poison ivy sucks!

P

pnizio

Joined
Mar 21, 2007
Messages
34
Hello All,

I am a first time poster here but have been lurking for months. So i took the wifey for our first overnight trip in the everglades. I have been camping in other parts of the country but not since I moved to south florida. Well most of the trip went well, tent setup, firewood collected, and all the other fun of the outdoors. All was well until i look at my hands and they are covered in red bumps.. poison ivy. Don't even remember seeing any but none the less i had found it and touched it apparently. I scrubbed and washed when i first noticed but no luck in catching it fast enough. I cant remember the last time i had poison ivy but this sucks! Anyone got any good remedies in getting this to clear up or atleast help the itch? Thanks in advance and thanks W&SS for all the great info everyone posts!
 
I've had poison ivy too many times to count - I'm very allergic. I've never found a home remedy that works any better than the traditional calamine lotion. I will say, I got some ivy on my uh.....my uh.........very private parts when I was 17. Must have touched it while out hunting and then relieved myself. Anyway, Went to the hospital for that one, I couldn't stand it anymore. They gave me a shot and some pills and that made it stop itching within an hour and cleared it up in 2 days. Not sure what it was but it was the best thing I've ever come across.
 
Oral benadryl (diphenhydramine) for itching (watch for drowsiness), and you can go to the doc for oral steroids if the itching gets to be too bad.
 
Join the club my friend i got P.O my self. I have tried a generic copy of Zanfel i cant say it helped me much. Others on here said it helped so you never know. I think but im not sure that the wash might have made it not as bad. So give it it a try. Dont forget to take a realy hot shower it makes it feel so much better.

Sasha
 
Check out this sight:

http://www.poison-ivy.org/

They've got some tips there, and if nothing else you can look at some of the pictures of other people's rashes and say to you're self, "Man, at least I don't have it as bad as that guy!"

My favorite "remedy" that I got from that sight was to rinse the affected area in the hottest water you can stand for as long as you can stand it. That'll help relieve the itch for up to several hours at a time.
 
Thanks bwilson and spooky. The benadryl put me into an afternoon nap earlier lol. Can't itch when your sleeping. I think i'll try the calamine now and hopefully with the benadryl will kick this itching. Thanks guys.
 
Salamander42 said:
Check out this sight:

http://www.poison-ivy.org/

They've got some tips there, and if nothing else you can look at some of the pictures of other people's rashes and say to you're self, "Man, at least I don't have it as bad as that guy!"

My favorite "remedy" that I got from that sight was to rinse the affected area in the hottest water you can stand for as long as you can stand it. That'll help relieve the itch for up to several hours at a time.
Click to expand...

hoooly crap! Yah that made me realize i dont have it so bad. even thought its my hands its fairly isolated.. i think i touched a couple of spots on my face before realizing but its not nearly as bad as any of those. Thanks for the link:thumbup:
 
Really frustrating, I know. Last got it a couple of year's ago, not too bad, considering. I used to suffer, I'd get it if someone said "poison ivy" and around here, it's the official township flower, it's along all the trails. I wonder if my sensitivity is dropping.
 
I am lucky and am not sensitive to the stuff at all. I wouldn't go and wipe m'arse with it, but I can grab it without a reaction. My brothers, on the other hand, get itchy from it. Only about a year ago, my oldests brother discovered that Reactine relieved the itch almost instantly. i guess that makes sense, since it is an allergic reaction, and a allergy pill should clear it up. I also found Reactine works well to soothe wasp or hornet stings. I got nailed by yellow jackets in the spring when cleaning the yard and thought it couldn't hurt to try my brother's solution for his poison ivy, Reactine allergy pills. Worked like a charm on my wasp stings!
 
Go get yourself some CHICKWEED HEALING SALVE. I get mine from the Amish and a big tin of it is $8. It is the best stuff I have ever used. It will stop the itching and burning with in a few seconds, and I am not joking. I even took one of those small ear plug cases with the flip top and filled it will this stuff and keep it in my pocket all the time.

I even use it on my dogs when they get into something. They now know what it is and roll over when they see me pull it out. They itch from that crap as much as I do.

Here is what it is, but do a search and you can find it much cheaper. I bet some organic store would even have it or know where you could get it.

http://www.chickweedhealingsalve.com/
 
i have never had poison ivy before... we don't have any over here... i have had p.o. a few times... it sucks... :thumbdn: my 5 y.o. has poison oak really bad right now...:( i feel bad for the little guy...:o
 
Holy crap! Some of the stories on that poison ivy site made me squirm. I have had a poison ivy rash before, but I am generally not sensitive to it, and I had no idea that people could get hit so hard. Last time I had a little patch, I treated it with After-bite :eek: .

I also had no idea that poison ivy had such a huge geographical range.

So now I'm a bit wiser, and a bit more uncomfortable.

pnizio, I hope your case clears up soon. I have heard that hot showers are helpful.

All the best,

- Mike
 
I'm fairly sensitive to poison ivy and have, on two occasions, had it all over my face and hands (even the palms). The hot water thing is a great trick, but what I've found is that bleach helps dry up the blisters more quickly (not that I ever used it on my face :eek:). Good for me? Maybe not, but when you're being driven nuts by itching all hours of night and day, you'll try anything...:grumpy:
 
Here is a thread I posted around a month ago from when I got poison oak, it has the same oils that give you poison ivy. I hope it helps.

I'm just about over it now, terrible stuff. I recommend steroids if its bad enough. Intensely hot showers will feed just awesome on the rash :thumbup:.

Remember to wash your clothes etc. after you have washed yourself and your clothes once, you are not contagious..

.I remember the first time I got poison oak on a "certain area", even though I knew I couldnt spread it I was still real worried about transferring it to a "certain area" on my girlfriend...real glad it wasn't contagious :o (For my sake!! :D).

Good luck man, get that cleared up as fast as you can.
 
I am the world's worst on PI--one little bump and it goes all over me.

one bump and I am grabbing the steroids.
 
Wash your clothes thoroughly as the oil can stay there for long time.

I like to use oatmeal soap and scrub the heck out of it to dry it out.

Jewelweed works great as well.
 
chlorine or bleach diluted 50/50 with water....edit for stupidity....i meant ammonia and bleach......

burns like hell but dries it right up.

but i have been told this is a bad idea....so now i am looking at those hand sanitizers...just break open a few blisters and apply...

ah screw it, i am still gonna use my tried and true method.
 
Last edited:
langston302 said:
chlorine or bleach diluted 50/50 with water....BUT NOT THE TWO TOGETHER!!!! CHLORINE/BLEACH mixed is DEADLY!!!!! one or the other......never both


burns like hell but dries it right up.

but i have been told this is a bad idea....so now i am looking at those hand sanitizers...just break open a few blisters and apply...

ah screw it, i am still gonna use my tried and true method.
Click to expand...

I've never been man enough to try bleach :o. Anyway, I thought it was bleach and ammonia that is deadly? And Chlorine and bleach was ok, because there is already Chlorine in bleach.
 
oh....well....:foot:

maybe thats what i was thinking.....damn man!

lemme alone i was only on my second pot of coffee....wasnt awake yet!
 
I have only ever been mildly allergic to it.

For instance I'd get it between my fingers if I tied my boots and had been walking thru it.

However for about the last 20 years or so I've been able to pull it up even.

I have been told if your goats eat the poision ivy and you drink their milk it will help w/your immunity to it. I have had goats last 20 years but not sure if that means it's true or just that they ate most of it so there's not as much to catch:p
 
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