Vaccine!

[nastygunz]

Researchers are reportedly working on a vaccine to combat humans' response to poison ivy.

According to Scientific American, scientists at the University of Mississippi and Hapten Sciences are "proceeding with a compound called PDC-APB" to be injected once every year or two to prevent the poison plant's effects.


"We believe the shot will lead to desensitization and reduce or eliminate reactions to poison ivy, oak and sumac," Ray Hage, CEO of Hapten Sciences, told the outlet. "Every March I start to get e-mails from people asking, ‘Where is the drug? Can I be in a trial?’"

The publication said Hage's team, which has licensed the compound, passed initial safety tests.

[Okanagan]

That would be a great advance in practical medicine for many people. Poison oak does terrible things to people, or at least to most people.  My BIL's arm swelled up and was raw ulcerous oozing flesh that looked like the only solution was to amputate it.  Smoke from wildfires got poison oak traces into his lungs and caused great pain.

On the other hand, I am immune to poison oak.  It never bothered me, even when others beside me got terrible ulcers, so I finally rubbed some on my arm as a test.  It had less effect than if I rub lawn grass, to which I have a mild allergy.

Docs gave me an allergy test one time, which consisted of putting a drop of each test substance on my back in a pattern, and then poking a needle through the drop into my skin.  I think they tested 100 potential allergens.  If you are allergic, the poked spot forms a red lump, like a bad mosquito bite or bee sting.  Poison oak produced no reaction at all. 

I wonder if they are working with blood from immune people like me to produce a vaccine? 

[nastygunz]

 It sounds like they developed it from the actual oil from the plants:

https://www.haptensciences.com/products

[pitw]

Oke must have a blast sucking folk into thinking they are safe.

[Okanagan]

Oke must have a blast sucking folk into thinking they are safe.

I've thought out a few ways to get revenge with poison oak, merely by having some of the oil from the plant on my hand,  but have never carried through.  Such schemes are unworthy of us upstanding Fins and Fur folk.  But it has been tempting a time or two when dealing with deliberate dishonesty.

[nastygunz]

 Back in my younger days I Mail ordered some itching powder off the back of a comic book didn't really work all that well on my younger brother 

[Hawks Feather]

Back in my younger days I Mail ordered some itching powder off the back of a comic book didn't really work all that well on my younger brother 

Sounds like you were a very caring brother who wasted a buck on thinking you could 'get him'.

[JohnP]

I have no allergies that I'm aware of and have been in the bush and jungles of some pretty far-out countries.