| I moved to Knoxville,TN five years ago. About 3yrs ago we bought a condo with a small garden area and after clearing out the old growth one day I broke out in a terrible rash I assumed to be poison ivy, oak or sumac. To be honest, I had weeds/plants resembling all three in my garden. Over the next couple of years, despite being very careful about what I touched and wearing gloves, etc. I had more increasingly serious reactions after garden work. Eventually, I determined that the ubiquitous vine known as English Ivy was the culprit. It seems I'm one of a small percentage of the general populace sensetive to this plant, and I do mean sensetive. After a few days the rash begins to look like 2nd or 3rd degree burns with blackened skin and nasty eruptions. It went "systemic" on me once and spread all over to areas that had never come into direct contact with the plant or it's oils. My doctor said that the plant in this area of the country seems to be particularly virulent for us afflicted folks. I can only wonder as to how many people have this sensetivity and how often it's mistaken for one of the "big three" poison ivys. |
