poison ivy....UGHHHHH!!!!

[Dangerdoll]

ok, so my backyard sits on the edge of woods, a few of the tree's are on my side of the fence. They are covered with vines. At the last house I had, this same thing except one of the trees was dying..... as soon as I removed the vines, the tree sprung to life like crazy. I figured, I'd take control of these vines before anything got worse for the trees here. I wore gloves..... never showed any effects of being allergic to PI before.... well, 3 days later and my right fingers and top of my hand is itchy as anything. My neck, chin, nose, and jawline are painfully itchy as ever..... no sign of red bumps that I'd expect on my face but they are all over my hand and fingers. My face is just a little puffy along the jawline.... I use cortizone during the day and calimine(sp?) lotion at night..... sometimes a cool rag in between treatments...... any other suggestions?

[slipknottin]

there is a perscription medicine for poison ivy, works wonders.

[OrionGirl]

Vinegar soak--and don't re-use anything that has touched the area. Make sure your detergent will break down the oils. If it doesn't start clearing up, call your family doctor or a dermatologist. Most people aren't sensitive, but if you are, it may require more then OTC treatment.

[Dangerdoll]

who'd a thought that I'd be contemplating visiting the doctor for poison ivy, not my idea of a need to visit. I'l see how soon I can make it. OG, are you saying "straight vinegar" or diluted? I'm assuming white, right?

[Leopardess]

Oatmeal baths are known to help alleviate the itching a lot, too! A lot of people go to the doc doll. Don't feel like you're being a wimp if you'd like to go. They can give you a prescription and some lotion to help it out. Keep an eye on it though, esp if you've never knowingly had it before. Some people are reallllllllly sensitive to it (my mom is really bad. Poor thing.)

I'm sorry:( But resist the itching! You don't want little scratch scars:(

Side note: I think its true, but it may be an old wive's tale that you should be careful when burning brush in case you burn some ivy. What I *think* i've heard is that you can even get it in your lungs sometimes if you inhale the smoke! But I can't say how true it is.

[Dangerdoll]

thanks Leo, I guess I just never heard of the infection getting so serious as to bring you to the doctors, but I will stick it out a few more days and go after the weekend if things don't improve.
people at work have been suggesting the oatmeal bath too and I went out on Lunchtime to get that Aveeno oatmeal bath stuff..... plus some Aveeno anti-itch cream. I have been doing my best not to scratch it, it's sooooooo tough though, but I'm doing my best ;)
I've been reading around and saw that about the burning of the leaves, it's a no-no because the urushiol (the stuff that causes the allergic reactions on the skin) can be spread through the vapors/smoke of the fire and get into the lungs, and that can be pretty bad.... I can just imagine that nightmare.

[cgrabe]

I had to go to the doctor's for poison ivy as a child. I was always playing in the woods and got it awful. At least twice I ended up with blisters the size of nickles on my hands and had to drain them. I'd wake up in the morning with my eyes almost swollen shut and a face to match. I haven't gotten it in a while though.

[Dangerdoll]

ewwwww.... that's rough cg, I guess my reaction isn't that bad then..... I have red mosuito looking bumps on my hands and fingers and just puffiness on my face.... other than that, it all itches like crazy. (no scratching, Leo ;) )

[chunksofpoooo]

the best possible treatment is bleach, but that stings like crazy! So, the best possible alternative is rubbing alcohol. The alcohol works great to dry out the oils that cause the itch. It generally takes about 2-3 days of treatment, but it works really well. Apply the alcohol every few hours and let it air dry. The alcohol generally works well with the itch too.

If that doesnt work, which it should, you can try bleach, but i warn you, it really burns

edit note*
alcohol doesnt burn, dont worry (unless you scratched so much that your bleeding, in which case it might sting. And if thats the case, im gonna recomend you dont use bleach)

edit note#2*
i highly recomend not using bleach, ive never used it, ive only heard of people using it. Soaking the affected areas in hot water opens the pores, whether you use dawn (or some other oil cutting soap) or rubbing alcohol shouldnt matter too much, they both work to get rid of the oils. The rash will last about 2weeks untreated

[dwayne]

On my way out the door but my mother swears by Dawn dish detergent (must be dawn - kind of like the father in My big fat greek wedding has to have windex, this is the same thing with Dawn) and as hot water as you can stand --

Run the water, apply dawn to the affected area and soak a washcloth or even a fingernail brush in the hot water... scrub affected area. Rinse in hot water.

