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Why is poison ivy posion?
Poison ivy produces an oil called urushiol. Urushiol is an irritant to the skin and other tissue. If you touch the plant you will get the urushiol on you. Even long dead poison ivy vines can still be coated with the oil.
Can Benadryl help poison ivy in the mouth?
Unfortunately no -- diphenhydramine cannot help with poison ivy / urushiol toxicity. Diphenhydramine, an excellent antihistaminem has no effect on urushiol.
What in poison ivy makes people allergic to it?
Poison ivy (and its cousins poison oak and poison sumac) contains an oily substance called urushiol. About 1/3 of people are allergic to urushiol. The leaves and branches of the poison ivy plant contain urushiol, and breaking the plant releases additional urushiol to the surface. Burning the poison ivy plant will release the urushiol into the air, possibly causing serious inflammation of the throat and lungs. Also, unlike some allergens, repeated exposure to urushiol can increase a person's sensitivity.If you think you may have touched a poison ivy plant, as soon as possible you should wash the affected area with soap and cold water. Hot water will disperse the urushiol over a larger area, possibly making it much worse. You can buy specially formulated soaps like Tecnu that will bind to the urushiol, allowing it to be washed off harmlessly.Also, note that dogs and cats and other animals will happily play in poison ivy without being affected, but they will get the urushiol on their fur. If you then touch the animal, you get urushiol on your hands, which you can then spread to other parts of your body or to other people.
What is the best solvent for urushiol oils?
cyclo hexane
How is urishiol oil made?
Urushiol oil is extracted from plants. It is a mixture of compounds. Which are substituted benzenediols. All of these seem to be nasty skin allergens. see wikipedia urushiol article for full molecular structures.
What is the chemical in poison ivy poison oak and poison sumac called?
Urushiol
How does poison ivy spread?
No, although scratching damages the skin and leaves open wounds, which may infect. Poison Ivy, Oak, Sumac -- all secrete Urushiol, an oil which causes the antigen reaction. Once it's absorbed or washed off, it's gone. The serous fluid in the resultant blisters is NOT antigenic.
Enzyme that makes poison ivy poisonous?
It is not exactly an enzyme that makes poison ivy poisonous, rather a mix of chemicals known as Urushiol. Urushiol is an organic oil toxin found in plants of the Family Anacardiaceae (e.g. poison oak, poison ivy, and poison sumac). It causes the allergic skin rash on contact, known as urushiol-induced contact dermatitis.Urushiol is a mixture of organic molecules appearing together as a yellow liquid. Each consists of a catechol substituted with an alkyl chain that has 15 or 17 carbon atoms. The alkyl group may be saturated or unsaturated; urushiol oil is a mixture of saturated and unsaturated molecules. The mixture varies with the vegetative species. Whereas Western poison oak urushiol contains chiefly catechols with C17 side chains, poison ivy and poison sumac yield mostly catechols with C15 side chains. The allergic reaction is dependent on the degree of unsaturation of the alkyl chain. Less than half of the general population reacts with the saturated urushiol alone, but over 90% react with urushiol containing at least two degrees of unsaturation (double bonds).The toxic effects of urushiol are indirect, mediated by an induced autoimmune response. Urushiol chemically reacts with, binds to and changes the shape of integral membrane proteins on exposed skin cells. Affected proteins interfere with the immune system's ability to recognize these cells as normal parts of the body (perhaps causing the immune system to mistake them for invading parasites), causing a T-cell mediated immune response. This immune response is directed towards the complex of urushiol derivatives bound in the skin proteins, attacking the cells as if they were foreign bodies.
What is the life span of of the urushiol oil found in poison ivy plant?
1-5 years
Why is eating raw cashews bad for you?
Eating them is bad for you because they contain a chemical found in poison Ivy-Urushiol
What is an anacardic acid?
An anacardic acid is a yellow liquid obtainable from the shell of the cashew nut, closely related to urushiol.
What chemical is in poison ivy?
The troublemaking compound in poison ivy is called "urushiol". It is very potent and tenacious. Burning poison ivy plants releases smoke filled with urushiol, which can create respiratory havoc if inhaled. Once killed (Round-Up works well), the plants should be buried.
