Beware!

With summer, poison ivy is back!



Although it doesn't affect everybody, those that are affected go through itching hell for at least a couple of weeks!



This is what poison ivy looks like: when young it's reddish, shiny and the leaves point downward.
It later becomes green and looses it's shine. Sometimes a bush, sometimes climbing, it always features three leaves.





One of it's dangers is that it can be very small, almost unnoticeable...yet, it's far from innocent!

Tomato leaves and Impatiens capensis (crushed and applied on redness of the skin) are thought to help relieve the itchyness if not the propagation to other parts of the body.


Impatiens capensis © 2006 Derek Ramsey (Ram-Man)