This rids the skin of any residue. Get rid of (or wash in wicked hot water) anything that has touched the affected area.

Good luck (for the itch she uses, don't laugh, Tucks hemmorhoid pads -- I think it's straight witch hazel -- it works for the itch of mosquito bites, that I can vouch for).

~Tara

did you know they used Dawn to clean up the Exxon Valdeez oil spill??

[geoffgarcia]

boiling water always does it for me
just pour it over the infected part
it'll give you something to think about other than itching:)

I do it every time I get poision whatever

[Dangerdoll]

ooooh, tons of good ideas... thanks everyone..... how long is Poison ivy supposed to stick around for?

[125gJoe]

there is a perscription medicine for poison ivy, works wonders.
I can see getting a presciption for it, if you are very sensitive to poison ivy. And also, there's a possibility of scarring from scratching it...

A presciption would most likely work the fastest of the remedies available.

[gonefishin]

Side note: I think its true, but it may be an old wive's tale that you should be careful when burning brush in case you burn some ivy. What I *think* i've heard is that you can even get it in your lungs sometimes if you inhale the smoke! But I can't say how true it is.
A friend of mine was hospitalized due to inhalation of burning poison ivy. It was pretty bad for a while but now he is very resistant to it. I'm lucky that I now live above it's growing altitude. You can run through the woods here without worrying about that kinda thing.

[avoxo]

Hi Dangerdoll, I have never had any problems with poison ivy; I could walk through fields of it and never get it, until this year. I weed whacked a poison ivy plant and tried to pull the rest of it out by hand and paid for it dearly. I had a systemic reaction to it. Did all the home remedies before going to see a doctor. I went 3 times to the doctor, had 2 shots and did 2 rounds of steroids and took Claritin for a month. It was sooooooooooooooo bad. I recommend you go get checked out; also you need to wash everything you touched after you first handled the plants. Recontamination can happen because the Urushiol oil will stay active for 1 to 5 years. This stuff is nasty. Another thing once you have a reaction to poison ivy it tends to be more sever after each time you get it

Here is a web site about it Poison Ivy (http://poisonivy.aesir.com/)

[Milky]

I had gotten severe rashes
around my " family jewels" because
the moisture and heat created by my
fish tanks was giving me a heat rash during
the hot summers my room is in the basement and isnt very
ventilated the rash wouldnt go away untill i moved
the fish tanks outside on the deck... I have
to keep my room as cool and dry as possible
sensitive skin ... :mad2 my tanks are outdoors
now and all the fish are doing well ..

[Tyler718]

Doll,
So how are you feeling today? Any better?

T

[greeneyedlady]

Daw dishwashing liquid is a good greese cutter if you wash up with it right away I think you have like 10-15 minutes to get the oil off your skin once you are first exposed to have the greatest chance of not having a reaction. Also wash everything you were wearing including the gloves in Wisk or another good greese cutting formula, don't forget the tools you were using outside as well as mentioned before the oil sticks around a long time. I haven't gotten poison ivy in a while but I used to wash up really good with salt water and Dawn if I knew I had been exposed.
Alcohol does work to dry up the rash but can be a tad stingy if you have been itching. The Aveeno works really well also I was unlucky enough to get it when I was 8 months pregnant with my second son and was unable to use anything with Benadryl in it (ie: caladryl, calamine, etc) so I was making a paste of the Aveeno and spreading it on my belly where I broke out. People swear you can't get it from another person but I am here to tell you that you can. I was not anywhere near the woods when I got it that time. But my oldest son had it and touched me because he wanted to pat the baby. He had already had it for a week. :(

[Dangerdoll]

Doll,
So how are you feeling today? Any better?

T
better, yes, thanks T ;)
well, things have gotten better since Friday. Well, at least for my face it did. It's still pretty bad on my hands though....I tried using Aveeno cream on Friday and it didn't help much....but the bath gel does......go figure..... I switched to Benadryl Gel and that worked wonders! What a relief. I can't believe the nightmare it is when you can't scratch!! My hands, who cares.... but my face... ugh!
Just like you avoxo, there was times when I could walk through a field of the stuff and everyone around me would be covered with it, not me...... until this time.... acctually, this time is the first time I actually used gloves..*hmmm... thinking* I just wonder how long this stuff is gonna last on my hands..... Anyhoo.... All weekend I was feverishly doing laundry and cleaning anything that I thought I mighta touched. Actually GEL, I did forget the tool I was using, but will take care of that tonight when I get home.

Thanks for all your suggestions, help, and concern guys, you all rock ;)