Hudson River Skin Irritation?

[Justin]

Thanks guys. Nothing unusual in what I ate or drank, and I don’t recall seeing anything that resembles the wild parsnip, but that is good information to know. It’s a bit of a mystery I guess. I even have some spots on my back where I can’t even reach.

[TCD]

Was your dog with you? A friend who is sensitive to poison ivy has gotten it several times by transfer from the dog. Dog can have the oil on fur, transfer to car seat, backpack, etc., it can show up anywhere.

[Justin]

No dog.

[Justin]

Ok I think I know what it was. My campfire.
I had a small stick fire during the evening and in the morning to cook some food, and I gathered dead wood along the shore which no doubt had probably been in contact with the poison ivy at one point or another, and the smoke from the fire is what infected my skin. I do recall reading somewhere that you can be infected from poison ivy smoke, and you can even breath it in which can affect your lungs. Thankfully that did not happen, but I did have my shirt off for a while because it was quite warm out, which probably explains why I have the rash all over my chest and on my back. Doh!
Live and learn. Needless to say I won’t be visiting that area again anytime soon.

[montcalm]

That's crazy - I would have never thought you could get poison ivy from your campfire!

[TCD]

Glad you figured out the mystery!

It's actually a known phenomenon to be affected by PI as a result of burning it. (I didn't know from the OP that a campfire had been part of the day.)

My mother had that very badly, some years before I was born, and warned me about it. In about 1950, my parents were clearing their building lot, and they burned a pile of brush. There ended up being PI in the brush, and my mother was very sick for several days from breathing the smoke (PI lesions in the mouth, nose and throat).

[nutmeg creeker]

Actually, many more years ago than I care to admit, there was a Boy Scout advisory--probably in Boys Life, which warned about poison ivy being carried by campfire smoke.