That link doesn't make a claim quite that strong. I also don't know anyone that has eaten it.
Given that I know dozens of people who demonstrably lost their sensitivity to poison oak via the accidental chronic exposure regimen I outlined above, at the very least it should raise a scientific question. It would be easier to dismiss if it was an isolated case or two. No one exposes themselves like that intentionally.
> lost their sensitivity to poison oak via the accidental chronic exposure regimen
This is not how the immune system is known to work.
Sensitivity does not downregulate. Increased exposure enhances detection and response. Recognition proliferates. Once you're allergic to something, it'll only worsen.
You can become allergic to new things, but you won't lose allergies unless the recognizer population dies off entirely. And even if it did, you're likely close enough to training your immune system to this sensitivity again. (You've already done it at least once.)
From personal experience, exposure does not lead to lasting immunity. Quite the opposite. I've had several intense exposure rashes that were debilitating, like not being able to walk properly for a week due to leg swelling. And I still get rashes from poison oak.
Maybe there's a bit of short term immunity from severe exposure. I've never tested that since the discomfort from an intense rash makes me avoid exposure like the plague for a few years.
In fact urushi is the Japanese word for lacquer, the plant is in the genus Toxicodendron.
Like most jobs until recently, making lacquerware was hereditary, and (clearly) the people making it were able to withstand sustained and direct exposure. It's possible that there is a genetic proclivity involved in ability to do the work, but just as clearly, there is hyposensitivity gained in exposure.
Wasnt there some sort of natural selection centuries ago so that only folks tolerant to such chemistry actually performed the job?
I know next to nothing about these topics but there are some wildly opposite claims in this thread. Truth has the tendency, despite being complex, to generqlly favor one direction.
jandrewrogers|1 year ago
Given that I know dozens of people who demonstrably lost their sensitivity to poison oak via the accidental chronic exposure regimen I outlined above, at the very least it should raise a scientific question. It would be easier to dismiss if it was an isolated case or two. No one exposes themselves like that intentionally.
echelon|1 year ago
This is not how the immune system is known to work.
Sensitivity does not downregulate. Increased exposure enhances detection and response. Recognition proliferates. Once you're allergic to something, it'll only worsen.
You can become allergic to new things, but you won't lose allergies unless the recognizer population dies off entirely. And even if it did, you're likely close enough to training your immune system to this sensitivity again. (You've already done it at least once.)
It's a failure mode of adaptive immunity.
simple10|1 year ago
Maybe there's a bit of short term immunity from severe exposure. I've never tested that since the discomfort from an intense rash makes me avoid exposure like the plague for a few years.
samatman|1 year ago
East Asian countries have a long tradition of lacquerware, which is made with urushiol-containing saps. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lacquerware
In fact urushi is the Japanese word for lacquer, the plant is in the genus Toxicodendron.
Like most jobs until recently, making lacquerware was hereditary, and (clearly) the people making it were able to withstand sustained and direct exposure. It's possible that there is a genetic proclivity involved in ability to do the work, but just as clearly, there is hyposensitivity gained in exposure.
Let me back that up with a citation. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1839723/
jajko|1 year ago
I know next to nothing about these topics but there are some wildly opposite claims in this thread. Truth has the tendency, despite being complex, to generqlly favor one direction.
darkclouds|1 year ago
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