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Job fair held for ex-offenders WTHR, IN - The first-time job fair is sponsored by the city, Ivy Tech and Work One. Indiana Department of Workforce Development - Learn more about employers, get tips ... Seminar provides tips on preventing foreclosure WNDU-TV, IN - Aug 2, 2008 On Saturday, Lt. Governor Becky Skillman?s office -- along with Ivy Tech -- sponsored a foreclosure prevention workshop. Homeowners could seek counseling on ... Marriage, mystery, manhunt Boston Herald, United States - Aug 3, 2008 By Renee Nadeau and Benjamin Bell 1994: A man calling himself ?Clark Rockefeller? weds Ivy League-educated consultant Sandra L. Boss on Nantucket. ... The new playground Olympics Scotsman, United Kingdom - Aug 3, 2008 ... probably be cheerleaders, multimillion dollar sponsorship deals and scholarships that will catapult expert rope-jumpers through Ivy League educations. ... Forum to offer homeowners tips on avoiding foreclosure |AUDIO Evansville Courier & Press, IN - Jul 29, 2008 By Bryan Corbin (Contact) INDIANAPOLIS ? Ivy Tech Community College and state officials are starting an effort to help overextended homeowners avoid ... News & Observer Raleigh's softened stance on poison ivy displeases Bertie Drive ... News & Observer, NC - Aug 1, 2008 We want tips from across the Triangle -- Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and Wake, Johnston, Orange and Chatham counties. Call (919) 836-5740 to leave a ... Weekend tips Times Online, UK - Jul 11, 2008 We?ve inherited a 30ft pear tree that is swathed in flourishing ivy up to about 20ft. The top of the tree appears to be fine and there is the odd healthy ... Porter gives outfielders tips for Wrigley Flamarlins.com - Jul 25, 2008 With an ivy-covered brick wall, Wrigley Field certainly tests outfielders, who have to deal with the prospect of having to crash into the wall, ... New Yorker Rhong-Tiam New Yorker, United States - Aug 3, 2008 Ivy winds around a bannister. The tired-looking upholstery is striped in black-and-white. The tables wobble. The lighting is bright and almost antiseptic. ... Summer stress comes with heat, bugs and more Oak Brook Business Ledger, IL - Aug 3, 2008 Poison ivy has three pointed and glossy leaflets to a stem. Poison oak is similar but its three leaflets are lobed with rounded tips. ...

U-M Expert Offers 7 Tips to Prevent, Treat Poison Ivy

The old adage “leaves of three, let them be” is often easier said then done, especially if you plan on spending a lot of time outside this summer.

Each year, an estimated 25 to 40 million people in the United States will feel the infamous itch of poison ivy, a plant found throughout North America that typically grows in the form of a vine, often along riverbanks. For most people, this itchy rash will appear one or two days after they have been exposed to the plant, and it can last anywhere from 10 days to three weeks.

“The allergic reaction from poison ivy is caused by oil in the plant,” says Lisa Hammer, M.D., a pediatrician at the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital. “The reaction usually starts with redness and swelling of the skin, which is then followed by either bumps or blisters.”

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More than 50 percent of people are sensitive to this oil – a colorless, odorless resin called urushiol – contained in the leaves of poison ivy.

To take the “itch” out of summer for both kids and adults, Hammer offers tips to help treat poison ivy, and advice on how to avoid contact with the three leaves of this poison plant.

7 tips for treating and preventing the spread of poison ivy

1. Wash the area. “If you come into contact with poison ivy, the best advice is to wash your skin as quickly as possible with soap and cold, running water,” says Hammer. Do this within minutes of coming into contact with the plant to prevent the oil from absorbing into the skin. Also, avoid vigorously scrubbing the area or using hot water since these may further open pores or cause more irritation to the skin.

2. Cool off. “People with poison ivy tend to find relief from cool baths or cool compresses,” say Hammer. She also recommends massaging the affected area with an ice cube for relief. But don’t forget to let the area air dry after soaking or massaging it with an ice cube. Allowing it to air dry will reduce itching and oozing of blisters.

3. Use oral or topical antihistamines. Oral antihistamines such as Benadryl will help to reduce the itch of poison ivy. Hammer also recommends the use of topical creams such as calamine lotion to ease itching.

4. Wash clothing and shoes. Be sure to wash the clothing and shoes you were wearing when you came into contact with the poison ivy. Use soap and hot water to remove any oil that may still be on these items.

5. Give Fido a bath. The rash caused by poison ivy can spread if there are oils from the plant on your pet’s fur, or even on other items around the yard such as gardening tools. “Oil can stay on these types of surfaces for up to 5 years,” says Hammer. She recommends thoroughly washing both pets and other items that may have come into contact with poison ivy to remove the oils.

