Re: MCS and poison ivy poll

[Guest guest]

,

You must have tough skin (just kidding)!

I am not sure but would rubbing yourself with poison ivy be in the

test category for MCS? Wouldn't this be more like an allergic

reaction?

Are some symptoms of MCS the same as allergic reactions?

Do you feel faint or brain foggy around the smells of gasoline fumes

or walking by perfume counters?

Have you ever had any reactions to medications or chemicals like

house cleaning solutions or personal hygiene products?

> I just mentioned I do not have MCS. Also, I have been like the

only

> person I ever met who can take poison ivy and rub it all over me

and

> not react at all. So I was wondering if MCSers react even more

than

> the general public to poison ivy or are there any MCSers out there

> who can also rub poison ivy all over them?

>

[Guest guest]

,

You must have tough skin (just kidding)!

I am not sure but would rubbing yourself with poison ivy be in the

test category for MCS? Wouldn't this be more like an allergic

reaction?

Are some symptoms of MCS the same as allergic reactions?

Do you feel faint or brain foggy around the smells of gasoline fumes

or walking by perfume counters?

Have you ever had any reactions to medications or chemicals like

house cleaning solutions or personal hygiene products?

> I just mentioned I do not have MCS. Also, I have been like the

only

> person I ever met who can take poison ivy and rub it all over me

and

> not react at all. So I was wondering if MCSers react even more

than

> the general public to poison ivy or are there any MCSers out there

> who can also rub poison ivy all over them?

>

[Guest guest]

I'm new on this list. I've had CFS for almost 20 years, Fibro for

about 10. I don't remember when the MCS happened, but I've got it too.

I do not react to poison ivy at all. I discovered this when I tripped

on a root of it in my yard one day and the juice came in to contact

with my blood. I was concerned about a systemic reaction, and called

my sister for advice. She said she doesn't react to it at all, and has

lots of experience to know. Lo and behold, I don't either. Now I

remove the poison ivy from the yard with no gloves and no problems!

I think the no reaction thing is pretty genetically based.

Laurie

On Saturday, June 14, 2003, at 10:09 PM, jseaton357 wrote:

> I just mentioned I do not have MCS.  Also, I have been like the only

> person I ever met who can take poison ivy and rub it all over me and

> not react at all.  So I was wondering if MCSers react even more than

> the general public to poison ivy or are there any MCSers out there

> who can also rub poison ivy all over them?

>

>

>

<image.tiff>

>

>

> This list is intended for patients to share personal experiences with

> each other, not to give medical advice.  If you are interested in any

> treatment discussed here, please consult your doctor.

>

>

[Guest guest]

I have almost no reaction to poison ivy contact; maybe even zero. When I

was about 10 years old, I would amaze my pals by tearing off poison ivy

leaves, wring them in my hands and then rub them on my legs and arms. And

then chase the other kids, threatening them with the mushed up leaves.. I

never got a single itch, and never have.

Three weeks ago, I did some easy and very slow-going work for a week on my

Kentucky tree farm, where poison ivy is the most common plant. There is not

a single square foot where it is not present. I chainsawed many, many

huge poison ivy vines off the trees, some up to 4 inches in diameter, and

got poison ivy sawdust all over my arms, and came in contact with ivy

leaves during all my walking around there for a week. My pants legs, shoes

and socks were soaked with poison ivy juice, and so was my butt, as there

was not place to sit and rest without sitting down on poison ivy plants..

Not a single itch though, and I didn't shower every night after the work,

either. Didn't bathe or shower for a week - just too damn fatiguing, as

we all know all too well. Washed up a little each night though, and did

ultra-wash everything; me, tools, car seats, suitcase, clothes, etc.,

before coming home, as my wife is very sensitive to poison ivy.

She spent a week in the hospital with it several years ago, when she

brushed up against a plant in our yard in Missouri..

So, I'm very interested in this poll. Is there some connection between

insensitivity to poison ivy and CFS?

I have very moderate MCS, but it is not all that bad... I do steer clear of

the perfume dept in stores, though, as going through there will knock me

down to about 15% for a day or two..

