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How to wash it off of your skin:If you have been in poison oak, ivy or sumac in the last few hours, the best thing you can do is wash it off. There are special products made specifically for washing of urushiol (the oil in poison oak, sumac and ivy that humans have an allergic reaction to.) Technu and Tec Labs Oak-N-Ivy, are some of the most popular; but chances are you won't have them available when you need them the most. The next best thing is soap and cool or luke warm water. Don't use hot water because the heat will make your pores open and you may wash some of the oil into your skin. Even if lake water or a creek is the only available water source, any washing with water will benefit you.
Don't go back:
NEVER go back into an area where you may come into contact with a poisonous plant after washing off the oil. The natural oils in your skin act as a barrier to poison oak; if they are removed, the new urushiol will be quickly absorbed by your skin and the resulting rash will be much worse.
How to clean your clothes:
Urishiol (harmful oil in poisonous plants) can stay in your clothes for over a year before it is no longer harmful. Any clothing that came into contact with poison oak, ivy, or sumac must be washed with soap and warm or hot water. Shoe laces are the most common way that people re-infect themselves after being in poison oak. Be sure to wash your shoes and shoe laces well before touching them again.
Remember: At the most, you have about 4 hours after coming in contact with a poisonous plant to wash the oil off of your skin.
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