Mar
I'm Pregnant and My Husband has Poison Oak should i be worried? I've never had Poison Oak before but he is allergic and he got it just by being near someone with it for 5 minutes. Can i get poison oak just by touching him?
Answer:
The Poison Oak rash is cause by a chemical called urushiol. This is present in poison oak leaves, branches, roots, everything. When you touch it, the oil is absorbed into the skin. This is a poisonous substance, and the rash is the result of your body's immune system fighting against this invader.
You can get Poison Oak by touching the plant, its leaves, roots, whatever. If an animal, such as your dog, gets in Poison Oak you can get it from petting the dog (the dog won't get the rash though). You can get it from your clothing that touches Poison Oak.
The rash doesn't appear until after the oil is absorbed into your skin, because it is caused by your body's immune system.
So the answer is no, once you get the rash, you can't spread it around by scratching. The oil that seeps from your wounded body isn't urushiol, its secreted by your body.
The reason most people think it will spread is because of secondary infection. You touch a poison oak plant, the oil is on your hands. You rub your face, it gets there. The oil is spread. Now after a while, there isn't as much oil to spread around, so some parts get hit more heavily. What this means is, the rash appears soon is some spots, and takes a couple of days in other spots. This gives the illusion that you've spread the rash by scratching or whatever.
Just make sure you aren't getting brand-new infection from your clothing. Whenever I go hiking, as soon as I get home I put all my clothes, shoes, everything in a bag, and wash it all. Only through extreme paranoia can you avoid poison oak. The alternative is to never go anywhere fun.