I would gladly become very sensitive to poison ivy for a cure for my CFS,

even if I could never go back to my tree farm.. I'm becoming too disabled

by CFS to work there anyway. The exercise of this last trip nearly killed

me. Maybe poison ivy insensitivity will reveal something new about CFS.

Dream on..

Mort Caldwell

CFS since 1994 and now " functioning " at about 25%.

Re: MCS and poison ivy poll

I'm new on this list. I've had CFS for almost 20 years, Fibro for

about 10. I don't remember when the MCS happened, but I've got it too.

I do not react to poison ivy at all. I discovered this when I tripped

on a root of it in my yard one day and the juice came in to contact

with my blood. I was concerned about a systemic reaction, and called

my sister for advice. She said she doesn't react to it at all, and has

lots of experience to know. Lo and behold, I don't either. Now I

remove the poison ivy from the yard with no gloves and no problems!

I think the no reaction thing is pretty genetically based.

Laurie

On Saturday, June 14, 2003, at 10:09 PM, jseaton357 wrote:

> I just mentioned I do not have MCS. Also, I have been like the only

> person I ever met who can take poison ivy and rub it all over me and

> not react at all. So I was wondering if MCSers react even more than

> the general public to poison ivy or are there any MCSers out there

> who can also rub poison ivy all over them?

>

>

>

<image.tiff>

>

>

> This list is intended for patients to share personal experiences with

> each other, not to give medical advice. If you are interested in any

> treatment discussed here, please consult your doctor.

>

>

[Guest guest]

I'm curious....to the people who do not have reactions to poison ivy.

How does your body respond to bug bites or do you ever get bug

bites? I noticed with this illness that I never get bug bites.

> > I just mentioned I do not have MCS. Also, I have been like the

> only

> > person I ever met who can take poison ivy and rub it all over me

> and

> > not react at all. So I was wondering if MCSers react even more

> than

> > the general public to poison ivy or are there any MCSers out

there

> > who can also rub poison ivy all over them?

> >

[Guest guest]

Mort,

I hate to disappoint you, but I don't have CFS and yet I've never had

anything like poison ivy, bee stings or any plant bother me at all. I've

had two bee stings in my life. I stepped on one as a child - a tiny pin

prick feel and a tiny red spot with no swelling. Got stung as an adult on

my back with the same reaction. As a child I played in woods alot with no

problems and as an adult, before I got too sick to do it, I used to hike in

places where there were lots of poisonous things and no problem.

My daughter is the same way and healthy.

Carol

Washington, USA

Re: MCS and poison ivy poll

>

> I'm new on this list. I've had CFS for almost 20 years, Fibro for

> about 10. I don't remember when the MCS happened, but I've got it too.

>

> I do not react to poison ivy at all. I discovered this when I tripped

> on a root of it in my yard one day and the juice came in to contact

> with my blood. I was concerned about a systemic reaction, and called

> my sister for advice. She said she doesn't react to it at all, and has

> lots of experience to know. Lo and behold, I don't either. Now I

> remove the poison ivy from the yard with no gloves and no problems!

>

> I think the no reaction thing is pretty genetically based.

>

> Laurie

> On Saturday, June 14, 2003, at 10:09 PM, jseaton357 wrote:

>

> > I just mentioned I do not have MCS. Also, I have been like the only

> > person I ever met who can take poison ivy and rub it all over me and

> > not react at all. So I was wondering if MCSers react even more than

> > the general public to poison ivy or are there any MCSers out there

> > who can also rub poison ivy all over them?

> >

> >

> >

> <image.tiff>

> >

> >

> > This list is intended for patients to share personal experiences with

> > each other, not to give medical advice. If you are interested in any

> > treatment discussed here, please consult your doctor.

> >

> >

[Guest guest]

I don't get bug bites either anymore. I used to get mosquito bites and was

stung by bees twice, but nothing for years. No CFS either, though. (But, I

have and maybe MS still, not sure about that, until I see if the

medication alleviates my " MS " symptoms or not.) Maybe this all has

more to do with auto immunity than anything else? , MS and CFS are

all autoimmune diseases. I suspect that my over active immune system just

leaps on any kind of toxin, whether it be bugs, allergies or toxins.

