Poison Ivy

Dawg

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HOYTnMUZZYboy 10-Pointer

HOYTnMUZZYboy

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I get that darn stuff every spring summer and fall lol. Only way I can get rid of it is to go to the Dr. and get cortizone (sp). There are different kinds of body wash things you can get. I have tried just about everything and nothin works for me but the cortizone. Hope you dont get it like i do. When I get it I get it EVERYWHERE lol. Hope it drys out quickly!

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TBow 8-Pointer

TBow

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I'm not sure about some of the medications, but you would be wise to ask your doctor about side effects of some of them mentioned. Prednisone, although can work miracles, has its own nasty effects that you should be aware of first before taking it orally.

I have gotten poison ivy about half a dozen times in my life, and hope I never get it again. It doesn't affect everyone exactly the same. While some have claimed immunity to it and brag about that fact, it can sometimes hit them harder when it does finally penetrate their immune force field.

For me, it seems to affect me worse everytime I get it. Typically it lasts about 1 month in the effected areas and can spread like wildfire all over your body. Doctors seem to be most concerned about it getting on the face and groin areas. Not that it causes any more problems in those locals, it's just that it creates more problems for the victim what with wanting to constantly scratch those areas and the embarrasement of being in public.

The best remedy for poison ivy for me was exposure to dry air. Oh ya I used the calomine lotion and also the cortisone creme. Don't cover the effected area such as with cloth wraps as it will only keep the oozing sores spreading it under the wrap. Showers and baths will also spread it. Well at least it did for me.

The last time I got it, I knew it was in the locale that I was cutting grass, so I wore rubber boots, paper painters' coveralls, work gloves and a full face mask respirator. I forgot to duct tape the glove's gauntlets to the coveralls and negated to pull the coverall's hood over the face mask. The pollin from the poison ivy became airborne when I was cutting it and landed on any exposed skin such as around my wrists and back of my neck. You could actualy see poison ivy breakout at the lines from the elastic coveral bands around the wrists and neck. Within one week it was covering over half of my body with some eventual spreading and oozing sores almost 3" wide by12" long. Nasty! Nasty! Nasty!

Doctors are more concerned with infection from the sores and the eventual scratching you will inevitably do. One double edged sword that gave me both relief and grief was hot showers on the effected areas. Water as hot as you could take seemed to feel like the itch was being scratched, but then again I believe it aided in spreading the darn stuff.

Dry air, exposure to sunlight, loose fitting clothing, some calomine lotion, time and learning to identify the dadgum dangblasted weed have been my cures......the latter remedy being the ounce of prevention to alleviate the need for the first five treatments.

Oh ya, I've been told that everytime you get it, it seems to affect you to a greater degree with the next time you come into contact with it. Not sure if it's true for everyone, but it sure hit the nail on the head in my case(s).

And if you have any clothing, utility tools or even lawnmowers or whipper snippers that have been used while working in a locale with poison ivy plants, you would be wise to wash all in hot water and soap before using them again or else the nightmare could start all over again.

TBow

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woolybear Monster Buck

woolybear

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I've heard jewelweed but have yet to try it. Got the ivy pretty bad last year and just let it run its coarse and scab over.

I'm half tempted to go play in it again this summer if I have some of the antidote near by to test out for myself.

We've got quite a bit of it around here ( PI and jewelweed) and it's supposed to work well on a variety of bug bites as well. Might be a good test to start with there.

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ruttinbuc Monster Buck

ruttinbuc

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Some do get it worse than others. Just as some are more prone to getting it. I have had some serious bouts with poison ivy and have really not found one treatment more effective than another. Got a shot and Prednisone one time. Hot water as hot as you can stand it will alleviate the itch.

Hot saltwater baths seemed to work at drying it up. The best relief I ever had was a swim the ocean. It was gone in a day.

The best thing to do is stay away from the stuff if at all possible.

