| Like many of you, I have had a lifelong allergy to PI/PO. I just received a fairly healthy exposure in a rather interesting way--from mulch. I purchased a pick-up truck load of bulk shreaded hardwood mulch and put it down in a new area I landscaped in my yard. Within two days I had the blisters and rash on my forearms. All of this stands to reason, given the fact that PI/PO grows prolifically in hardwood forests and climbs the trees. When the trees are harvested for timber, the bark is stripped off in the field by a huge machine, then is shreaded and sold as mulch. Needless to say, there's no one out there removing those huge vine stems from the tree trunks, so they are removed and shreaded with the bark. I know this is how I was exposed because there is absolutely no PI growing in my yard--I live in a new subdivision in a suburban Dallas area and the landscapes are rather sterile. Keep this in mind when you do your mulching. |
