# wisteria irritation: quick fix **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 4, 2014, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wisteria-irritation-quick-fix/697480 "2014-09-04T15:21:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![gracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@gracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gracer)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2014, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wisteria-irritation-quick-fix/697480/1 "2014-09-04T15:21:34Z")
Just cut an insignificant amount of wisteria back (just where it blocked the light) and now the skin of my arms is going crazy! Does anyone have a quick fix for this? I rinsed with soap and water, but so far no luck. How about oil? It’s ok, I am not dying, I did not eat it, I am not going to A&E, I don’t need a doctor. It’s just an annoying itch! ---
**Author:** ![phouka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c5a1d2/32.png) [@phouka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phouka)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2014, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wisteria-irritation-quick-fix/697480/2 "2014-09-04T16:29:24Z")
I’m not finding anything scary by searching for wisteria, so chances are you only have some contact dermatitis. Take an over-the-counter antihistamine, use some hydrocortisone cream on the rash, take a cool bath with a cup of oatmeal mixed in, and keep your arms covered so you don’t rip them up scratching. Just the regular old precautions you’d do for any contact dermatitis. ---
**Author:** ![AnaMen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dfb087/32.png) [@AnaMen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnaMen)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2014, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wisteria-irritation-quick-fix/697480/3 "2014-09-04T16:41:37Z")
Fels-Naptha soap works for poison ivy, so maybe it will help. ---
**Author:** ![Jman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jman/32/4416_2.png) [@Jman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jman)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2014, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wisteria-irritation-quick-fix/697480/4 "2014-09-04T16:47:03Z")
On a related note, how exactly do you control the wisteria? I had a wisteria plant in my back yard that nearly ate my deck. Took me almost two years to finally get rid of it. Tried trimming it, but that was a dead-end…eventually decided to simply chop the whole thing out. Took it down to the roots below ground level. A few weeks later…giant shoots surrounding the deck, pushing through, etc. Took trimming and repeated applications of brush killer over the next two years before the darn thing finally died. ---
**Author:** ![gracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@gracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gracer)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2014, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wisteria-irritation-quick-fix/697480/5 "2014-09-04T23:06:28Z")
Thanks for the responses! Yep, contact dermatitis, thanks **phouka**. I swear the crazy itching also meddled with my brain. I had to go to an open air Shakespeare production, still itching like mad. Then found some Wasp-Eze in the car: magic! Such wonderful, glorious relief. **Jman** , your wisteria sounds naughtier than mine! Mine grows up the verandah and looks very pretty. I just cut it back in winter. It does try to get into the cracks of the roof of the verandah, but I tug out the shoots. There’s another in the pear tree, I don’t do anything about that. I’ll probably need to get rid of that at some stage, but it looks so nice. It’s never made me itch before, and in summer I usually just snip little bits when it gets out of hand. If you like the way they look, I know they can be grown as a small tree. You could try that, that way it wouldn’t ruin the deck, or other things near it. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2014, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wisteria-irritation-quick-fix/697480/6 "2014-09-05T19:45:30Z")
Huh, I’ve never experienced or even heard of wisteria causing itching. When I was young there were so many wisteria vines in the woods that we could climb part of the way up a tree and walk across the top of the wisteria. My friends and I never had any issues as a result (oh, we had issues, just not from wisteria). As far as getting rid of it - about as easy as getting rid of a free loading relative. ---
**Author:** ![gracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@gracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gracer)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2014, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wisteria-irritation-quick-fix/697480/7 "2014-09-05T19:53:40Z")
> [@Doctor\_Jackson](#): > > Huh, I’ve never experienced or even heard of wisteria causing itching. When I was young there were so many wisteria vines in the woods that we could climb part of the way up a tree and walk across the top of the wisteria. My friends and I never had any issues as a result (oh, we had issues, just not from wisteria). > > As far as getting rid of it - about as easy as getting rid of a free loading relative. Yeah, also never had an issue before, and normally when I’m full-on cutting it back later in the season I’ll be on a ladder with my face right up in the plant and everything. I’ve also cut just little snippets in summer before without this issue. But I think it must’ve just been more sap than usual, because of the time of year? Anyway, I’d googled a bit and it did say it happens sometimes on several different websites, but I couldn’t find any advice on how to make the itching stop. I was actually thinking more of vinegar/water/dock leaves solution, less of a benzocaine and anti-histamine solution. Most of these relatively mild plant itches have a folk remedy. But when the relief came in the form of Wasp-Eze, I could not complain. 🙂