Anyone here gotten Poison Ivy? I go outside all the time, and for years have never gotten Poison Ivy, but this year I ran out of luck and got it. I woke up and had a tiny red blotch on my hand, I thought it was a mosquito bite and thought nothing of it, but it was muggy out so I must have scratched it a few times. A few hours later I had large red blotches all over my body and some bumps leaking the poison. I went to the doc next day and got a shot of Cortozone and prescription cream, but it will take a few weeks or even a month to fully go away.
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Poison Ivy
- Thread starter keith p
- Start Date
I got it a couple of times as a kid, and remember that we always had a bottle of "Ivy Dry" in the medicine cabinet. None of us kids ever got it bad enough to have to go to the doctor, but I remember a co-worker's son actually being hospitalized. Somebody was burning poison ivy, and he breathed in the smoke/fumes, and had it in his mouth and throat.
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OMG now that must be horrible!
I actually didnt get a really bad reaction from it as some people do, I got the shot so it wouldnt be contagious and spread further on my body, the cream would have been fine alone, but without the shot I would have had alot of areas to rub cream on then....
My Mom had Poison ivy and her face swelled and turned black and blue and had large pustules all on her body, my reaction was minor compared to hers.
Ooooh, I do not envy you. I hope you get rid of it soon!
I'm normally not allergic to it, but I got it BAD a few years ago. DH and I weeded my mom's rock garden (actually, it was a jungle) and as soon as we were finished I threw my clothes in the laundry room and jumped in the shower, just in case. A few weeks later, I gathered up the clothes I wore (yeah, I'm terrible about laundry!
) and washed them...that's when I got it. It was still on the clothes and I didn't even think about it.
I finally went to the doctor because I thought I had it in my throat because it felt like it was closing up on me. Turns out, I also had strep throat. The doctor said since my body was trying to fight strep, my immune system was already compromised which is why I probably got poison. It was so bad the doctor didn't think the shot would help and put me on steriods instead. I still have scars on my knees from it. I've never been more miserable in my life!
I hope you get rid of it soon! Benedryl spray works well, and taking Benedryl pills also helps...although I'm not sure if it really stops the reaction or just makes you so sleepy you're too tired to scratch.
I finally went to the doctor because I thought I had it in my throat because it felt like it was closing up on me. Turns out, I also had strep throat. The doctor said since my body was trying to fight strep, my immune system was already compromised which is why I probably got poison. It was so bad the doctor didn't think the shot would help and put me on steriods instead. I still have scars on my knees from it. I've never been more miserable in my life!
I hope you get rid of it soon! Benedryl spray works well, and taking Benedryl pills also helps...although I'm not sure if it really stops the reaction or just makes you so sleepy you're too tired to scratch.
When I was a teenager, I was on a camping trip with the Girl Scouts. We went on a hike and all the other girls got poison ivy or poison oak. I was the only one that wore shorts and I was the only one that didn't get it!
I wouldn't trust that I would be ammune today though. I never was really allergic to bees but a couple of years ago, I got stung and had a bad reaction! The first time in over 30-40 years I had been stung. Not since I was a kid and I stepped on a bee.
My sister had poison ivy on her property and a couple of years ago she had it bad on her legs-she ran out of cream and was of course visiting here and had to get some more-her legs were pretty bad. I hope you feel better and can sleep ok.
I have various spots in my gardens that have stinging nettle which is a good food source for some butterflies so I just try to contain in one spot and dress appropriately when have have to remove it.
Well wasps though are another story....................
I have various spots in my gardens that have stinging nettle which is a good food source for some butterflies so I just try to contain in one spot and dress appropriately when have have to remove it.
Well wasps though are another story....................
I haven't had it in years. I think the last time I got it was when I was picking strawberries back in the late 1980's. Not fun!
As a kid I had a new case every week. We lived next to the woods and a railway track and a huge field. And when I wasn't inside the house or at school, I was at one of those locations. So between Poison Ivy and Poison Oak, my mom could have bought stocks in the oatmeal soap and calmamine lotion companies!
I remember Poison Oak being the worse of the 2 afflictions though. Really nasty!
As a kid I had a new case every week. We lived next to the woods and a railway track and a huge field. And when I wasn't inside the house or at school, I was at one of those locations. So between Poison Ivy and Poison Oak, my mom could have bought stocks in the oatmeal soap and calmamine lotion companies!
My parents were coming for a visit and I was doing yard work, making things look nice. Apparently I kneeled right in a patch with my knees (I had shorts on). By the time my parents came, I was on steroids and my face was swollen and I looked a mess. That's the only time I've had it, and now I know how to identify it. I never had it as a kid and I was a tomboy that tramped all through the woods and fields. I have to admit when I see leaves of three, I panic now and obsessively scrub anywhere I think it may have touched me.
I got it really bad once, and never again. Guess i just got immune to it. But i will say when i DID get it, it was on my hands, legs and arms. My Dad had a remedy, but i didnt think i could do it.
GLAD I DID.
If you can stand a few minutes of pain, get a deep bowl that you dont use for food anymore, or a bucket. fill it with 1/4 water, and 3/4 pure bleach. stick the affected part into the mix for a few minutes ( if its your hands, if not, dip a towel into it and hold on arm/leg spot, NEVER on sensitive areas!)
remove said part from water mix, and let dry. DO NOT touch eyes/face/body and or food. after 15 min, wash thourghly. DO NOT itch puss pockets for the bleach, that will create a burn!, do not put on skin that is already scratched so that its open.
