Posted on July 14th, 2009 by Craig Maltby, Editor
I’m itching to tell this story
About 10 years ago I bought my wife a couple of small trees for Mother’s day that she planted in a couple of raised gardens in our back
yard. They looked so nice at the garden center where I bought them. Their leaves were tropical-looking, kind of like palm leaves. I thought a palm-like plant would be great here in the tropics of Iowa.
They proceeded to grow at a very healthy pace. In fact they not only grew, they spread…wickedly. For the past 9 years, I’ve been regularly pulling up tree shoots from the ground, before they grow into real trees. My neighbors have been doing the same thing, pulling the invading tree shoots out of their yards, shoots that I inadvertently supplied them. I’m surprised they didn’t shoot me by now.
Now, I’m a bit more familiar with this proliferative plant: The Red Sumac. While it does turn brilliant orange in early fall, it is more like a weed than a tree; a really big weed that spreads like wildfire. I’ve also discovered another interesting factoid…the hard way. From time to time while mowing around the garden or pulling weeds, planting flowers, etc, I would brush up against the leaves of the sumacs. My arms or my face gently scraped against the leaves, and I didn’t think anything of it. That is until about two days later…when I began itching in those areas that came into contact with the sumac leaves. And the itching didn’t stop. It was intense and led to some poison-ivy like irritation. Ten days of calamine lotion and cold showers (to keep inflammation in check) later, it went away. From time to time, I would invariably forget to steer clear of those leaves, get a brush on the arm or face, and the whole mess would flare up again. Even pruning bare branches in the late fall, after all the leaves were gone, would still get a little itch fest going again.
Last summer, after having taken my immune balance supplements for six months, I forgot to wear long sleeves and a hat while toiling around the sumacs, and I felt the horrifying brush of those soft, green leaves again. A little irritation emerged, nothing major, and it was gone in a day or two.
This past weekend, I again got a forehead full of leaves. And absolutely nothing has developed. Not even a tinge.
Also, don’t confuse your garden variety sumac with poison sumac. That’s a different beast. Those leaves are more elliptical, not lance-shaped, and they are more potent.
A 1997 Univ. of Mass. paper on skin irritation from poison ivy and related plants gives a nice overview of why people experience severe itching and blistering from contact with these leaves. The basic reason: immune system over-reaction to something that, by itself, would be harmless. That’s the cornerstone of immune balance…or imbalance. The paper has a nice phrase that hits the nail on the head: “Allergy is an altered or unwanted immune response.”
Let me again emphasize that properly labeled nutritional supplementation is not meant–nor does it claim–to diagnose, treat or cure any disease or health condition.
August 29th, 2010 at 9:12 pm
The picture above isn’t poison sumac. In fact, I have been in contact with it off and on for years. I love to have it in my wooded yard because of the beautiful red fall colors. Also, I like the red spikes and make a great drink–a sort of pink lemonade from it. This sumac is very different from the poison variety and is not related to the poison variety which has drooping white berries on it.
August 29th, 2010 at 9:31 pm
Don – Well, the picture is very similar to what I’ve got in my yard, and I’m not saying mine is poison, nor is the picutre. It has, however caused some nasty rashes on me before my Epicor regimen started.
July 20th, 2011 at 12:44 pm
If the sumac in your yard is the type in the photo above, which appears to be staghorn sumac, then you must have some an allergy to it.. Sumac is in the mango and cashew family, I’d be interested to know if you have an allergy to either of those. With the reactions that you have to the plants, you might consider having a landscaping crew come in to remove it.. It shouldn’t cost too much, especially if you tell them you have a bunch of staghorn sumac to remove.
The truely sad bit is that for most people, sumac is a lovely plant not just for shade or just being pretty, but the shoots once peeled taste really good something like a fruit.. and the berries can be used to make different treats most noteably sumac-aid.. useing it’s tartness.. easily one of my favorite usefull plants that I often come across in the woods near my home.
Either way I wish you the best of health and I hope you never have another sumac reaction.
July 22nd, 2011 at 1:10 pm
Thanks Adam. Like I said, my EpiCor daily regimen, I believe, has changed my body’s immune function to the point where I don’t get irritated by touching that sumac any more. I’ve been out in the yard trimming that tree several times since that post, and have not had any skin conditions emerge.
August 10th, 2011 at 11:04 pm
I would like to hear about your EpiCor daily regimen that you believe has changed your immune system. Please give us the details~
August 11th, 2011 at 9:27 am
Hi Old one: Thanks for your question. My experience while taking EpiCor can be viewed by clicking the “My Experience” category tag in the left column of this page. In a nutshell, since I began taking EpiCor daily some 3.5 years ago, my seasonal allergy symptoms have been significantly reduced, my bouts with winter “crud” symptoms have declined to a mere day or half day of milder symptoms, once a year at most, that dissipate fairly quickly, as opposed to a week or 10-day ordeal. And without flu shots as well. All in all, my daily quality of life (and days of missed productivity) because of these health impacts has improved. Also, from reading the research on EpiCor’s prebiotic impact on gut health, and the gut’s pervasive role in long-term immune function, I am confident that I am likely helping my long-term overall health as well. These are my experiences only, and I don’t claim that anyone or everyone would have the same outcomes as me. And please note I am talking about symptom experience only, and not about the elimination of allergies or crud or any other health condition. Also please note that I try to eat somewhat healthy…I don’t do fast food three times a day. I do eat meat and dairy, but also try to get a a lot of fiber, limit sugar and salt, and drink alcohol moderately as well. I also try to get regular, moderate exercise. I think my results with EpiCor may have been less significant if I had an atrocious diet and was totally sedentary with no physical exercise. My attitude is immune health, as with overall health, is not just about taking a supplement, but requires good practices in diet, exercise, sleep, and stress management. I also believe being actively engaged in a community, whether work, church, school, or even a bowling league, also makes an immune health impact, and research has borne that out. And, finally, I also wash my hands when I’m supposed to.