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mossyhorn 8-Pointer

mossyhorn

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Jewelweed is said to take away a skin rash. You might know it as a touch me not plant. Problem is it does grow until June. They break it in half and rub the water inside on the ivy and poof. I never reacted to ivy until about 5 years ago and now seem like anytime I go to the wood I get. I am only person I know that get it during the winter. I still done get it bad unless I touch my eyes then they swell shut and its off to the doctor. Lotion take the itch away but the rash is still there. Avoid soaps with oils in them because it can spread the oils that cause the rash in the first place. Or if it is really really itching I have take something rough and scratch my arm until the little bumbs bled and scabbed. That done the trick, it burns but the burn goes away faster then the crazy itch.

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redkneck Monster Buck

redkneck

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i can feel the pain, im so alergic to it i only have to get a few inches away and i break out, i fast trip to the doc's for a shot, and some benadryl, and some calimine lotion, you'l be good as new in a week or so.

The two basic remedies right there. I wouldnt go to the doc unless it's a bad case, or just making it impossible to sleep at night.

I've almost never had issues with it unless weed-eating with shorts on and chopping it up and hitting my legs with it. I've also heard horror stories of folks burning it in a fire and inhaling the vapors with bad effects. Have also heard spraying deodorant on your skin can help prevent break-outs if you have to be around the stuff (so our forestry guys say).

Hope it clears up soon Corey.

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PA_RIDGE_RUNNER 8-Pointer

PA_RIDGE_RUNNER

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I am very suseptable to poison ivy. When I was younger I got it every year. My 8th grade picture (yes they had cameras then) was almost unrecognizable as me. An old fellow saw some poison Ivy on my arm and said do you want to get rid of that poison I said sure. He said Put Clorox on it. I did and it dried up in only a few days. The active ingredient in Clorox is Sodium Hypoclorite (sp) and the strength is 5.25 %. My wife's pharmacology book states that it is harmful to living tissue in strengths more than 5%. At the time my poison was to the bubble stage but man that full strength stuff burned. Two days after I started the Clorox it was already drying up. A doctor saw my arm and said poison Ivy huh. I said to him that I was using a home remedy and it works. I asked him why drs would not at least mention this remedy. His reply is that Clorox does indeed neutralize the poison but most people that come to the dr have the stuff in the open weaping stage and could not stand the burn of clorox. He said it is a great preventive to use when you know you have been exposed to poison to wash the area with 1/2 water and 1/2 clorox. What I do and I have not had poison ivy for a number of years is when I know I have been exposed me and the clorox bottle go into the shower where I pour a little right out of the bottle and wipe my exposed skin and immediately rinse it off. If I have a cut it will immediately let me know as it burns like fire but I have not got poison ivy for a bunch of years. It should be the state flower of both Kansas and PA. As both states have lots of it.

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ljmelea 4-Pointer

ljmelea

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poison ivy releaf

I can get poison ivy looking at a picture of it!I have found two things that help me when i'm hunting turkeys in the ivy.First is a product called Technu,found at wal mart.The second is rhino skin,it seems to keep the oil off your skin.I do wash everything after the hunt,and use rubber gloves to take my clothes off.hope this helps,you put the technu on before you go,Larry

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TBow 8-Pointer

TBow

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Shaun,

I've heard others tell me they were immune to the stuff and would even go so far as to grab a plant and appear to wash their hands in it to display their immunity. Then like a bolt of lightning, one time the immunity didn't work and they were hit harder than most.

I know you like fishing the Ottawa river, but it's home to a good many islands and shorelines plastered with poison ivy. For example, Aylmer Island just off Aylmer is virtually laden with the stuff. One of my workers was out there quite a few years ago and had to relieve himself and merely grabbed some leaves to assist in the clean up. Needless to say it was a handfull of poison ivy and he couldn't sit for the next two weeks.

Geoff

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billkay Monster Buck

billkay

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I get relief from it by using a Q tip dipped in bleach and then rubbing it on the area. Burns pretty good, but usually ends the problem. There is a product out there that you wash with as soon as you can after you think you got into the ivy that will disolve the ivy oils and you never get the itching.

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