6. Stop the rash from spreading to others. The fluid from the sores caused by poison ivy is not contagious. Hammer says that the rash caused by poison ivy will only spread to other areas of the body if the oil from the plant is still on your skin. And the rash will only spread to another person if you have oil on your hand and touch him. Once the oil has been removed from your skin, it is no longer possible to spread the rash to other areas of your body.

7. If the reaction is severe, seek medical attention. Most cases of poison ivy can be handled at home. In rare cases, however, poison ivy can be extremely serious or even fatal. “Occasionally, poison ivy can become a more severe situation in someone who’s highly sensitized to the reaction, or if someone is exposed to a large amount of the oil, either by breathing in fumes when the plant is being burned or having the oils enter areas of broken skin,” says Hammer.

“If individuals are experiencing a more severe poison ivy reaction, specifically involving the face or the genital area, or there’s significant swelling pain or irritation that disrupts their sleep or daily activities, they should seek additional help from their health care provider.” In such situations, health care providers can prescribe oral steroids or steroid creams to reduce the itching, pain and discomfort.

“In general, the best advice is to try to prevent coming into contact with poison ivy,” says Hammer. “Familiarize yourself with the plants growing in your area of the country and how they look at different times of the year so you can steer clear of poison ivy and other plants that may cause an allergic reaction.”

For more information, visit these Web sites:

U-M Health Topics A-Z: Poison ivy, poison oak and poison sumac
http://www.med.umich.edu/1libr/pa/pa_tnpoisiv_hhg.htm

U.S. Food and Drug Administration: Outsmarting poison ivy and its cousins
http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/796_ivy.html

KidsHealth: Poison ivy
http://www.kidshealth.org/kid/health_problems/skin/poison_ivy.html

Medline Plus: Poison ivy, oak and sumac rash
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000027.htm

(SOURCE: Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, news release, May 4, 2007)

FRIDAY, May 4 (HealthDay News) -- Older, overweight women who diet do not experience reduced physical function and should feel free to try to lose weight by reducing their calorie intake, U.S. research shows.

"Our results suggest that losing weight through calorie cutting won't lead to increased disability in older women," lead researcher Dr. Jamehl Demons of Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, said in a prepared statement.

When older, overweight women diet they may often gain back some of the weight. But they are still better off than before, noted Dr. Mary F. Lyles, also at Wake Forest and the lead investigator of a second project that examined how dieting affects body composition.

The findings of the two projects -- both part of the larger Diet, Exercise and Metabolism in Older Women (DEMO) study -- were to be presented Friday at the annual meeting of the American Geriatrics Society in Seattle.

Weight loss results in a reduction of both fat and muscle, and people naturally lose muscle mass and physical function as they age. This has led to questions about the safety of older adults dieting in order to lose weight.

Demons' project looked at 23 obese, postmenopausal women, average age 58, who were put on a calorie-reduced diet for five months. They lost an average of 25 pounds, with muscle representing about 35 percent of that weight loss.

"Despite the large amount of muscle loss, their aerobic fitness and their ability to rise from a chair showed a trend toward improvement," said Demons, an assistant professor of internal medicine-gerontology. Furthermore, "Their strength and walking speed did not change. This suggests that their weight loss through dieting wouldn't be expected to lead to increased disability," the researcher said.

Lyles' project looked at body composition before and after 30 women were on a five-month calorie-reduced diet. During that time, the women lost an average of 25 pounds (about 68 percent fat and 32 percent muscle). A year later, the women had regained an average of 11 pounds (about 73 percent fat and 27 percent muscle).

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more about healthy aging for older adults.

The United States is on the brink of a longevity revolution. By 2030, the number of older Americans will have more than doubled to 70 million, or one in every five Americans. The growing number and proportion of older adults places increasing demands on the public health system and on medical and social services.

Chronic diseases exact a particularly heavy health and economic burden on older adults due to associated long-term illness, diminished quality of life, and greatly increased health care costs. Although the risk of disease and disability clearly increases with advancing age, poor health is not an inevitable consequence of aging.

Much of the illness, disability, and death associated with chronic disease is avoidable through known prevention measures. Key measures include practicing a healthy lifestyle (e.g., regular physical activity, healthy eating, and avoiding tobacco use) and the use of early detection practices (e.g., screening for breast, cervical, and colorectal cancers, diabetes and its complications, and depression).

Critical knowledge gaps exist for responding to the health needs of older adults. For chronic diseases and conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, arthritis, depression, psychiatric disorders, osteoporosis, Parkinson's disease, and urinary incontinence, much remains to be learned about their distribution in the population, associated risk factors, and effective measures to prevent or delay their onset.

Date last reviewed: 04/09/2007
Content source: Division of Adult and Community Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion