What could be doing this? I mowed Monday and started breaking out later that day, with new blisters showing up today still. Could I suddenly have developed an allergic reaction to one of these?:
velcro weed
Lantana
honeysuckle
raspberries
chickweed
yellow clover
bermuda grass
pink oxalis clover
fig tree
Hydrangea
Buddleia
grape ivy
Gardenia
vetch
elephant ear (Colocasia)
English ivy (Hedera helix)

That's what I can remember touching within the past week but if you know of something else that can cause a rash identical to PI please say so, it could be out there & I'm just not thinking of it.

One other thought I had was that I was handling leaf litter. Could PI leaves have blown into my yard and still have urishiol on them? I also threw out those black walnuts (from another post) and since the carboard boxes no longer had bottoms, I touched them a lot.

Yes, the urushiol in PI can be very persistent.

I don't know if Ivy Block works for other plants than PI (and relatives), but a whole bunch of the arborists and landscapers that I've taught over the years swear by it. Might be worth investigating!

Do you sleep on a mattress? If so, you may have bedbugs. Call an exterminator.

There is a few-years-old discussion on the perennial forum about plants that can cause a rash, but I read that over a couple times and didn't find anything I haven't touched many times before.

Of course I sleep on a mattress, but my partner doesn't have any of this rash (which appeared suddenly after several days of the first yardwork of the year).

This Wiki article includes some plants known to cause contact dermatitis. The 3 suspects are Quercus - I moved a lot of oak leaves last weekend. I was surprised to find this on the list since I've never heard of anyone being allergic to oak leaves, and the regular Quercus article on Wiki doesn't mention contact dermatitis.

The other two are greater celandine and English ivy. I did take some cuttings of my potted variegated Hedera helix, but can't figure how that would have yielded rash spots on my legs. I guess I could have transferred the oil from arm to leg when I sat down to rest. The celandine doesn't look familiar by flower or leaf. Would that be a "normal" weed for this area? I think I would have noticed yellow sap if I pulled some up?

This happened last spring also, although just on 1 wrist. This year I've managed to get it on both forearms & a few spots on my legs. It is concentrated on the "bottom" of my forearms, right where I would have had the most contact with the leaves I was picking up by the armload.

There is also grape ivy growing in a few spots that I probably brushed against, but unless I've developed a new allergy to this plant, I ruled that out since I've handled it many times before although I know it's got a reputation for giving people a rash. I ripped some off the fence last summer in chunks with my hands and didn't get any rash.

Luckily most of the spots are about finished, and thanks to the wonderful folks at Aveeno, I've been able to turn the itching down to a dull roar. The mystery remains, though...

To avoid problems in the future, you may need to wear long sleeves and gloves while working...and strip off before coming inside to jump into a hot shower. I still think you ought to investigate the IVY OFF, a lotion you simply apply before you begin your yard work.

(Gee, purple....you really sleep on a mattress? Gawly, you comin up in the world, ain't ya? lolol)

Research reveals that the common bedbug discriminates in its dining options. For example, multiple humans may routinely repose upon the same mattress, but not all of the reposers will become targets of the bedbugs' dining pleasure. Some may be nibbled upon; others not. There's no accounting for taste--even among bedbugs.

Thanks again, Rhizo, good ideas for prevention. If it happens again, I think I'll be motivated enough to see an allergist. Guess we'll have to find new, upscale friends when we get a new mattress soon. This set is only 3 years old, but I knew the euro-top would cave in. We're going to bite the bullet & get a ******pedic!

Tecnu is a life saver! I suffered for years with poison ivy from smoke that drifted over from people burning the overgrowth around trees in Kansas. I cannot stop from getting the nasty rash but can scrub the oils off my skin with tecnu and find relief. So far, here in Tennessee I have not had any problems which I think really supports my theory that it was the drifting smoke that got to me in Kansas. Anyway, just a hip hip hurrah for tecnu!!!

Julie

Thoroughly clean the bedroom: If you feel bed bugs could be camouflaging in the home, get a hold of a upright vacuum cleaner. Vacuum round the mattress, mattresses, and rugs. It is important to run the cleaner above almost any crevices or cracks on the wall structure. At the same time tidy the furnishings. If you can, disassemble the frame of the bed to check out bed bugs. Watch in every last space and location. Cleaning is one other very efficient strategy for eliminating bedbugs by natural means. The high temperature does not just eliminate the bed bugs, but in addition get rid of their specific ovum.

As I said on 4/9, my contact dermatitis is gone. If anyone who reads this does have an actual bed bug problem and not poison ivy, I hope this info is helpful.

I don't go in the woods and would never trust bathing or anything to wash off urishiol, although I'm sure that works. I just never touch it, so I know my rash isn't from actual PI.

An entry in the weeds forum has me wondering. There is a picture of a weed I know I've pulled a lot each spring. Wonder if it was this Euphorbia?

By the way, all the Euphorbia sp. have latex in them. You might want to in vestigate if this is the problem plant before picking up the Spurge you mentioned on the other thread.

That's why the other post in weed forum which named the pictured plant Euphorbia caught my attention.

That I know of, I've not had contact with any Euphorbias before moving here from OH a few years ago, so I will hope/assume the one pictured in the discussion on the weeds forum is the plant giving me a rash. Next time I notice some, I'll use a plastic bag to pull it, wash immediately in case (the same way I pull PI sprouts but luckily haven't had any of those here.) If I do that and get through next spring without getting a rash again, that was probably it. If not... (serious sailor cussing!) LOL! thanks!!