WATCH OUT: Poison Oak!

A common native shrub throughout Northern California and a menace for hikers and mountain bikers, poison oak is rampant along foothill and low-elevation trails, creeks, rivers, and forested areas.

Even if you are not allergy-prone, you may get itchy, long-lasting rashes from rubbing against the leaves, particularly in the winter and spring when the leaves are full of moisture and oils. My children seldom got through a summer without at least one or two bouts of poison oak; it seems to be a given at summer camp.

Here are some helpful hints:

• If your family is unfamiliar with poison oak, ask locals or park rangers to describe it, or better yet, show it to you.
  
  
• Look for shrubs with groupings of three separate small leaves, 1–2 inches long, that are bright green in spring and summer, red or reddish yellow in fall and winter.
  
  
• Tell your children not to touch their faces, and especially their eyes, while hiking, camping, and mountain bike riding.
  
  
• Take care not to burn unfamiliar branches and leaves in a campfire, as poison oak smoke can seriously inflame the lungs.
  
  
• After hikes and bike rides in areas where poison oak is present, have everyone in the family wash carefully with soap as soon as the outing is over, and do not handle the clothes until they are laundered.

Got the dreaded rash?

• Don't scratch! Scratching can spread the rash.
  
  
• Use cortisone-based lotions to cover and soothe the rashes.
  
  
• And don’t worry; the rash goes away in a few days. In the meantime, stay out of the sun and avoid overheating the skin.
  
  
• If anyone has poison oak rash around their eyes, and the eyes puff up and close, or almost close, promptly take them to a doctor or emergency room; a cortisone shot is the usual remedy.