[PaulHoule]

It’s not the first time I’ve heard about it.

I can’t condone it but I can’t rule out that some variant of this might work.

The reaction to urushiol is an allergic reaction

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urushiol

and a vaccine is under development

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PDC-APB

Some people just don’t react to it while others do.

I had hay fever as a kid which developed into asthma in my 30s, I had immune therapy from a specialist who gave me increasingly concentrated shots of allergens weekly for years. After a while my asthma went into remission and I quit taking medicine for it. I still have hay fever symptoms some times but they aren’t too bad and I rarely medicate for them because I get side effects even from some of the “non-drowsy” antihistamines.

Even though it is done under medical supervision, it is a controversial treatment. It’s banned in the U.K. They’d have me sit around the office for 30 minutes in case I had a bad reaction which they could usually treat with an injection of epinephrine but could be lethal if somebody was really unlucky.

Note there is at least one report of treatment of poison ivy sensitivity this way

https://www.jacionline.org/article/S0091-6749(09)01972-1/ful...

The thing is I got a treatment from my doc which was somewhat evidence based, compare that to all the bizzaro ideas circulating such as Edgar Cayce’s idea that you could treat hay fever with an alcohol tincture of ragweed. (Got that from a herbalist once, it does seem harmless)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_Cayce

[rwmj]

Is it the same plant that was used for shokushinbutsu, the "self-mummification" practiced by Japanese monks? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sokushinbutsu

Edit: OK, not quite. The Japanese lacquer tree was used which produces the same "active" substance which is what slowly kills you. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toxicodendron_vernicifluum

[mlyle]

> which is what slowly kills you

Again, not quite: starvation by not eating normal food is what kills you.

Urushiol is non-toxic at even massive doses; but vanishingly small doses will provoke painful/itchy allergic reactions in many people.

[wakawaka28]

I've heard of this desensitization stuff before too. For all the mixed reviews of it, maybe success simply depends on individual factors that nobody has identified yet.

[modeless]

Yes, this is known to be true. Studies of oral immunotherapy often show failure rates in the 20-30% range, and nobody knows a way to accurately predict who will succeed and who will fail without actually going through the whole treatment. IgE levels can correlate with success but they are far from a perfect predictor. The other big factor is age. If you can start immunotherapy super early, like in the 0-2 year old range, it is significantly more likely to work.

[wholinator2]

Jus fyi but the "non drowsy" antihistamines are fundamentally different or anything, they're just the same type of drowsy antihistamine but with the dose lowered so it barely works unless you take more than one, thereby making it drowsy again

[tysam_and]

This is incorrect enough as to be dangerous (IMPE, I am not a doctor). They are non-drowsy because they do not cross the blood brain barrier effectively as I understand. Second and third generation antihistamines are fantastic.

[nick__m]

While I agree with your comment, for some peoples non-drowsy antihistamines are a myth.

I must be overly sensitive or have a deficient BBB because 10 mg loratadine transform me into a lethargic zombie for about 48 hours while providing minimal relief. A double dose of vyvaanse and a few coffees are not enough to bring me out of that state.

[borski]

That is definitely not the common reaction. Something is unique to you, in that regard.

[PaulHoule]

I had brain zaps with Zyrtec (Cetirizine) that took me a while to recognize for what they were because I thought they were related to other meds I was taking. I find Allegra (Fexofenadine) agrees with me a lot better. Personally I hate Claritin (Loratadine) as it definitely makes me depressed.

Experience with those others makes me wary of using Allegra except when my allergy symptoms are really bad.

BTW: Benadryl (Diphenhydramine), which has the same ingredient in the same dose marketed as a sleep aid, is really good for Poison Ivy because of its ability to penetrate into tissues really well. 30 years ago you would get a prescription for a round of steroid pills that will have you feeling pretty messed up for a week if you got Poison Ivy but today you are likely to be told to go to the pharmacy and treat yourself with OTC pills. Poison Ivy is bad enough that most people will take the drowsiness.

[tysam_and]

Nope! Plenty of people get drowsy effects from non-drowsy antihistamines. It is different for everyone (though, again, I am not a doctor!)

[gsquaredxc]

This isn't true. H1 antagonists, which is the group of drugs commonly referred to as antihistamines, contains two subgroups of pharmaceuticals. There are the first generation antihistamines, which are generally more popular and earn the reputation of making you drowsy, and the second generation antihistamines. The second generation antihistamines are significantly more selective for the H1 receptors you want to block versus the ones in your brain. Doxylamine is a first generation drug marketed under the brand name Unisom for insomnia, whereas a common second generation antihistamine loratadine commonly includes the phrase "non-drowsy" on the box. It still increases sedation, but at a substantially lower rate than the first generation drugs.