POSION IVY

[klausinak]

Fel's Naptha soap, if you can find it. Lather up & don't rinse; let the suds dry on the rash. It also works well as preventive maint., make sure you rinse then.

 

[rwsmith]

Careful with the prednisone

I was sweating in a patch of 'cow-itch' and got it bad from head to toe. Got prednisone and it blew me up like a water balloon. I can't take that stuff. I just had to be broken out and itchy for a couple of weeks.

 

[radar1972]

Never had it, but I've always been cautious around it just to be safe.

O/T, even though I've never had poison ivy, I sure did get lots of chiggers and redbugs when running through the woods as a kid.

 

[tops]

I read that jewel weed leaves, stems and flowers, mashed and rubbed on the affected areas works.
I tried it once and it seemed to help.

I have not had to try it again and am grateful for that.

I once worked with a person that would make a tea with jewel weed and I drank it one time as prevention. A neighbor found what he told me was jewel weed on our farm but he is gone and I can't find it anymore. I was thinking the stem was square but then again I don't remember good. I wish I could find it again just in case I need it sometime. Larry

 

[oneflycowboy]

Like some other people, I'm not allergic to it. But I have friends that are. When I was a kid, one of my friends got it from head to toe. It was even on his face. We had helped the neighbor down the street clean up some leaves and vines along a back fence on his property. We burned the leaves and vines in a big pile. The neighbor guy and my buddy got it real bad. However I wasn't effected at all.

I really feel for those that are allergic. It looks very uncomfortable...

 

[bearfoot]

thanks for the replys and suggestions!! started to w/ hedge cutters, about 40 deg., to cut down the blackberry rods and ivy mixed in. never thought the dead roots would infect me. they sat on the ground for over a month before i transferred them up the hill. the hillside started sprouting leaves the other day, just dug them and left them in a pile. tommorrow if the snow doesn't lay, i'll get rid of the piles. have a good easter w/ your friends and family.

 

[alwslate]

I live in the country and I get it very easily. And I got it one summer
just by putting on a pair of gloves I had used the summer before to
pull down some vines. The gloves had been out in the garage for a
year, the oil doesn't ever seem to dry. Once infected I have seen some
drying of the rash with a wash of plain rubbing alcohol 2-3 times a day.

 

[Jeff423]

Forget all the homeopathic and home/granny/best friend etc. cures. If you already have the rash you need steroids.

 

[islamoradamark]

i used to get it real bad i used the above remides and they all work sHot stops it, the soap and swimming in salt water. when i know i have to work near it or most of the time u dont know its there , when i go home i dont go in house i strip right there and throw those clothes in washer and myself in shower ASAP

 

[Kid44]

My best friend in high school took his girlfriend out in the woods to do what high school boys and girls do in the woods.
They laid their blanket in a patch of poison ivy and got down to business. Well, my friend had poison ivy literally where the "sun don't shine" and everywhere it does. As for her, she was not allergic to it.

 

[Cyrano]

I started out mildly allergic to it. Worked during summer vacations for a surveyor in Connecticut. Acquired an immunity after several years. Probably lost it by now.

 

[Airpark]

As a kid I was immune to it. Used to go to the ole swimming hole and we would play tag. To avoid being tagged I ran up a small bank cliff that was covered in it.

Down came tumbling one of the largest stubb tailled moccassins I have ever seen.

Guess I sort of disturbed him on the way up.

That stopped the tag game.

Found out recently that I no longer have the immunity. Went at some and found out the hard way.

WOW! What I had been missing all those years.

 

[Stevie]

Ivarest has worked better than anything OTC for me.

Try this stuff...Ivarest from the store...great shower soap for poison ivy/oak/sumac....smells bad but hey!..It works

As soon as you get exposed...take a shower and soap-up with Ivarest...wash everything on you....wash your clothes shoes..sheets and bedding too.

 

[BigBoy99]

I must be immune to it as I pull it out with my bare hands and it has never bothered me in all my years (I've in my 70's.) My wife just has to look at it and she gets it.

 

[bearfoot]

finally figured where i picked it up from the replys! as stated i cut it down when it was cold. from the "i thought the cuts dried out " and dead. and the extension i used for the hedge trimmer. dragged it thru the cut bushes. wrapped it around the arm to put it away, had a long sleeve shirt on, gloves and vest. so now clean up time on the shears, shovels, hedge trimmer and electrical extension. someone asked me how i got posion ivy, "it isn't even out yet?" just smiled. a lesson learned for the years to come.

 

[dmar]

I'm highly allergic, as well. Best over the counter treatment I've used is Zanfel. Spend the money and get the brand name/Zanfel stuff. Works very good.

If you've really got it all over, I'd suggest seeing a doctor for a steroid prescription.

When I'm clearing brush, I wear long pants and sleeves, and wear gloves with duct tape wrapped around the cuffs of the gloves and sleeve cuffs. I don't mess around with that evil stuff!

 

[littleriver1]

My philosophy in regards to POSION IVY. Scratch it till it bleeds then leave it alone awhile then scratch it some more. I mean, come on man, if you can't scratch it, poison ivy wouldn't be any fun at all. Seriously, it will go away by itself in a few days anyway, 5 to 7 at the most. I guess it doesn't bother me as much as most people.

 

[smokindog]

I respectfully beg to differ. Each individual is different and I used to be "immune". If I don't get prednisone at the first signs of an outbreak, mine will linger for weeks and it is downright incapacitating. Don't fool with it unless you know how you react. Go to a doctor. Now that I know what works for me, I'm a regular of one of the walk in clinics, tell them Name/poison ivy, and they give me my meds.

My philosophy in regards to POSION IVY. Scratch it till it bleeds then leave it alone awhile then scratch it some more. I mean, come on man, if you can't scratch it, poison ivy wouldn't be any fun at all. Seriously, it will go away by itself in a few days anyway, 5 to 7 at the most. I guess it doesn't bother me as much as most people.