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Well poop... I've got Poison Ivy!

Around The Farm
#1

Its been a few years since my last bought of poison ivy. I try to be very diligent, but on our farm, sometimes I get get busy or distracted doing something and simply don’t notice that I’m standing in it. :o I skipped my normal protocol of washing off my legs last night after coming in from evening chores and poof, this morning I’ve got poison ivy on my shin.

Any new OTC treatments besides the old go-to standard of Calamine lotion? I find I’m often behind the curve of new inventions/treatments/etc., since I have no children and just really don’t keep up with such things. Any hacks or things you do to make this resolve more quickly? TIA

#2

Get the store brand equivalent of Cortaid 10. It’s a steroid cream. Much better than Calamine to knock down the inflammation and itch.

1 Like
#3

That’s what I used this morning, as I had it on hand (the Walgreens version). When it hadn’t stopped itching after lunch, I took a Benedryl. Still itching! :sadsmile:

Husband is getting some Calamine lotion on his way home.

#4

Continue with the steroid, it will take a day or two to resolve the rash.

#5

My absolute “go to” for poison ivy is TECNU Extreme Medicated Poison Ivy Scrub. It really works!

If you know you’ve touched poison ivy, use the TECNU right away and nine times out of ten you’ll avoid the whole thing - no rash and no itch.

If you don’t know you’ve touched it and you get the rash/itch, use the Tecnu on it and it definitely controls the itch and speeds healing.

https://www.teclabsinc.com/shop?gclid=EAIaIQobChMInvGB-s_v4wIVgp6fCh0PNQAsEAAYAiAAEgI0Q_D_BwE#!/Tecnu-Extreme-Poison-Ivy-Scrub/p/129489422/category=33185046

2 Likes
#6

I’m allergic to it, it’s horrible Especially since I work in it half the time. Benadryl gel is the only thing that will calm the itch for me. If it doesn’t, that means I have to go get a steroid shot. Devil plant.

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#7

@wildlifer, I’m trying to avoid that this time. :yes: Last time I got poison ivy I tried treating myself for about 5 days - but ended up going to an urgent care Dr, on a Saturday. Got steroid shot and prescription cream, then 7 days on methylprednisolone when the shot didn’t get rid of it. My immune system is all whacky due my Multiple Sclerosis.

Benadryl gel - hmmm, haven’t seen that before! May have husband get that tomorrow.

And yes, it is a devil plant! :lol:

#8

Jewelweed:)

https://altnature.com/jewelweed.htm

I used to buy red clay soap with jewelweed, it worked amazingly fast. I would wet the bar, rub it lightly on the affected area and let it dry. Most times the poison whatever (usually oak:( was gone in 24 hours.

There is also hope of developing immunity:) poison anything used to be an expensive, annual doctor visit when I was young. Now I get small outbreaks and they dry up quickly:)

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#9

Ugh, sorry you also had the fun of the urgent care butt shot! I found the gel at a Walgreens or CVS a long time ago & a little goes a long way. It at least allows me to get to sleep instead of clawing my skin off (although after I have ripped the skin off, it does itch less, heh).

#10

Interesting, I was just googling to see if there was anything new “expert-recommended” for PI (which I get a couple times a summer as I clean up fencelines, roadside, lawn edges) and every site seemed to say “antihistimine creams make PI rash worse” - without explaining how that could be, and worded similarly enough that I wondered if it was just one of those statements that gained a life of its own on the internet. Good to know that it actually helps in at least some cases! I’ll keep trying it.

The same sites (so should I trust them?) said that cortisone creams help if started in the first few days of the rash - so maybe my complete lack of success with them is because I usually wait until the rash is full blown before trying them.

The thing that makes life bearable for me when both legs are liberally smattered with itchy patches is HOT water sprayed on from the shower sprayer. (But of course be careful to avoid burning yourself - gotta say I think I come close when I get desparate.) It gives hours of relief from the itch, enough to get a good night’s sleep.

#11

If I get one little bump or maybe two, its no big deal. Its when a get a big patch of it that my body seems to not deal with it well. I’m alternating the Calamine and the Cortizone 10. The Calamine is doing better for the itch.

#12

You can also use Gold Bond Powder on it as well if it’s oozy. I usually stick to Tecnu, and if you feel fancy, Zanfel is aaaaahamzing! But super pricey. My go-to is going to the beach, rubbing sand to itch it, and then going in the ocean. But that’s not an option for most people…lol

I managed to get PI inside my nostril this winter, if that makes you feel better! It was not a pleasant experience, and took about 3 weeks to go back to normal. Looked like I had a serious bat in the cave for a hot minute. :lol:

#13

Oh no @Ainsley688! That sounds awful!

And no beach within 8 to 10 hours here. We’re land locked! But that sounds like a wonderful PI treatment. No oozyness… yet. I’m keeping it slathered with Cortizone 10, probably way above the recommended daily dosage. :winkgrin:

#14

I use Ivarest but dump a container of nasacort in there and shake well. Nasacort is triamcinolone and works better than other OTC steroid cream. You can also spray it straight up on the rash.

#15

@Simkie I saw the Ivarest when I did an online search, but wasn’t sure if it was just hype that it worked or if it really was a new fangled way to treat PI that really did work. Its a combination of treatments (sort of like I’m doing manually with several products) in a single product.

You know, it never occurred to me to spray a rash with my nasal spray. Nope… never would have thought of that! This is why I asked the question - so many good thinking outside the box ideas here. I use Flonase (not Nasacort) - I wonder if that would do something similar?

1 Like
#16

Technu as soon as I feel anything itching. Use cool water to try to get the left over oils off. If I’m too late and a rash appears, I use hot water from shower head on the affected areas. Apparently the hot water makes the body release histamine all at once and then you are itch free for several hours. Be careful not to burn. For me, it make the affected area itch so much it actually feels good, which is weird. But it works better. I’ve also had some relief from Lanocaine ointment. Steroid creams don’t do much for it.

#17

Probably. This is what Google says about fluticasone:
”‹”‹”‹”‹
It can treat pain, itching, and swelling caused by many skin diseases when applied topically

#18

Too bad I already took the max dose of my flonase nasally this morning. Tomorrow morning, I’ll reserve two sprays for the poison ivy and see if it helps.

#19

You can try Dawn or any other degreaser on the rash.
it won’t help the itching directly but it helps with clearing up the rash.
Just apply on the rash and try not to get it wet.

My horse likes to eat poison ivy which I found out after the fact.
He licked my arm and a few days later I broke out in a rash so bad it look like a bad burn.

the itching was driving me crazy so i put some Dawn on it. 2 days later it was clearing up and didn’t itch anymore.

I think I just used some kind of topical cream for the itching.

good luck .

#20

Put them all open and douse with apple cider vinegar. Within minutes, the itch will go away and the spots will be dried out.

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