Now We Know What Happens When You Get Poison Ivy in Your Eyes

by Jamie Hergenrader
·2 min read
Photo credit: Twitter/lauren_Petrozza
Photo credit: Twitter/lauren_Petrozza

From Women's Health

Ah, summer. The season of annoying skin issues like sunburns, bug bites, and, oh yeah...poison ivy. Brush up against this evil plant and you'll be left with a red, blistery rash that's super-painful and can last for up to three weeks. Get it in your eyes, like 21-year-old Emily Petrozza did, and you'll wind up with a pumpkin face—and maybe even a viral meme featuring your mug.

Emily, who’s from Newington, Connecticut, noticed a small poison ivy rash on her arm on Sunday but wasn’t concerned, she tells Buzzfeed. As an avid fisher, Emily was familiar with the pesky problem. She also shrugged off the sight of small red bumps around her eyes that night. But come Monday morning, she couldn’t open her peepers and her face was totally swollen.

RELATED: Easy Ways to Protect Yourself from Poison Ivy When You're on a Hike

A friend drove Emily to urgent care and Snapchatted this photo (like any good friend would do) to Emily’s sister, Lauren. And naturally, like any good sister would do, Lauren posted the photo on Twitter:

Lauren tells Buzzfeed that she expected people in her town to get a good laugh out of it. But the reaction stretched far beyond the borders of Newington—and the picture has now been retweeted more than 33,000 times. Faster than she could say, "Sorry, sis!" the picture reached epic meme status, comparing Emily's face to a puffer:

And to Will Smith’s allergic reaction in Hitch:

And, of course, to ET:

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Luckily, Emily’s since recovered. (And, apparently, she's still talking to her sister.) Learning the facts about poison ivy can help you avoid a similar situation. You can be infected by coming into contact with a shrub or a vine. In both cases, the leaves are divided into three pointy leaflets. Protect yourself by wearing long clothing or slathering on an ivy blocker (yep, that’s a thing, like sunscreen or bug spray).

And if you do end up contracting the rash, just make sure nobody sends a damn Snapchat.

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