A primer on summer safety

FDA Consumer, May-June, 2004 by Michelle Meadows

Rashes from poison ivy, oak, or sumac are all caused by urushiol, a substance in the sap of the plants. Poison plant rashes can't be spread from person to person, but it's possible to pick up a rash from urushiol that sticks to clothing, tools, balls, and pets.

What you can do: Dunphy says she's been able to avoid an outbreak in the last two years mainly by learning what poison ivy looks like and avoiding it. According to the American Academy of Dermatology, while "leaves of three, beware of me," is the old saying, "leaflets of three, beware of me" is even better because each leaf has three smaller leaflets.

"I also wash my garden tools regularly, especially if there is the slightest chance that they've come into contact with poison ivy," Dunphy says. If you know you will be working around poison ivy, wear long pants, long sleeves, boots, and gloves.

Hikers, emergency workers, and others who have a difficult time avoiding poison ivy may benefit from a product called Ivy Block, made by EnviroDerm Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Louisville, Ky. It's the only FDA-approved product for preventing or reducing the severity of rashes from poison ivy, oak, or sumac. The OTC lotion contains bentoquatam, a substance that forms a clay-like coating on the skin.

If you come into contact with poison ivy, oak, or sumac, wash the skin in cool water as soon as possible to prevent the spread of urushiol. If you get a rash, oatmeal baths and calamine lotion can dry up blisters and bring relief from itching. Treatment may include OTC or prescription corticosteroids and antihistamines.

Poisoning in Children

The parents of a 2-year-old boy called the Nebraska Regional Poison Center in Omaha last summer when he accidentally sprayed cleaning disinfectant into his eye. He developed a burn in the cornea. Another 2-year-old boy spent several days in the hospital and survived after drinking charcoal lighter fluid that had been left by the barbecue pit. In another case, a 3-year-old girl got into a bottle containing insecticide and died several days later.

"We see the calls go up every spring and summer," says loan McVoy, a nurse at the poison center. Children may accidentally ingest sunscreens, berries, cleaning solvents, insect repellents, pesticides, plants and mushrooms, and hydrocarbons in the form of gasoline, kerosene, and charcoal fluid.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) no longer recommends that syrup of ipecac be used routinely to induce vomiting in poisoning cases. The main reason that the AAP changed its recommendation in 2003 was that, although it seems to make sense to induce vomiting to empty the stomach contents after a poisoning, research hasn't shown that ipecac-induced vomiting is beneficial in improving the clinical outcome of accidental poisoning cases.

Other concerns are that the continued vomiting caused by ingesting ipecac could prevent children from keeping down the activated charcoal they may be given in the emergency room. Charcoal binds to poison and keeps it out of the bloodstream. "There are also some substances that you don't want coming back up because they do more damage, such as drain cleaner and other corrosives," says Arlene Solbeck, an FDA scientist.