Poison Ivy Remedies

Help! Please give me your best remedy for poison ivy.

 

Is it already active?

 

The neighbors had a tree with some horse hoof fungi on it. The tree fell. I asked if I could harvest the fungi. I had 4 little kids with me, trying to keep them away from the knife, and the poison ivy vine that was on the tree. I knew I touched it with the back of my hand so I came home and washed. I didn't wash up as far as my forearm. Now, I'm starting to break out.

 

Witch Hazel if it's just starting...

 

Oh, Yes it's just starting but I don't have Witch Hazel in the house.

 

Baking Soda helps

It's so common here in New England that most folks recognize it immediately and avoid it -

just saying


Hotwater

 

Yes, I recognized it but I really, really wanted the horse hooves.

 

Mother Nature Is Now Punishing You For Your Greed, May You Suffer And Shed Many Tears...... :bigcry:



Cheers Glen.

 

Yeah I saw Bear Grylls start a fire with it once on Man vs Wild - it was pretty cool


Hotwater

 

Vinegar?? Any abrasion I get I douse with white vinegar. If I remember my first aid training which I don't, I think I remember white vinegar cures anything and everything from insect stings to marine life stings. so any itchy bite or scratch that flares, I dab vinegar on that.

 

put some honey on it (just filling in for the squirrel who is probably asleep)

 

We just don't have the horse hoof fungi around here. It was one of those things. I saw them on the tree and the next week I read what you could do with them. The week after that the tree fell and I just had to have them.

Anyway, I got it calmed down with a single layer of toilet paper, wet with apple cider vinegar. You lay it on the skin and when it's dry in about 15 minutes you can take it off. It still took about 20 minutes to stop itching.

 

vinegar! I knew it, what a guess.

 

You're dealing with what is essentially a chemical weapon, in this case a blister agent. Each time you encounter this agent, be it Poison Ivy/Oak/Sumac, you actually lose your ability to counteract it. This means each successive, systemic exposure will have worse or longer symptoms or both. My last bad bout lasted nearly 5 months with a horrible 3 month center! When it's systemic it can pool and flare up anywhere on your body, not just the exposed area.

But I had a more recent exposure and I handled it like I would a weaponized agent, with harsh chemical neutralization. As soon as I became aware of the exposure, whilst gardening at our Atlanta hovel, I ran to the shed where I keep water treatment chemicals and cleaning supplies. I poured regular household bleach onto a rag and wiped the area several times. Then I rinses it with water, dried it and then wiped it with ammonia (yes, a big fat bottle of Windex) several times. Be certain you don't mix ammonia and bleach or you will form another chemical weapon, change rags and rinse water. I rinsed again and wiped the area down with acetone, though I would have used gasoline or any other number of harsh solvents. Then I took a shower, a long hot one. Wait a day before applying any sort of lotion or oil.

Aside from a bit on my foot (I was wearing sandals like a moron while cutting weeds), it didn't flare up at all. Yes, it was a horrible thing to do to my skin and I did get a bit of reddening from the chemicals. But neutralizing a chemical agent on the skin means that some of it is already mixed into the skin (it's more of a thin, dense sponge than a plastic sheet). But skin is pretty durable and I'd do just about anything to avoid another systemic outbreak. Think of it as a weaker form of Mustard Gas (which was more effective as droplets) and avoid repeated exposures.

And absolutely never collect poison Ivy/Oak/Sumac into a pile to burn it. The smoke carries the agent and will blister exterior AND interior parts (like sinuses and lungs)!

 

Baking soda and oatmeal baths helps as well. Just not in really hot water, a cooler bath.

I am fortunate as I do not react to poison ivy but my ex sure did. From head to foot.

 

Wow. I'd probably react the same way if I'd ever had it as bad as you.

So far, so good. I've only got 3 bumps on the inside of my forearm. I think I'll be okay if I can manage not to scratch at all.

 

Odd thing about poison ivy/oak/sumac... The plant oil is actually harmless. It's the body's immune system that "thinks" it's harmful (chemically it looks harmful) and over reacts thus causing the blisters and itching. This is why some people never get it and others have been known to get it from just seeing the plant with no contact. I've met some people that have had full blown "poison ivy" attacks that have lasted for months from handling English Ivy or Virginia Creeper just because they thought those were poison ivy. It's sort of psychosomatic...


When you have had contact, before any breakout occurs any dish detergent and COLD water will remove the oil. Hot water will drive it into the skin deeper causing a breakout in places where there was no contact. There are several soaps available that claim good results but dish detergent cuts oil, because it is oil, and it just rinses away.


For a partial, or breakout that just started, Witch Hazel works very well.... It cuts the oil and soothes the itching. Should be on the shelf anyways for insect bites/stings. Benadryl helps too because it's an allergic type of reaction, topical is best but oral forms can help too.


Once it's a full blown breakout... You're on your own. Drying the oil seems to help some people but not others. (Oatmeal, baking soda, calamine lotion, etc. dry the oil or absorb it and draw it away from the skin) There's a shyt-ton of products that claim results, but they don't work for everyone either. Tecnu Oak and Ivy seems to be pretty good stuff for removing the oil immediately after contact or after a full blown breakout to keep it from spreading.



I always recommend wearing socks on your hands when you sleep... so you don't wake up in the middle of the night ripping your skin off in chunks.

 

It was never so bad throughout my entire life, but as I was told, it gets worse with each exposure. And yes, scratching will spread it.

 

For several years, my husband would break out on his upper arms when the poison ivy started growing outside. He never had any contact those years but he broke out.

 

Be mindful of inadvertent ways of being exposed to it. It can remain on clothing, pets, and garden tools which can infect or re-infect a person. Being in contact with the grass clipping from a lawn mower can potentially infect a person.

Various plants have effects similar to poison ivy.

http://www.ivydry.com/other-poisonous-plants.php

http://solutionsforyourlife.ufl.edu/hot_topics/environment/poisonous_plants.shtml