Another way is this, told to me by a RN...
Bleach Household bleach can be used to remove the poison ivy resin and treat the itch. Dab the affected area with a cotton ball soaked in a mixture of half water/half bleach. If you put this solution on blisters, they should be gone the next day. Should the above remedy irritate your skin, try making a wet compress and add some table salt or Epsom salts to the mixture, and apply for 30 minutes. This will help dry out the area.
I did this when i had it bad, and believe it or not, the bleach will kill and dry out the poison, and you will be free of the itchies and bubbles in 24 hours.
DO NOT try if sensitive to bleach and or cleaners, and not for the very young! ( i did this at 12 years old) am now 30 and still havent gotten the stuff back again since i did that!
May NOT be the best idea, but it *DOES* work, and if you can stand it, its worth it not to go through the itchies and scratching.
GLAD I DID.
If you can stand a few minutes of pain, get a deep bowl that you dont use for food anymore, or a bucket. fill it with 1/4 water, and 3/4 pure bleach. stick the affected part into the mix for a few minutes ( if its your hands, if not, dip a towel into it and hold on arm/leg spot, NEVER on sensitive areas!)
remove said part from water mix, and let dry. DO NOT touch eyes/face/body and or food. after 15 min, wash thourghly. DO NOT itch puss pockets for the bleach, that will create a burn!, do not put on skin that is already scratched so that its open.
Another way is this, told to me by a RN...
Bleach Household bleach can be used to remove the poison ivy resin and treat the itch. Dab the affected area with a cotton ball soaked in a mixture of half water/half bleach. If you put this solution on blisters, they should be gone the next day. Should the above remedy irritate your skin, try making a wet compress and add some table salt or Epsom salts to the mixture, and apply for 30 minutes. This will help dry out the area.
I did this when i had it bad, and believe it or not, the bleach will kill and dry out the poison, and you will be free of the itchies and bubbles in 24 hours.
DO NOT try if sensitive to bleach and or cleaners, and not for the very young! ( i did this at 12 years old) am now 30 and still havent gotten the stuff back again since i did that!
May NOT be the best idea, but it *DOES* work, and if you can stand it, its worth it not to go through the itchies and scratching.
I got it bad when I was around 15.
Get Tecnu at the drug store. It washes away the oils, gets rid of it in a few days, especially if you catch it early.
This product was developed for washing off radio activity, interesting that it is used for poison.
This product was developed for washing off radio activity, interesting that it is used for poison.
Burt's Bees makes a Poison Ivy Soap as well.. I see it when I'm picking up other stuff of theirs, but haven't tried it since I haven't had it since I was a kid. Apparently you wash with it, then lather it on again and let that dry on.
The rash isn't actually contagious, btw.. if you're spreading it from one area to another, that's just because you haven't gotten the oils off of your skin yet.
The rash isn't actually contagious, btw.. if you're spreading it from one area to another, that's just because you haven't gotten the oils off of your skin yet.
That's true, according to my doctor. I thought she was crazy when I said I didn't want it to spread, but she said it only infects where the actual poison touches. Just some places appear faster than others. And, you can't pass it on to someone else.
It's funny, DH just got poison over the weekend (he probably got into it over the week, but it normally takes a few days to show up on him). Right now it's just a little annoying and he is able to deal with it with calamine or benedryl lotion and it's only on one forearm. MIL also talked about using bleach. It apparantly works, but use it as a last resort because it will damage the skin not affected.
Funny that I just came across this thread. I have never gotten poison ivy in my life. As a kid, I would always be out playing in the woods and open fields and love to go hiking. I have poison ivy growing all over our property and never had a problem with it as well. Well, never say never. Close to 2 weeks ago, I had cut the grass. The next day at work, I kept scratching my leg and noticed this long red line coming from my knee all the way down to my ankle that was itching like crazy. Since I never had poison ivy, I thought nothing of it and just figured I had rubbed my leg against one of our trees and lightly scratched myself, but I didn't understand why it kept itching. Well, I know now, I have poison ivy and it covers my right leg from the knee down to my ankle and a little more than half way around my leg. My leg is swollen and yesterday I started getting some itchy patches on my left leg, right arm and on the thumb of my right hand. I can say this, the itching is horrible!! The other day, as I was driving home from work, my leg was itching so bad I felt as if I was going to get sick. It will wake me up at night too. I have used the Benedryl spray and it works pretty good for a while, but I have used almost the whole bottle already. I have had poison ivy now for about 12 days and it still has no signs of going away. I am happy that I don't have the large blisters, it's really red with what seems like thousands of tiny little welts. My friend gave me some Prednisone to take (she gets poison ivy a lot and was give Prednisone) but since it is a steroid, I don't like the idea of taking it. I took one dose last night, it seemed to help, but I am not sure if I want to continue using it. For one, it lowers your immune system so you don't react as much to the urushiol, the chemical in poison ivy, oak and sumac that make you itch. I don't want to get an infection in my leg either, since no matter how hard I try not to, I will scratch because the itching drives me crazy.
