Poison Ivy, Oak, Sumac Infections Soon Preventable and Detectable by Fluorescent Spray
In an effort to combat the misery of Poison Oak, Ivy and Sumac Infections, researchers are in the process of developing a spray that can detect the invisible oil on the skin or the leaves itself to avoid the pain and irritation of exposure.
Allergic reactions due to the oils consumes long and painful hours of a patients life, resulting in countless hospital visits, days of missed work or school and, last but most prominent, utter misery for the victims.
A report by the American Chemical society reveals that it only takes 0.04th of a drop of the oil to trigger a reaction and though it can be removed in time to prevent any full blown irritations, its colorless, odorless and all together undetectable properties results in inevitable pain and suffering.
But what if we could detect the oil on the leaves and/or our bodies before we can show signs of exposure and irritation?
Researchers reveal that they are in the process of developing a spray that when applied to anything can detect the presence of urushiol, the toxic oil produced by those plants. When exposed to an ordinary fluorescent light, the spray glows and, if urushiol is present, reveals the location of the oil in light bright splotches.
The project is being funded by the University of California Santa Cruz committee.
"This constitutes the groundwork for the future development of a spray to detect urushiol to avoid contact dermatitis," the scientists say.
Join the Conversation