How do you deal with Poison Ivy?

[OnAFly]

Once again, summer has rolled around and I have my obligatory poison ivy.

I used to have a tube of Clobetasol (prescription topical steroid), but this time they gave me Prednisone since I tend to wind up with systemic reactions to ivy. So far I'm in my 4th day of having the rash and 2nd day of treatment and it's safe to say that this is about the most miserable I've felt in a loooong time.

I've heard the following remedies help:

Washing in diluted Bleach

Covering in baking soda paste until dry

Avoiding cold water

Avoiding hot water (contradicting info!)

What's your secret to lessening the discomfort?

[holmsvc]

This is the best stuff I have found. It's not cheap, but it works.

http://www.zanfel.com/help/

[OnAFly]

I'll give it a try. I'm willing to give anything a try right now. The baking soda thing actually helped a lot for the itching but was temporary. By this AM, I was back to awful.

[leech~~]

I found some Turkey hunting this spring and not muched helped but to let it runs it's course which is 12-14 days. I used Cortaid on mine and not a lot works sad to say!

[IlliniWalli]

i am hypersensative to poison ivy/oak and used to get bad outbreaks several times a year until i discovered a product called technu, which i buy at walgreens.

technu washes the ivy oil from your skin before the rash has a chance to start. also, when the small blisters first start to appear, you can wash the area with technu and it will kill the rash.

i havent had a bad case of ivy since i started using technu five or six years ago. now, everytime i come home from turkey or mushroom hunting, the first thing i do is wash my hands and face with technu, rinse well and the rash doesnt have a chance to start.

one thing, though, is once you have watering blisters, its too late for technu. then i use a product called calagel, which i am pretty sure is made by technu, which is a thick gel that dries into a rubbery-like consistency that stops the itching and blocks air from getting to the rash, which really helps it dry. i havent had to use the calagel in several years, but its worked great for the wife a couple times this year.

and no, i am not a paid spokesman for technu. its just a great product that really works for me.

[smurfy]

I use to get that dump all the time also. I used rubbing alcohol on it. sure it stung a bit but it took the itch away. seemed to dry it up better then most other meds I used.

do they still do a shot for poison ivy??? I use to get them every year to lessen my chances.

[leechlake]

your doc has you on the right tract to get it handled within a week. If you use hottish water the histamines get released and you will get some temporary relief (temp relief feels awesome when you're constantly bugged) Especially at night when it seems to rear it's head when you're trying to sleep. Be careful though, I was so irritated one year I used my wifes blow dryer and burned my leg and got a staff infection eventually. Water that is pretty hot, like a hot tub around 100 will do the trick for 30 minutes of comfort.

[BoxMN]

Another thing about poison ivy, the more you come in contact, the worse it will get for you. It is the opposite to getting acclimated to it. I found I was getting it easier as the years go by, so now I try to protect myself from it, even at the risk of looking silly like mowing with neoprene muck boots, washing right away if I even think I got near it, etc.

Thanks for the post as others have given good info I will try as well!

[delcecchi]

Have you tried benadryl? Maybe it will help damp down the allergic reaction. Sort of sedating so see how it affects you if you have never taken it. It works pretty fast, and is cheap in generic form.

[OnAFly]

Well its 9 days after contact and there are still new small spots appearing. I dont think the Prednisone did anything. It seems to be taking the same amount of time as when I have taken nothing for it. I went to the doc again and they said I couldn't do the shot since I was on prednisone. They gave me clobetasol, which I have used with success before.

I tried $40 Zanfel, that didn't seem to do anything. I might give Technu a try as ive heard good things. I've tried most other over-the-counter stuff without any reprieve. Im guessing I will be ivy free in another week. I can't wait to actually sleep again.

[titelines]

I've done the same thing since I was a kid. Wash the area with soap and use Ziradryl. You can find it in any store (Cub, Walgreen's etc.). Clear liquid that you rub on with a cotton ball...it's always worked great for me.

[CaptainMusky]

What do you use to eradicate the oils from clothing? Specifically shoes?

My wife got poison ivy on her feet. Started out small, then wore her brand new shoes, even though she was treating the rash with something from the doc and she has visible tracks from a soft padding on the inside of her shoes, obvious sign of additional irritation.

These shoes were SPENDY. What can be done to get rid of it on her shoes? SHe had only had them a week.

[nofishfisherman]

I've heard a few differnt idea for getting rid of the oils from poison ivy but have never tried any of them.

