OT:Need suggestions to treat poison ivy (scratch,scratch)

[Susann]

I guess the subject says it all. This weekend I was Crazy Woman in the yard, trying to get rid of a large amount of ivy. Green thumb that I am, I didn't check exactly what kind of ivy I was pulling up. It isn't too bad-just on my arms, but I am about to go out of my mind wanting to scratch. I am hoping someone will have a foolproof home remedy.Please??????

[LIsaP]

I can sympathize entirely! I too am a poison ivy victim! Aside from being totally mad at myself for not being more careful, I am suffering terribly! I have it on my leg and left arm, big, ugly, hurting blisters and bumps. It is gross and uncomfortable!
I went to the dr today and they basically said calamine lotion and oatmeal baths are the best thing, other than that, it just has to run its course-which can be up to two weeks!
Hope you feel better soon! It is not a fun thing to have!

[ewatkins]

I had it really bad a few years ago, and after trying everything, I went to the dermatologist and got both a cream and a pill -- steroids, I believe. I learned a few things to counter the myths of my childhood: the oozing stuff is not contagious and cannot spread the Poison ivy. If you think you've been exposed, wash immediately with soap and water --it's the oil of the plant that irritates your skin.

[Kristilyn1]

Well, if you're open to homeopathic remedies--I can recommend a product called Rhus Tox. They are extremely small pills that you take several times a day (melting under your tongue). I have to say, I'm not a person that subscribes to homeopathy--but these little puppies worked! I started them on the second day of the rash and the itching was gone in a couple of days. They do not offer immediate relief but I found them to greatly reduce the length of the rash. If you get desperate, try them out, keeping in mind that you need to at least use them for 24 hours to expect any kind of results. I keep a bottle in my medicine cabinet just in case.

Kristi

[Mamasue]

ewatkins has the best advice....steroids. If you take this perscription, I guarantee that the poison ivy will start to dry in 2 to 3 days and the itch will cease too. Why prolong the agony with lotions and oatmeal baths! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[BosunsWife]

It is interesting to read all this information about poison ivy. My DH is HIGHLY allergic. He has been hospitalized several times with PI. Once when he was playing football in college in Connecticut they were burning it someplace around the field. He inhaled the fumes and basically was choking to death. He was in the hospital for about five days with that bout. He hasn't had it bad since we've been married, but he is almost paranoid about looking for the plant. When he was working on a ship in Seattle, they had several navigational aids that had to be serviced that were on rock outcroppings in the water. He got it a couple of times doing that too. God, I hope that DD didn't inherit that allergy from Daddy!

[maccmedia]

I have found relief with dabbing witch hazel on the bubbbles and blisters. It stings a little but helps to dry it out and takes the itch away. Good luck!

[Beth]

My dad is highly allergic to poison ivy, and I think he takes Benadryl (orally) and uses calamine lotion. You can also buy Benadryl cream or lotion and cortisone cream; they might help.

[Ed]

Hi,

I have been told that if a person will wash or shower using yellow soap, (Dial, Fels Naptha etc.,) immediately after working in the yard or area where there is Poison Ivy that will help prevent a person from getting it.

So far in this life I have been one who does not get Poison Ivy, my Mom, Dad, and I seemed to be immune to the stuff, but I still go by that yellow soap advise.

Ed

[Susann]

Thanks so much for your help! LisaP-I hope yours is getting better. Two weeks???? Argh!

I am currently using calamine lotion, benadryl cream, and some ointment DH gave me. Kristlyn-I am going try that Rhus Tox. Thanks for the info. Ed-thanks for the yellow soap info. I wonder what yellow soap contains that white soap does not???

[Kristilyn1]

While it doesn't sound like the case in question right now qualifies as an extremely severe case--my twin sister had horrible reactions EVERY summer that had her laid up for a month. She had to use crutches and there was no drug out there that helped. It always had to run it's course.

I'm very interested in someone else trying the Rhus Tox as I only know for a fact that it worked for me and the person who recommended it. A little clinical trial here would be nice..... I think most doctors who don't subscribe to homeopathy--say that typically the worst it can do is not work......

Kristi

[LIsaP]

Thanks for the advice everyone! Susann, I hope you are feeling better soon too!
This is by far the grossest thing I have ever had. Thankfully I work from home so I don't have to go out in public all day with these gross sores!
Today they are starting to drain and it is really freaky looking.
I am hesitant to take the steroids, but may have to resort to that soon!

[Mamasue]

LisaP....please watch those blisters. A friend of mine had real bad leaking blisters that just wouldn't clear up. She finally couldn't stand it anymore and went to see her doctor. Come to find out the areas of blisters were infected (red and hot around them) and she needed antibotics to clear up! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[BarbaraL]

I had a bad case of poison ivy years ago. I did the calamine lotion and Aveeno baths, but one thing that helped with the itch was, I believe, boric acid. It came in a powder; I mixed it with the hottest water I could stand, soaked a wash cloth in it, and laid the cloth on my skin. It really helped take out the itch. If you're interested in trying this, please talk to a nurse or pharmacist first; the incident I'm talking about was 20 years ago; in case I remember wrong, I don't want anyone to get hurt. Good luck! Remember, this too shall pass.

[lorilei]

If you're willing to try a natural remedy, paste made from turmeric and lime juice is supposed to work wonders on poison ivy.

Leave the substance on your skin overnight. It deters itching and will help to dry up the rash quickly...

[JHolcomb]

Barbara-
This doesn't have to do w/poison ivy (never had the stuff), but with boric acid. I know that it's used in commercial eye washes, which my dad and grandma swear by-I've used them a few times myself since I have very bad allergies and my eyes get really itchy. It totally relieves the itchiness of the eyes, and if it can be used in the eyes, I'm guessing it's safe for the skin.

My grandma's remedy for poison ivy, by the way, is bathing in diluted Clorox. Thank God I've never had poison ivy, especially at her house!

[LIsaP]

Thanks Mamasue! I am going to my dermatologist today! After three phone calls and a wasted visit to my primary care dr, they finally agreed to give me a referral to someone who can help me!
It is so hard to tell whether or not this stuff is infected as it is all so gross looking!

[Searcher]

We've had a few run ins with poison ivy. My oldest daughter decided that the new hired hand on the farm across the road was cute so she volunteered for haying. The hay had scratched her, not badly and it hadn't really broken the skin much, but after her bath that night, she was loaded with blisters in each scratch. By morning she looked like a racoon. The only clear area on her was her eyes. The doctor sent steroids. LOL I remember when I first saw them they looked like birth control pills and freaked! It just took a few days for her to heal and the other girls didn't get a thing.

My father was terribly allergic to poison ivy too. One day, he showed up at my kitchen door asking for help. He had blisters completely covering both wrists and, since my mother had told him not to pull out that patch of poison ivy and he ignored her, he didn't want her to know about it. The only thing I had in the house was Desetin....the diaper rash ointment so I smeared it on both wrists and bandaged them with gauze and tape. Ordinarily, I wouldn't have done such a thing but the cuffs on his dress shirt were irritating the blisters. That stuff was gone in two days. I don't know if Desetin has the same formula these days, back in the mid 70s this stuff smelled like fish oil and was very thick and oily. Worked like a charm though.