Poision Ivy
 

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!

The agony.

I have poision ivy rashes.

So far I've used the Benadryl Ich stopping cream and Calimine lotion.

I've also been soaking myself in hot water which seems to relieve the itching.

Any other advice on how to get rid if this annoyance?

Soap and water, don't pop the blisters. Keep using the calimine lotion.

Poision Ivy sucks. I had a friend who used the wrong leaf when he took a shit in the woods once. He got poison ivy in a very tender area.

Take a bath in oatmeal....really.
It helps to absorb any of the remaining oils that cause the rash. You only need to put a couple of handfulls of plain oatmeal in a tub.

Also, go to a dermatologist. He will give you a steroid shot that will shrink the blisters and almost eliminate the itching.

I know how you feel, I still have scars from a really, really horrible case of poison ivy.

Oh, and try caladryl. it's benadryl and calamine all in one.

Back in my youth, I would get poison ivy just by saying the word. One year it spread to my crotch! Doc said it was common. You scratch take a leak and now you got it on your dick. I was working in a hot metals factory that summer...talk about agonizing pain, itch, sweat...I wanted to die....(that's when I learned you don't put rubbing alchol on your balls)... Back to the doc....I begged he said "can't do anything now, but come in next spring and I'll give you a shot so you never get it again." For the next 3 years I got the shot like clock work...havn't had poison ivy in about 25 - 30 years......

I use lots of soap and water to get rid of the oils. Baisically you want to stop the spreading, the itching and blistering will go away in a few days. Calamine lotion helps stop the itching fast. No need to go to the Dr and get a prescription (unless it totally severe), just take an antihistamine if you have one, it will help.

Never had poison ivy but did have poison oak, and if the oils act anything alike, I would recommend not using hot water for the soak. Reasoning goes, hot water will open up your pores, and allow the oil to spread causing more of a rash... I have used anit-persperant (drys out the skin removing the oils...cold so it soothes) but do recommend the shot...

Forget the over the counter creams and lotions-they're worthless. An antihistamine like claritin at least 20mg a day for mild PI (higher than suggested doses are harmless). For more severe cases, call your family doc and ask for a Medrol Dose Pack with one refill- its an oral tapering steroid. It'll give you relief with the first dose. The steroid shot works of course, but smart docs don't use it anymore- its too high of a dose and persists in the system longer than needed.

My body can't make up its mind if it is allergic or not. Some years I can sleep in it with no effect and some years I can't even look at it without a reaction. Ten years ago I tried the pre-season shot and was allergic....ended up worse than ever. The only thing I have ever found that works is taking benedryl capsuls as soon as you are exposed or feel it coming on. I haven't tried other antihistamines (since benadryl works so well) but had read that it is the histamine reacting that causes the blisters etc....hence an antihistamine is the answer. The creams never worked for me but the capsuls do.

The sap from wild jewel weed is also famous for relieving the symptoms. I tried it after I had so many requests on a garden board for the seeds for that purpose. It does give mild relief, but requires regular applications as it is somewhat shortlived.

Bless ya and good luck.

http://www.zanfel.com/

i have never used this stuff myself, but i hear that it is awesome. not cheap, but effective. plus, you get to scratch the living shit out of all the blisters and it is a good thing.

certainly something i can relate to,7 yrs of it ,i hated the spring as a kid cause i knew the itch was coming.my mom put a disinfectant called detol in the bath water 1 cup or so,also a cup of bleach works well,not with the detol though.one or the other

Oh hell. Another reason to keep some TP in the car AT ALL TIMES.

Anyway, I hope you feel better. The other advice was already given.

Pretty much all the advice above is good, Hope your doing better, I can relate, I'm highly allergic to poison ivy even the smoke from someone burning it can get to me.

Good Luck

a friend of mine told me that if u get poision ivy on you, it will keep coming back, is this true, cause if so, damn! :(

This is from someone that was a surveyor for too long, RhuliGel works better than anything else. It is now made by BandAid under the name of Anti-itch gel.

http://poisonivy.aesir.com/view/commercial.html

Scroll down to Rhuli

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Poison Ivy/Oak sucks, i got a bunch of it the first week of school all up and down my right arm.

As far as medicines go, benadryll really worked well for me, and putting calamine lotion on the blisters helped keep the itching down.

One thing that no one has said so far, supposedly, swimming in a pool with chlorine actually stops the itching. This seemed to work fairly well for me, and its something no one else has suggested.

about.com <---just go to the medical section and search for poison ivy, they had a ton of stuff last time i checked.

Hope it goes away.

whoops, repost

javex is chlorine about a cup or so in the bath water

Short course (1-3 days) prednisone (generic) 100mg.

Short course (1-3 days) prednisone (generic) 100mg. I scratch the blisters open in a hot shower ... but is scars slightly.

A little Aveeno Bath, Its like the Oatmeal in the bath. Smells like breakfast but it does wonders on the itching, also not hot, luke warm. Hot water opens the pores.

That sounds like a less drastic version of what a buddy of mine used to do. He always wiped the affected area down with clorox whenever he got it. I havent had poison ivy in like15-20 years so i never got around to trying it.

PS: im just throwing this out here not endorsing it. for all i know you could end up with a chemical burn from it or some other kind of problem.

We really need an onsite doctor. that would be cool. his name would be 'Doctor'. plain and simple. that way we could trust what he says , and not some DIY health tip discovered by some bloke. A real doctor who's a TFP'er.