Q. When I was two, I was very ill and was hospitalized in a sanitarium. There the children were fed goat’s milk. The goats roamed the hills around the hospital and foraged on poison oak.
I have been immune to this plant all my life. I could even rub it on me and nothing would happen. I have pulled up a lot bare-handed. I’ve always assumed that drinking that goat’s milk was responsible. What do you think?
A. Goats will eat poison ivy and poison oak without problems and can be used to control these noxious weeds. American folklore holds that drinking the milk of goats that have eaten these toxic leaves will make a person less susceptible to the rash.
Scientists say, however, that the goat’s milk contains no urushiol. This is the compound that causes the rash. So drinking goat’s milk shouldn’t protect people. We found your story fascinating, though. Some people are more resistant to this contact dermatitis, and you may to be one of the lucky ones regardless of drinking goat’s milk.
