Poison Ivy?

[Finlander]

I contacted poison ivy about a week ago when I put up three treestands and was wondering if anyknows what the best way to get thru the rash, itching?

[BLACKJACK]

Me and poison ivy don't get along either, I usually get some 2-3 times a summer. What I use is an over the counter anti-itch cream, its will have different names according to what brand you buy, but the main ingredient is 'hydrocortizone 1% creme'. Good luck!!! If its really bad, goto the doc, they can get you something stronger.

[Ralph Wiggum]

Calamine usually helps, too!

[Scoot]

Yep, what Blackjack said. It's no dang fun...

[Code-Man]

I swear I sniff it and I get it! Best things I have found is go out to Wally World and see if they have Ivy Block if they still make it. Put that on any exposed skin PRIOR to going out. Then when your out there see if they have a Poision Ivy Kit should be like a lotion bottle and a spray mist. Use that once you get home. The lotion has grit in it that helps remove the oil and even if you do have bumps the lotion helps break up the oils on your skin and wash it off in the shower...USE COLD/COOL WATER. Hot water opens the pores of your skin to breath allowing the oils to spread! If the bumps appear use the mist to cover the area which dries and forms like a hard layer but clear to help the itch!

I hate poision ivy and I even got it one year in December so I have found what works!

Code-Man

[tsande00]

I am nearly 30 years old and have been active in the outdoors my entire life. I have never had a case of Poison Ivy... until this year. (coincidentally only a few days after I bragged to a fishing buddy that I must not be allergic to it since I've never had it)

Anyways, I got it all over my feet and legs. Nasty, nasty stuff.

I think the advice above is pretty spot on. I used a combination of calamine and hydrocortizone cream. I think the key is to get the rash to dry up and quit oozing junk.

[gurkster]

Cold/Cool water oatmeal bath. Should be able to get it at any pharmacy, it dries out the posion ivy real good. Follow directions on the package. Best thing I found for myself.

[Scoot]

I am nearly 30 years old and have been active in the outdoors my entire life. I have never had a case of Poison Ivy... until this year.

I never had it my entire life, until I was about 25 or so. Ironically, I spent tons of my youth, literally hundreds and hundreds of hours, playing in woods that had lots of the stuff around. Now that I'm not in the woods nearly as much, I get it at least once per year.

[going4it]

We used bleach growing up to kill it on our skin. Burns like heck but it dries it up with in a day or two.

[Musky Buck]

Get some of that industrial strength stuff that lineman/REA boys have at their disposal.

[Finlander]

Thinking about how I contacted the poison ivy, I think I touched it when I was swatting away low foilage clearing a trail using my sierra saw and hand clippers.

Now what do people use to clean contaminated equipment and clothes that were used during the trail clearing?

[huntnfish]

I have used denatured alcohol to clean my skin and tools and it seems to work. Its not the best thing to be putting on the skin but it does dry it out. I got it on my feet and in between my toes and I would give them a very healthy dusting of powder before I put my socks on in the morning and try to reapply a couple times a day and that seemed to help.

[FrontenacPike]

Yuck...nasty stuff!!! I too am very sensitive to poison ivy, If I even see a picture of it I get it. I always use (Google: Benadryl anti itch gel). It is a gel, so no sloppy liquid, it gives a instant cooling sensation to the affected area and eliminates the itch. It's a little expensive but well worth it to ease the suffering. Ohh yeah and trim those fingernails off!!!

[Finlander]

My hunting buddy called me yesterday to tell me that when he went to relieve himself in the woods last saturday he came in contact with poison ivy and you guessed it, right where the sun don't shine!

I just about fell on the floor laughing hearing that!

He'll be lucky if it doesn't spread north and south, along with east and west!

[reinhard1]

i had a bad case once and dont envy your buddy one bit. thankfully it wasn't in that area. it was bad enough on my leg. hope he recovers fast and sometime in the future he himself will laugh about it. it would be a great campfire story. good luck.

[psepuncher]

I used to cut 40 cords of firewood annually for resale.

I found ivy block worked. I also used ivarest if I got a rash.

It has 2% hydro and 14% calimine plus antihystamine.

After work I drowned myself in a cold oatmeal bath.

[certified jumbo]

i usually have to go on prednisone to get rid of my every summer case of the ivy. its the only thing that works for me.

[harvey lee]

I have used Hydrocortisone cream and it worked great. One can purchase a tube of it in most if not all drug stores or stores like Walmart for about $2.

I carry one in my backpack and one in my boat.

Aveeno also makes a nice small contianer of the stuff and it also works great.

[fishwater]

Kinda expensive, but a product called Zanfel is the way to go. It washes away the urushiol and stops the itch almost immediately.

[student]

The key to not getting poison ivy(assuming you couldn't avoid it all together) is thoroughly washing your hands or any contacted area as soons as possible and as often as possible. I keep a tube of Zanfel in my hunting bag so that If I think i've come in contact with the plant, I scrub any potentially infected area at least two times before I feel safe.

Tall boots and long pants are a must for me anytime I'm in the woods. I don't like bugs any more than I like poison ivy.