cleanser manufactured by Tec Labs, a pharmaceutical company based in Albany, Oregon. It is intended for use by humans and furry pets after topical exposure to urushiol, the active ingredient in poison oak, poison ivy, and poison sumac.[1] Tecnu is made from deodorized mineral spirits, water, propylene glycol, octylphenoxy-polythoxethanol, mixed fatty acid soap, and fragrance.

The cleanser was invented by former Mead Johnson executive and chemist Dr. Robert Smith during the early 1960s. Tecnu, for "Technically New," was intended to remove radioactive fallout dust from skin. Several years later, his wife discovered another use for the cleanser. After an exposure to poison oak, she washed with Tecnu and did not get urushiol-induced contact dermatitis.[2]"

Small bottle of mineral spirits plus dr. Bronners should be a rough equivalent. Handy for fallout, too.

I recently read where rubbing bar soap on a mosquito bite will help the sting.