If you’re going out for a hike this summer, protect yourself from poisonous plants like poison oak, poison ivy, or wild parsnip.

The sap of these plants can cause an allergic reaction and you can directly be contact with the plant or get it from a pet who has gone through a patch of the plant. Washington County Public Health Nurse Lynn Fisher shares how you can minimize the effects of poison ivy, “CDC does say that you can pour rubbing alcohol over it and that will help the oils. Other experts say wash with soap and water, and lots of water, really rinse it. And then even an hour later wash it again, try to get that oil off your skin. Be aware too that it can be on your pet’s fur. So if your pet dashes off for the woods or for the stream it can get on their fur and then you can touch it and get poison ivy from that. And your clothing, and it stays on clothing for a long time, so be aware that clothing you wear, shoes or jackets, and then you just put the jacket away it still could have that oil, even the next year when you take it out the next season.”

The Centers for Disease Control also recommends to scrub under your fingernails and apply wet compresses, calamine lotion, or hydrocortisone cream to reduce itching and blistering. In severe cases of the rash, or if it is on your face, seek medical attention. Fisher adds, if you see leaves of three, leave them be.