How to never be nervous in a bed of poison ivy? Who knew that was even possible?! Well, Jim Brauker spent 25 years as a biomedical scientist studying skin inflammation and has broken down poison ivy on an elementary level so that we know how to prevent getting rashes from poison ivy.

Urushiol oil in poison sumac, poison oak, and poison ivy may produce a severe skin rash. Timely urushiol removal can prevent poison ivy skin reaction. The key is to understand how poison ivy works exactly. Jim literally stands by this information, as the video opens he is surrounded by poison ivy! Scary, right? Just watch!

How can you stop the urushiol from impacting your skin? This is important, because urushiol can be transferred and you won’t even know what is going to hit you. Urushiol needs to get cleaned off you within a couple hours, but the problem is that it is extremely hard to get off it is like trying to get grease off of something.

Brauker did a test with three different soaps and it didn’t seem to matter what kind of soap someone could use. The most important thing to execute is friction. Make sure you use a washcloth that has ridges! Wash yourself three times.

The moral of the story is that if you clean yourself well after contact, you will not receive a rash from poison ivy! It’s that simple!

Use this clever tip next time you find yourself in wilderness distress! SHARE the love and pass it on.