Where I live there is a lot on spring and I've gotten it 4 time all over my body can i build a immunity to it so i dont have to worry about it.
2007-05-19 11:46:23 · 8 answers · asked by mexicandude02 2 in Health ➔ Diseases & Conditions ➔ Skin Conditions
Theoretically it is possible to build an immunity to any poison or allergen. But I've never heard of anyone ever eventually becoming immune to Poison Oak/Ivy/Sumac etc.
The reason is, that to build immunity you have to be exposed to the ammount that is JUST LESS than what will trigger the allergy and you have to do this over and over again on a regular basis.
If you are exposed to an amount that is large enough to trigger the allergy, you will just experience symptoms, and probably even cause your body to become MORE sensitive to the substance than before. At the Dr. office, when they give allergy shots they are super-duper diluted, tiny doses that would be impossible to create on your own.
Some lucky people are born with an immunity to Poison Oak/Ivy/Sumac, but most of us should just learn to identify it and stay the hell away from it!
2007-05-19 11:59:36 · answer #1 · answered by Heather L 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Poison Oak Immunity
2016-11-09 20:36:34 · answer #2 · answered by knipp 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have seen poison oak only once and it was my mother who sat in it and had to see a doctor who gave her a lotion to apply. She asked the same question if there was immunity to it. The doctor said it was more virulent than poison ivy. And no, he didn't say if there was any. The general procedure when you think you 've contracted poison ivy or poison oak is to wash your skin thoroughly with soap and water as soon as you get indoors and if a rash breaks out to consult a doctor for the appropriate treatment. Hope this helps.
2007-05-19 11:55:49 · answer #3 · answered by lotus1s 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have an immunity to poison oak that I think I developed from being near it a lot, but I will still get sumac. So I think you can develop an immunity but not if you are allergic.
2007-05-19 11:55:29 · answer #4 · answered by Ronin_21 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have gotten poison ivy/oak easily all my life. I'm no expert but my experience is that you cannot develop an immunity to it. Just learn to recognize it and stay away.
2007-05-19 12:12:35 · answer #5 · answered by HarryO 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Unfortunately, I've never heard of building an immunity. I've heard that it sometimes can reoccur, each Spring, as it hibernates in your body, until the conditions are replicated, for it to appear.
2007-05-19 11:55:11 · answer #6 · answered by Beau R 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It has been my experience that you can get no immunity from it. In fact just because you did not get it when you were younger does not mean that you won't get it as you age. Apparently the toxins build up in your system. We tell the Boy Scouts when they come in contact with it to wash with warm soapy water, and to keep their clothing separate from other peoples clothes when they do wash because just coming in contact with it on someones clothes will cause some people to break out.
2007-05-19 11:58:32 · answer #7 · answered by ruluckydad 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well, I can tell you that as kid growing up in the wilds of No. Calif. on a ranch, I got poison oak all the time from walking through it, from the animals and sometimes from smoke. I got it really bad when I was about 17 and have never had it since. Very well could be that the repeated exposure plus the last session gave me immunity to it. Don't know, but glad I don't have to worry about it anymore.
2014-09-06 10:18:31 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