[shakeytails in KY]

Anybody have any home remedies or suggest a good OTC product for poison ivy? I have a tiny bit on the back of one hand (telltale water blisters) - certainly not enough to go to the doctor for, but I'd like to clear it up asap anyway. Though I haven't had it in years, I do remember that calamine lotion didn't help at all. Any suggestions?

 

[whiterock]

I've used a chlorine bleach solution to good effect.

 

[Guest]

The most imprtant thing I have found with poison ivy is to wash EVERYTHING that may have poison ivy oil on it with lots of soap so you don't spread it. The blisters cannot spread the poison contrary to popular belief. Anything that helps dry them out is good. Caladryl works for me, but I have found nothing that works quickly. The best thing is to shower and wash your clothes (shoes, too) as soon as you get in.
Good luck,
Horribly allergic to poison ivy
(I got it in January this year!)

 

[Maria]

Benadryl helps. I'm very allergic, and if I start taking Benadryl at the first sign of an outbreak, it never gets any bigger. If I ignore it, it spreads and spreads.

I've also noticed that if I happen to take a chromium picolinate pill at the same time as an outbreak starts, nothing further happens. I have no idea why that would be, but I've quite taking Benadryl for poison ivy in favor of the chromium pill. It works just as well, with fewer side effects.

I listed both, because the chromium thing might be peculiar to me only.




edit:
They spread on me, without treatment!! And I DO wash everything.

 

[mightybooboo]

Benadryl helps. I'm very allergic, and if I start taking Benadryl at the first sign of an outbreak, it never gets any bigger. If I ignore it, it spreads and spreads.

I've also noticed that if I happen to take a chromium picolinate pill at the same time as an outbreak starts, nothing further happens. I have no idea why that would be, but I've quite taking Benadryl for poison ivy in favor of the chromium pill. It works just as well, with fewer side effects.

I listed both, because the chromium thing might be peculiar to me only.




edit:
They spread on me, without treatment!! And I DO wash everything.

We used to take a large glass and mix water/bleach 50/50.Then take a shower and wash head to toe with this while rinsing self in shower.That poison oak oil is gone!Works great,Im very allergic and swear by it.
BooBoo

 

[Mrs_stuart]

Zanfel works almost instantly. It is very costly but it is wonderful. I get it at our local (over the counter ) pharmacy. I usually only use it on the bad stuff like on the face and the such. I have heard alchol works on it too, because it dries it up. Good luck.

Belinda

 

[kosh]

I havent had an issue with poison ivy for years, even though my property is surrounded by a lot of poison ivy, but i've read in several books and online that there is a native plant called jewelweed (which tends to grow where poison ivy grows) that is a natural rememdy to poison ivy. I have both growing all around the edges of my property. Jewelweed also attracts hummingbirds! Do a search for jewelweed in a search engine and you should be able to find info on how to use it as a poison ivy remedy.

Peace,
Jason

 

[Zack]

tecnu can be found at walmart as well as the baidaid brand anti itch spray.
the bleach mixture also works.

 

[GeorgeK]

Rhus oil sticks to everything and seems not to break down. The classic thing is to wear a windbreaker in the fall, brush up against the poison ivy. Put it in the closet and infect your winter coat, or your sports jacket and you get thei RASH in the dead of winter

The most imprtant thing I have found with poison ivy is to wash EVERYTHING that may have poison ivy oil on it with lots of soap so you don't spread it. The blisters cannot spread the poison contrary to popular belief. Anything that helps dry them out is good. Caladryl works for me, but I have found nothing that works quickly. The best thing is to shower and wash your clothes (shoes, too) as soon as you get in.
Good luck,
Horribly allergic to poison ivy
(I got it in January this year!)

 

[pumpkinlady]

Nail polish works really good if you only have a few spots of poison ivy. Just dab some nail polish on and it will help to dry it up. My understanding is that posion ivy needs to breathe so if you coat it with polish it can't get air and dies off. Yes, it will dry the skin a bit but it sure beats itching and having it spread.

