It's really not that big a deal. On most islands they are clearly marked with a red band. Don't touch them, don't eat strange fruit off the ground, and don't stand under them in the rain and you'll be fine. Even if not marked, just don't go groping trees. Don't worry about breathing the air, that part is sensationalist bullshit.
What's more dangerous, as tour guides will be happy to tell you, are coconut palms: Falling coconuts are responsible for more deaths per year than shark attacks. (Although that says more about the rarity of shark attacks, I guess...)
Oh well, atlasobscura seems to need the clicks.
And then there is this: "After all, it is rumored to have killed the famed explorer, Juan Ponce de Leon." By which they actually mean, a few paragraphs later, that the arrows that killed him "may have been" tipped with it. (If it had just been the arrows and not the irritating sap, surely he'd still be with us today.)
I've seen a few atlasobscura links on HN, usually I already know what the topic will be from the headline. Something feels a bit off about the site, almost like they exist for no purpose but to generate traffic.
The article did not mention it, but the poison severity of the tree varies quite a bit with season. Once the fruit has all fallen, the milky irritant on the tree has dried or washed off. You should still avoid staying under them in the rain as mentioned above.
Basic idea is that you need to clean yourself with a washcloth or loofah. The oil from the plant is like automotive grease. You need to scrub it off.
Like my dad says, "you haven't been proper dirty till you've had to use Dawn as shampoo".
Brake dust, OTOH, now there you need to scrub, preferrably with a stiff nail brush.
I get exposure to poison ivy on a regular basis but I know there's a 2h grace period in which I do all the yardwork around that stuff then jump in the shower. A normal shower takes care of it all.
Imagine my surprise a few years ago when I googled and discovered that Poison Ivy isn't a plant, it is a whole family of plants with quite a bit if variation in the family.
One thing to watch out for is root runners on the sides of trees. Some varieties climb trees for more light and the only part you see is the fuzzy brown roots--which are just as irritating as the leaves if you touch them.
:-D
Now that I know this tree exists, I have little doubt I'd die after a hike in the Caribbean.