Poison Oak FAQ

We Chicoans live in poison-oak country. And as anyone who has been out hiking in Bidwell Park lately is aware, this all-too-familiar plant is coming into its full, oily, itchy leafiness. The Poison Oak FAQ Web site touts itself as “The best poison oak site on the Web,” and considering the amount of useful information it contains about poison oak, that certainly may be true. The site explains, for the uninitiated, what poison oak is, how it causes a rash and what to do if you’ve been exposed to the plant. And for everyone—the unfamiliar as well as those who seem to get the plant’s insanity-inspiring rash just by looking it—there are other handy bits of wisdom, such as a section on various remedies and one featuring photos of the pesky plant as its appearance changes season by season. Other valuable info includes how to rid your back yard of the plant, and a warning not to burn it since inhaling the smoke can cause a reaction as well. There is even an entertaining section called “Etiquette.” Rule No. 1: “If you have never had poison oak, you may not joke about it.”