Poison Ivy Help

[CaseyP]

moderators, if this is inappropriate, please delete. i just hate to see people all itchy, especially kids.

the northeast got a lot of rain this spring and the resulting herbage on the banks of some of our streams is not to be believed. raspberries are doing great!

but so is the poison ivy. if you usually get a rash from this, here is some advice that has all but eliminated the problem in our household:

after fishing amongst those "leaflets three", use poison ivy soap to wash off the chemical that will make the rash. there are several varieties, amongst them Burt's Bees, and i spotted some other sort in our local variety store. it's not cheap by any means, but it works. wash with lots of lather and warm water, and wash 3 or 4 times. some folks suggest using laundry detergent if you don't have the special soap, but i have found that less effective.

if you get poison ivy rash because you didn't have the soap, use teething medicine to take away the itch. just put it on the rash. the itching stops and the swelling goes away. again, not cheap, but effective. this stuff is also really good for mosquito and other insect bites too. you can apply it as often as you want, unlike some anti-itching medicines. it's made to go into a baby's mouth, so it should be safe on the skin!

[PanFisher]

It might be good advice to train yourself to recognize it as well. I still remember pulling into camp and noticing my friends had decided to dry out their waders by hanging them on a bush of poison Ivy. One of them did end up coming down with the rash a little later. It's not that hard to spot if you know what to look for. I am thankful to the Boy Scouts for saving me the pain of the rash.

[DaveMac]

Thanks Casey, You really cannot have too many reminders about poison ivy. Only need to have it once to learn a hard unpleasant lesson.

[Allan]

Hate the plant - Love the song!

Allan

[Sonny Edmonds]

I live in Poison Oak Terror-itory.
And old Cowboy we use to trade eggs with for goats milk helped me for life with this advice:
Monty said to get a bar of Ivory Soap (99 44/100ths percent pure) and wrap in in a clean white wash cloth.
Get in the shower and turn it up as warm as you can stand it, scrub anywhere it itches.
Then turn up the heat as much as you can stand it and repeat.
Do that until you get relief from the itching.
In a few hours, or when it starts itching again, repeat.
Monty's method worked wonders. Dryed it up in a matter of a couple to a few days.
I've have had Poison Oak so bad it was on the inside as well. Monty's technique worked every time.

Also, take anti-histamines, like Benadryl, to help fight the discomfort from the inside out.

The heat of the water brings the oils to the surface, and the soapy wash cloth cuts it loose so it goes down the drain.
He also warned against using other soaps. Some deodorant soaps make it worse.

And I bet you have a bar somewhere around your house right now.
(Ever wonder what the .66% is?)
(Kind of like Maxwell house coffee. Good to the last drop! What is wrong with the last drop?)

[bikebum]

i find that the Technu brand soap works if you use it within a few hours of contact with poison oak (we don't have the ivy here). i find that washing the first time with cold water and lots of technu works the cold water keeps your pores closed tight so it cant absorb.