The soap isle at the grocery store used to make me hold my breath as I

walked down it, and it's still that way for the perfume counters. It's kind

of interesting seeing the similarities between autoimmune diseases to me.

Carol

Washington, USA

Re: MCS and poison ivy poll

> I'm curious....to the people who do not have reactions to poison ivy.

> How does your body respond to bug bites or do you ever get bug

> bites? I noticed with this illness that I never get bug bites.

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

> > > I just mentioned I do not have MCS. Also, I have been like the

> > only

> > > person I ever met who can take poison ivy and rub it all over me

> > and

> > > not react at all. So I was wondering if MCSers react even more

> > than

> > > the general public to poison ivy or are there any MCSers out

> there

> > > who can also rub poison ivy all over them?

> > >

>

>

>

> This list is intended for patients to share personal experiences with each

other, not to give medical advice. If you are interested in any treatment

discussed here, please consult your doctor.

>

>

[Guest guest]

I never used to react to poison ivy either. I used to pick it and make

bouquets of it, and show off to people who would be terrified of it during

my childhood. But I was told by a dermatologist that the reaction people

have from poison ivy is an allergic response, and you develop it from repeat

exposure. The more you are exposed to it, the more allergic you will become.

Some people become very allergic to it very quickly. Some people become

allergic to it very slowly. But eventually most people will become allergic

to it. I was told at the time that even though I didn't have a reaction to

poison ivy, that the more exposure I had to it, the sooner I would develop

an allergic reaction to it, and so it was unwise to expose myself to it any

more than necessary.

The second reason why a person should avoid exposure to it as much as

possible is that even if you do not react to it, contact with it causes you

to become a carrier of the oils, which then get spread around to everything

that comes in contact with you. You never have a guarantee of where or how

much you may spread, and you may not be aware that you spread it at all. But

the oils can persist in the environment for a long time. There are people

who are so reactive to poison ivy that even the smallest possible amount in

locations far remote from poison ivy can be enough to cause life-threatening

reactions. I don't think any of us would want to be accused of causing the

death of someone by our casual treatment of poison ivy. I picked up poison

ivy from sitting on a bench in the middle of a summer camp. There was poison

ivy on the grounds, and apparently someone had spread it to the bench. My

husband, who is very allergic to poison ivy, and who sat down next to me,

also picked it up from the bench. Since he doesn't react with hives to

anything else that we know of, we were pretty sure that it was a poison ivy

reaction, especially in light of the fact that we both picked it up.

Even though I eventually developed an allergic reaction to poison ivy, I

don't react to it all that bad. Ironically, I have allergic reactions far

worse to other more common things, and have anaphylactic reactions to a few

things. I don't want to push it, though, so I avoid poison ivy like the

plague.

My MCS started years ago, and at one point I was literally reacting to

everything in my environment. But MCS is not quite the same thing as being

highly allergic. A person with MCS may not ever get hives, or have IgE

reactions. I do have allergic reactions. But I also react to chemicals in

non-allergic ways, with dizziness, increased neurological symptoms, muscle

tremors, tunnel vision and other non-allergic symptoms. Someone who has

allergic reactions to lots of things may not have MCS at all. They may just

simply have an overactive immune system. And some people with MCS may not

have allergic reactions at all. So someone with MCS could conceivably not

have an allergy to poison ivy at all.

lindaj@...

MCS and poison ivy poll

> I just mentioned I do not have MCS. Also, I have been like the only

> person I ever met who can take poison ivy and rub it all over me and

> not react at all. So I was wondering if MCSers react even more than

> the general public to poison ivy or are there any MCSers out there

> who can also rub poison ivy all over them?

>

>

>

>

> This list is intended for patients to share personal experiences with each

other, not to give medical advice. If you are interested in any treatment

discussed here, please consult your doctor.

>

>