Supposedly the Technu stuff can be used to clean the oils of items other than skin. Also heard of some stuff called Ivy Guard (probably look for it at big camping stores). Last items I've heard about is regualr deodorant, supposedly something in antipersperiant that helps clean it off.

Only problem is there is only one way to know if you got it completely clean and that is to wear the shoes again and hope you don't get another reaction.

[OnAFly]

I have the same question as the boots I was wearing are most likely covered in the stuff.

[TrapMan13]

If you wash with DAWN dish soap within a couple of hours of contact it will eliminate the grease off your skin and you shouldn't break out at all.. I get it real ba as well and have been hospitalized with it on several occasions. A doctor told me to try this and it has really seemed to work but if I do come down with it I agree as for over the counter that ZANFEL is hands down by far the best but if ts past over the counter treatment cortisone steroid dose packs seem to clear up the rash no matter the size in 5-8 days..

Good luck, it sucks!

[merkman]

Full Strength Bleach...

Dont do it unless you know what you are doing...

.

[OnAFly]

Bleach scares the dump out of me, so I didn't go that route.

I've heard of the Dawn method before.

I was prescribed clobetasol again, and saw improvement within 24 hours, gone within 72. Best stuff ever.

[BLACKJACK]

I get poison ivy several times a year, what works for me is:

1) If I know I've touched it, wash that spot with soap and water ASAP (works for stinging nettles too)

2) Wash clothes and shoes!!! One year I was getting dots of poison ivy on my toes, what the heck, I never go barefoot, realized that it was on my shoes, shoes were getting wet and the oils got to my skin.

3) Once I start getting the boils, I give it the hot, hot water treatment, even some scrubbbing then I give it the over the counter Hydrocortizone. Over the counter is only 1%, wish I could find something stronger, but it works, but you need to keep putting it on every 3-4 hours, I have tubes in my truck, at work, at home.

4) Watch your dogs!!! One year I was getting PI on my forearms, I realized it was from handling my dogs into and out of the truck.

[EBass]

Quote:

4) Watch your dogs!!! One year I was getting PI on my forearms, I realized it was from handling my dogs into and out of the truck.

Can dogs get it? I mean will they get a rash like humans do? Poison ivy is the worst.

[efgh]

There are 3 types of plants, that I know of, to give you the itching rash. There is poison ivy, poison oak and poison sumac. Burning any of the above can give you it if you are standing in the smoke. Also petting your pet after it runs thru a patch of ivy can infect you.

[Comit 2]

Kind of strange. Poison Ivy has no effect on me but I can't get near latex/bananas+. Let's not forget Hay, Wow, that stuff is killer.

[woodsmanmn]

I have her lay on the bottom

[titelines]

Wash with Fels-Naptha soap and apply Ziradryl..been doing that since I was as kid and it works great.

[solbes]

I would get it every spring when I was putting the dock in. Every year it got worse. And then I decided to heck with it, that dang plant is getting some Round Up (not a great idea around lakes/rivers). Year over year I see less and less. Haven't had PI issues in about 3 years now. I am careful to avoid overspray.

I do occasionally see or feel a rash coming on from incidental contact. If I notice right away, I wash the skin really good with good ol' Fels Naptha (remember using this stuff in Boy Scouts). If I catch it early enough on a small exposure, and concentrate not to itch it for 1-2 days, it goes away.

The worst time was when we kept getting it in new areas. The oil made it's way into our bed, and the wife even got a rash from it (she was PO'd!). Eventually figured out it was my darn pick up truck. After putting the dock in, I rested my arm on the window sill that has a soft fabric area. That area must have been coated, b/c I cleaned the heck out of it and all of our problems disappeared.

Wish they had a special light that would show you where the oils lie. Can be incredibly difficult to figure out if you keep getting new exposures, even when miles away from it at home.

[delcecchi]

I wouldn't be too worried about the roundup getting in the water...

From Wikipedia

Quote:

Glyphosate is generally less persistent in water than in soil, with 12 to 60 day persistence observed in Canadian pond water, yet because glyphosate binds to soil, persistence of over a year has been observed in the sediments of ponds in Michigan and Oregon.[19] In streams, maximum glyphosate concentrations were measured immediately post-treatment and dissipated rapidly.[19] According to research done in the late 1980s and early 1990 (Ecotoxicological Risk Assessment for Roundup® Herbicide), glyphosate in ecological exposures studied is "practically nontoxic to slightly toxic" for amphibians and fish.[56]