 

[Mike in Ohio]

I'm generally able to avoid poison ivy issues but my wife seems to get it just by thinking about it. The dogs or cats will rub against her after being out and about and voila.

She swears by ban rollon .....the regular old orginal. She has recommended it to people for a long time and every person who has tried it says it worked for them. I have no idea what ingredient does the trick, just that it seems to work.

Mike

 

[Blu3duk]

Elder berry..... berriesare best, but the leaves can be just as potent for relief generally grows within 100 yards of poison oak/ivy.

Homeopath remedy at the healthfood store for poison oak ivy works well too.

 

[sugarspinner]

Tecnu, as someone else suggested, works wonders. There is a Tecnu product to use in the first 2 hours after exposure, in the shower. It's wonderful. Then there is a Tecnu product for an "after the fact" outbreak. Also good. Available at Walmart, CVS, who knows where else. Also, Jewelweed rubbed on the rash is said to help. And I know that wiping the rash area with a cotton ball dipped in nail polish remover helps.

 

[affenpinschermom]

When I first moved to Ky. I got so full of poison ivy that my arms were so swollen they looked broken. An elderly local lady stopped me one day and told me about her old time remedy. She said when you first start breaking out with poison ivy, take the inside of a banana peel and rub it on the area. She said that it will dry it up quicker than anything else. Well, needless to say I didn't give it much thought. A couple of weeks later I noticed a new patch breaking out on my hands. I thought, what the heck. Why not try it? I rubbed the inside of the banana peel on my hands and didn't wash them and just forgot about it. I was washing up later that evening and needless to say was surprised. It was already starting to dry up and it never did get any worse. Of course I had fruit flies following me, but it beat having poison ivy! It made a believer out of me.

 

[james dilley]

i guess i am lucky the posion ivy and its ilk never has bothered me, so i don't know what your going thru,it sounds nasty .i used to work for a co in the south and if the owner even got within 50' of it he had it . the oil is airborne, so i've been told. not for sure on that fact. if your in the country goats will eat all the posion ivy they can get, they relish it.

 

[sugarspinner]

The "banana" letter tickled me. I'll bet the banana peel would be better than a cure an elderly friend told me about a good many years ago. She smeared honey on her poison ivy rash. She said it worked but, in the mean time, "all those bugs" were attracted to the honey and kept landing and walking with their little bug feet on her itchy rash. She also mentioned everything was sticky around her during her treatment! Talk about the cure being worse than the ill.

 

[Guest]

I am battling a little poison ivy right now. I find caladryl works great for me but it has to be a few years old. Don't ask why cause I don't know but It does'nt seem to help if it's right off the store shelf.

 

[Guest]

I get poison ivy from my pets, don't even have to go outside.

Right now using Technu, it works and cools the itch.

As a kid I was covered it in one time. Went swimming in a pool, less than an hour later realized that the poison ivy was drying up. Told the adult I was with. She said she had heard of putting clorox on it but didn't want to do that to me without my mother's permission (my parents were out of town).

I have learned to treat it quickly before it gets swollen and oozy.

 

[bearkiller]

Those who live with the stuff might give this some thought. Go see your local friendly MD seeking the Rhus tox. desensitization injections. It is administered in your tush and I had a very small lump for two or three days. Rashes begin to clear as your body begins to produce antibodies to the P. O.

As you develop immunity in the form of antibodies your reaction as an allergic cell mediated reaction diminishes and you become pretty close to immune to the stuff. I did this and went through the first dose and two yearly boosters. Now, many years later, if I am away for a prolonged period and then make contact again I do develop a very minor rash that goes away quickly and then I am not bothered by it again. Unless I leave the farm again for a long period.

The jab in the bum is trivial, the cost is low, the benefits are enormous. Consider it!

bearkiller

 

[Sunny Days Farm]

Your best bet is to go to www.poisonivy.us and you will find all of the facts on the spread and treatment of the rash. We just purchased a new home and the parts we're clearing are covered with it. I keep constant rash...this web site was great and very informative. I did read some horror stories on the use of bleach...sop don't think I would try that one...Depending on your skin type, etc...it can cause severe burns on an already tender area. Good Luck~