WEBVTT - What causes poison ivy blisters?

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<v Speaker 1>I'm Marshall Brain with today's question. What causes poison ivy blisters?

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<v Speaker 1>The rash that you get from poison ivy is caused

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<v Speaker 1>by a chemical in this sap called urushial. This chemical

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<v Speaker 1>penetrates the outer layer of skin until it hits the dermists,

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<v Speaker 1>and in the dermist an allergic reaction occurs. From that definition,

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<v Speaker 1>there are a number of things that you can deduce

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<v Speaker 1>about poison ivy. First of all, not all people get

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<v Speaker 1>poison ivy. If your body doesn't mount an allergic reaction,

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<v Speaker 1>then you can swim in poison ivy and it will

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<v Speaker 1>have no effect. It turns out, however, that the majority

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<v Speaker 1>of people's immune systems react to this chemical after several exposures. Second,

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<v Speaker 1>you can't get poison ivy unless you come in contact

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<v Speaker 1>with the SAP that contains rushial. However, it is incredibly

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<v Speaker 1>easy to come in contact with that sap. You can

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<v Speaker 1>get it from the plants itself. You can get it

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<v Speaker 1>from touching your shoes or pants if they have rubbed

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<v Speaker 1>against poison ivy plants. You can get it from your

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<v Speaker 1>dogs or your cats fir if they walk through poison ivy.

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<v Speaker 1>The rushi all has to penetrate the skin to get

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<v Speaker 1>to the dermist, so thin skin will show symptoms before

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<v Speaker 1>thick skin will. And finally, rushill does not spread through

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<v Speaker 1>the body. The blisters that form are not contagious. They

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<v Speaker 1>don't contain any more of the chemical. If you come

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<v Speaker 1>in contact with poison ivy, washing off the SAP will

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<v Speaker 1>limit your reaction to it, but you have to wash

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<v Speaker 1>it off before any significant penetration occurs. The mechanism that

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<v Speaker 1>causes the itching and swelling is a complex immune response

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<v Speaker 1>to the chemical, as in any allergic reaction. What's happening

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<v Speaker 1>is that your body's immune system is overreacting to the chemical.

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<v Speaker 1>It mounts a huge defense to the arushial, which causes

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<v Speaker 1>all the swelling and inflammation in the skins. Do you

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