Poison Ivy anyone?

D. Moreau

D. Moreau

Active member
Was moving some brush piles in a blueberry patch on a friend's land and low and behold im now covered in posion ivy (head to toe - literally)

Home remedies, or best stuff i can buy? Have tried cortizone and some others - have not really worked as good as i thought they would.

Any help is appreciated.
 
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Go see your dermatologist and don't waste any time. He will give you steroids that will greatly reduce the rash and prescription ointment as well. I am very allergic to poison ivy and have never found an over the counter product to do 1/10 of what steroids will. Also, whatever clothes you were wearing wash them in dawn. Wash your sheets too. If you didn't get the oil off your skin before you climbed into bed you may be spreading it to yourself eveytime you crawl in bed. Good luck getting over it. For me it takes about 6 weeks for the discomfort to leave and my lower legs are the last to get over it.
 
My wife makes old fashioned Lye soap,it works very well,I work in and around the stuff everyday,bath with her soap and never have a problem,if you need some drop me a line,and Ill have her get some your way,Brian
 
I am with eric and the others with a trip to the doc. I get it very bad aswell. If our dog is in the bushes and gets the oil on her fur and I pet the dog I get it. Also find someone with a pool it feels good and heard the chlorine will help dry it out.
 
A shot of Prednisone with a 10 day Medrol dose pack will do wonders if you've really got it bad!!
 
Do like Eric says. I've never had a reaction to it but my brother gets it bad at least once a summer. He complains for a few day before finally going to the Doc and says next time he will go right away because they helped so much... and the next year he complains and waits a few days.

Tim
 
Eric hit it. Get some Dr. Rx early and don't be miserable. I am very allergic and get it just about every year. I've had it all over, bad!

I can control it pretty well now if I catch it early with a topical steriod cream. If it get's too bad then prednisone will kick the crap out of it.
 
My wife makes old fashioned Lye soap,it works very well,I work in and around the stuff everyday,bath with her soap and never have a problem,if you need some drop me a line,and Ill have her get some your way,Brian
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I was going to make a comment in regards to redneck IL boys and lye soap, but then decided not. Nope, not going to even bring it up. :>)
 
When I worked for a tree service, we used a product called "Tecnu Extreme" it was a poison Ivy scrub. The rash you get from poison Ivy is caused by the oil the plant produces on its leaves(urushiol). The scrub removes the oil, and stops the itch and burn for a while but you use a lot of it. The stuff works better BEFORE you break out (like right after you know you were in contact with the leaves). I know what you are dealing with, as a kid I was covered all summer long!
 
I will give a second for Tecnu. I kept a bottle of it in my glove compartment of my truck for years. If I thought I may have even loooked at Poisen Oak I would wash myself down. Haven't gotten it for a long time now and hope to keep to keep it that way. I also stopped wearing shorts and short sleeve shirts when in the woods reguardless of how hot it is.
 
David, I hope you didnt burn that brush pile. When I was a kid my grandfather burned a big pile of brush on his farm in Connecticut, it probably had a lot of poison ivy in it. My grandfather almost died from it. He was covered from head to toe with it, but worse was the internal inflamation in his respiratory system from breathing the smoke. Doc said the smoke was just as contagious as direct contact. What a quiet day! Rich
 
Go see your dermatologist and don't waste any time. He will give you steroids that will greatly reduce the rash and prescription ointment as well. I am very allergic to poison ivy and have never found an over the counter product to do 1/10 of what steroids will. Also, whatever clothes you were wearing wash them in dawn. Wash your sheets too. If you didn't get the oil off your skin before you climbed into bed you may be spreading it to yourself eveytime you crawl in bed. Good luck getting over it. For me it takes about 6 weeks for the discomfort to leave and my lower legs are the last to get over it.
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Truer words never spoken.....See a Doctor asap. I had to use one of those "Z-Packs" and it worked quicker than anything money can buy over the counter.
 
try IVY DRY in a little brown spray bottle over the counter. works very well on poison ivy and wild parsnip which is way way way worse then poison ivy. Parsnip almost killed some state workers mowing the interstate a few years ago.

Eddie
 
Wasnt burning it - it was clippings from a blueberry field and we just put them into a big pile where they will stay. It was only a few clippings and I was the only one to get the poison ivy.

It wouldnt be so bad if i didnt get it on my face - i could deal with it anywhere else but one half of my face is covered in stuff to dry it out and it stinks! I shouldve worn gloves but it was such a small pile i didnt even think about it...
 
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Throw away the clothes.....Years ago, in the Fall, I was digging pine trees from the woods and lifting the root ball by wrapping my arms around the ball and holding it to my chest. Got poison ivy all over my chest and arms (wearing a t-shirt). The t-shirt was washed and stored away for the winter. Yep, the next spring I got poison ivy all over my chest after I wore that damn shirt for the first time.
 
dry portland cement works pretty good...also gasoline works good too...dries it right out...be a man
 
Yeah, as has been stated the only thing I know of that actually helps is steroids. I've taken the stuff before for some serious poison ivy and it indeed does work. However, it made me feel crazy. I did not like the side effects. But i'm sure the effects are different for everyone. Also, in case you don't know...always wash yourself with dish washing soap if you think you may have been exposed. The oils in the plant are where the stuff you react to is. If you wash with something that cuts the oil it will rid you of the poison.

sorry man
 
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