When I was a bachelor living in Manhattan, I had an acquaintance who would occasionally visit friends living in “the country” over the summer weekends. Maybe I was a little jealous about not knowing anybody outside the reaches of the steamy city because I found myself having little patience when he called me one day to complain at some length about having contracted a case of poison ivy in his friends’ garden during his last visit. I just didn’t want to pay much attention to his whining.
The next day he called again and this time he upbraided me for not showing any sympathy about his itchy plight. Instead of apologizing and showing some concern, I made the mistake of marginalizing his condition by saying that I had frequently had poison ivy before moving to the city and that, while I found it uncomfortable for a day or two, I would just address it by taking a cold shower, then treating it with calamine lotion. Was it really that big a deal, I asked?
From there, the tone of the conversation degenerated rapidly when he asked, “Would it make any difference to you to know that I even have it on my [genitals]?” At that point, I couldn’t stifle an urge to laugh, but not before venturing a guess about what kind of activity might have brought that situation about. It was his response to that bit of careless banter that put me on notice that it was time for a very serious apology which I offered with great sincerity.
Not long after that incident many years ago, I married, moved to the country and since that time, have had countless opportunities to suffer the effects of poison ivy myself, regardless of the care I take in recognizing the plant and trying to avoid it.
Living on a property that has been gardened since the early 18th century, I have been aware that it is riddled with poison ivy, but I have never done a thing to discourage its growth. Call me crazy, but I rather like its dark waxy leaves growing on vines in the areas of my property that are not cultivated, and, from what I understand, although I don’t remember from which source, it may have served some useful purpose to bind together the mortar-less stone walls our forefathers built to delineate properties and contain livestock.
About two out of three people are allergic to poison ivy and its relatives, poison oak and poison sumac. For some, the reaction can be severe enough to require hospitalization. Treatment for poison ivy is most effective if addressed immediately after exposure. Invariably I always get it on my wrists and lower arms. When I do, I wash the affected area with strong soap and cold water, and then apply calamine lotion for relief of the itching. Hot water may feel good in the short term, but it ultimately makes things worse by opening up your pores, so stick to cold.
To read the rest of this column, click here. Bill Primavera is a Realtor® associated with William Raveis Real Estate and Founder of Primavera Public Relations, Inc., the longest running public relations agency in Westchester (www.PrimaveraPR.com), specializing in lifestyles, real estate and development. His real estate site is: www.PrimaveraRealEstate.com and his blog is: www.TheHomeGuru.com. To engage the services of The Home Guru and his team to market your home for sale, call 914-522-2076.
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