Local residents are claiming that a fallen tree in the Bald Hill area might have kicked up a rash of poison oak, with a number of people ending up in the emergency room over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.
Karen Hege of San Anselmo contacted Patch to report her son’s ill-fated bout of poison oak.
“He woke up at 4 a.m. with his face, neck, and lips swollen and his eyes swollen shut,” Hege wrote in an email. “We ended up in the ER early that morning but they could not figure out what he was having an allergic reaction to. He was basically in bed for 4 days on various medicines.”
Hege said she soon learned that about 20 other people came down with similar symptoms after following the same hike from San Anselmo to Bald Hill. At least one other victim also wound up in the emergency room.
“It seems that when the tree fell it landed on poison oak bushes and the oils from the poison oak became airborne, thus causing a reaction on any part of the body that was not covered with clothing,” Hege reported.
Probably not, says Marin County Parks Deputy Director Ron Miska. “It doesn’t happen that way," he said. "You have to have direct contact with it.”
Most online references back up Miska, saying that poison oak is only an airborne threat if it’s being burned. Hege agreed, having conducting her own research, but still looked at the symptoms, evidence and number of victims as being suspicious.
Miska said he’d contact Hege to get more details and turn it over to the ranger staff to check out the fallen tree presented any possible threat of poison oak to hikers.
It was uncertain at press time under whose jurisdiction the tree lies. The Marin Municipal Water District owns land in the area, but spokesperson Libby Pischel said her agency had not heard about the incident. Miska reported the same thing from the county’s perspective. San Anselmo City Manager Debbie Stutsman said she hadn’t heard about the incident either. The Town of Ross also owns adjacent property.
Miska, Pischel and Stutsman said their agencies had nothing to do with a warning sign that had been posted telling hikers to steer clear of the area.
Poison oak and its eastern counterpart poison ivy are two of the most notoriously painful plants in North America. Each year thousands of people are afflicted with moderate to severe dermatitis from touching the foliage of these plants. It is the most common allergy in the country, claiming half the population.
I have no idea who posted this sign (or who typed it, for that matter), but I think it's a good think that he, she or they did ... right? I mean, if somebody posted this on Patch, it would be good cuz you're informing the public, like it's the neighborly thing to do? In any event, I'm going to avoid this area like the plague 2day!
That being said, it seems like folks out there need to know how to positively identify the plant. I devised a simple system to know if a plant is not poison oak, or if it is for sure the allergenic plant. You can download a free identification pdf (no strings attached) from the home page of my website. It is actually the first chapter of my book. www.poisonoakandpoisonivy.com
bit out of control. The sign is completely wrong. First of all, the oil is not volatile, that is, it does not evaporate into the air like, for example, lavender oil. The oil is not in the pollen during the spring either. The pollen is not designed to leave the flower, and cannot float in the air anyway. My identification system, mentioned above, delves into winter identification. It is possible to learn the way a leafless stem looks like and easily notice it among other plants if you are around it for a while. I am not saying all this from internet theories, I researched heavily for three years from clinical studies etc for my book on the subject.
A couple minutes with some gloves, pruners and a small saw, and a bottle of Tecnu could mitigate the PO without all the anonymous hysteria. It could be there for months before a trail crew gets out there. A little vounteer work is good...
I climbed through the "poison oak tree"with two friends around Dec 5. We had come up Bald Hill from Phoenix Lake, and, not wanting to retrace our route, chose to risk it. It was obvious to me the area was covered with the vines, but none of us were willing to go back. I'm not really susceptible to catching poison oak, so I wasn't too worried. I guess my friends were in denial. Needless to say, a few days later, one friend went to the doctor with a bad case, and my other friend chose home treatment. It made me itch just to hear about it. People have cleared a path through the tree, or cut some branches. What remains on the ground under foot is pure poison oak vines! I wouldn't walk through there on a bet! I trust the local powers-that-be are planning removal of the hazard, as this is really a public health issue. It seems to be a popular route.