re: poison oak, and drug testing

["Ed & Wendy Hauser" <sisufarm@mmmpcc.org>]

If I remember correctly the active ingredient in poison oak, poison sumac,
and poison ivy is the same.  It is an oil which is relatively slowly
absorbed through the skin.  This means:
1. You have some time (a couple of hours) to remove it.
2. While it won't come off with water, strong soap and a good scrubbing will
remove it.
3. It is fairly quickly oxidized and rendered harmless, so your horse is
probably not going to transmit enough to you to cause problems after a few
hours have gone by.
4. An old effective treatment is to soak the affected area in potassium
permanganate solution (15 grains per quart of water) 3 times a day.  This
oxidizes the stuff, but stains the skin very brown (yuck).
5. A more modern treatment that I prefer to mix equal parts of 3% hydrogen
peroxide and white vinegar.  This acid peroxide is a fairly good oxidizing
agent.  It is applied with cotton, and the effective area scratched with a
tongue depressor.
I am quite sensitive to the stuff, and extend sympathies to the sufferers.
By the way, I am a chemist but not a pharmacist so take my advice for what
it is worth.

I had a chance to chat with Dr. Beecher at a ride last fall where he was
taking samples.  He appeared to agree that eventually AERC will have to
define limits for concentrations of legal drugs.  Any student of chemical
kinetics will tell you that the levels never fall to zero, just below the
present detection limit.  Theoretically, if you have ever given your horse
bute he still has a few molecules in his body.
Ed and Wendy Hauser
Sisu Farm
1140 37th St.
Hudson, WI 54016