It is very important for those of us who take our children out into the woods for nature study to be able to recognize poison oak, poison ivy, and poison sumac.
Where we live we have an abundance of poison oak and this time of the year it is actually very pretty and easy to identify. I know in other parts of the country there is poison ivy and sumac as well.
Here is a very informative link for you to click through:
http://walking.about.com/od/medfirstaid/ss/poisonoakivy.htm
This video does a great job of explaining everything you should know before you take a walk in the woods and potentially come into contact with poison oak, poison ivy, or sumac. Knowledge is always a good thing.
My husband says that in his job as a wildland firefighter, they use Tecnu after any exposure. We are going to get some and have it on hand for those times we think we may have come into contact with poison oak.
If you have any questions, please leave a comment and I will try to find answers for you as best I can. I would hate for you to unknowingly expose anyone to something potentially dangerous. On the other hand, don’t get too worried either. Just remember the “leaves of three, let it be” rule and you should do a good job of avoiding contact. We have had our share of poison oak rashes in our family and I think most of our exposure comes from our family pets. Don’t miss that part of the video.
We have quite a few new participants in the Outdoor Hour Challenges so I want to give a big welcome to everyone….hope to see your nature study entries soon.