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flowermum_gw

poison ivy, oh my...

flowermum
11 years ago

...oh my itching arms and legs!

Hello, I haven't posted here in a very long time so I hope you don't mind. I just wanted to know if anyone has gotten poison ivy and what helped the itchiness? I feel like a little girl again with chicken pox.

Is there any relief?

My impatience led to my misery. I had been waiting for dh to clear the vines from a tree and stubborn lil impatient me went chop chopping away, not realizing what it was I was chopping.

The vine I was chopping had very large heart shaped leaves so I assumed it couldn't possibly be poison ivy with leaves so large.

Any advice/tips to soothe the itchiness and ways to safely remove the vines?

TIA

Comments (14)

  • ghoghunter
    11 years ago

    Go to your doctor. I just had a bad case and my doc gave me a prescription for Prednisone..you take it for 10 days and it is like a miracle how fast it helps. If you have a bad case it is wonderful. I wouldn't use it for a small patch. It sounds like you have a bad case and really need it.
    Joann

  • cindysunshine
    11 years ago

    I suffered through it last year and really should have gone to the doctor. For me it was two bad weeks of itching and oozing and then a week of healing for it to be gone. I got a very small patch this year was much more careful and washed with soap and water immediately if I thought it was even possible.

    I didn't find much helped. I used a cortisone cream but I can't say it was very effective.

  • Sandi_W
    11 years ago

    I got it for the first time in my life this spring. 4 times! I must have gotten the oil on something, but couldn't figure out what. I kept washing anything I could think of and eventually it stopped.
    The first time the doctor gave me a steroid pack which worked great. The next 3 cases weren't as bad so I suffered through it. I tried everything, but calamine lotion helped the most.

  • schoolhouse_gw
    11 years ago

    The last two times I got a bad case of poison ivy, I went to the doctor and got a shot. It went away in a couple days. That was some years ago, and so far I haven't suffered anything more than a few spots on a wrist or ankle. I've learned to be extra careful when dealing with the plants. The edge of the field along the property line is full of it, beyond my control at this point. When it pops up in flower beds or other small unwanted areas I can spray it and make a difference.

  • schoolhouse_gw
    11 years ago

    Oh, and good advice about washing hands, arms, ect. as soon as possible after you've come in contact with it.

  • flowermum
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Hello everyone. Thank you all! The earliest appointment I could get is on Thursday. I discovered the Benadryl anti-itch gel. It has been working so well. It instantly calms the itch.

    That vine has almost covered the entire tree. I hope dh will be able to get rid of it safely.

  • ghoghunter
    11 years ago

    There is a product out called Ivy Block..it is a lotion you apply before contact with poison ivy. I would reccomend your husband use it as a precaution if he will be dealing with a lot of the stuff. The directions should be on the product. No contact with the poison ivy is the best but of course sometimes no matter how careful the contact happens and that's where the ivy block can help prevent a reaction.
    Joann

  • flowermum
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Got the steroid booster shot in my hi-hi-hiney.

    Amazing, by evening I could already see and feel the difference. Thank you God for all the smart people you gave us to help us when we do silly things.

    lol
    : )

  • Pat z6 MI
    11 years ago

    I was on prednisone for 9 days and it did nothing. Have had poison ivy for about a month now. Only thing that cured itch was over-the-counter Cortisone-10. The script from the doctor did nothing but burn. Thank you for the Benedryl anit-itch gel recommendation, flower. Since Pred didn't work, I'm just trying to be patient and maybe heal myself in time? Bet I'll recognize the plant next time!

  • schoolhouse_gw
    11 years ago

    Glad you are getting relief flowermum. The shot is definitely worth it. Another product I use and you might keep on hand from now on is Ivy Dry. With repeated applications,it will ease the itchiness and pain and dry the blisters up.

  • Prettypetals_GA_7-8
    11 years ago

    Ivy Block does work great. I tried it after a customer of ours requested it for their son so I tried it since I live in poison ivy heaven and it worked great. I take the prednisone too since its readily available at our pharmacy, lol!! I hope to eventually spray our woods with some Round Up to try to keep it at bay. Hate the stuff.

  • ghoghunter
    11 years ago

    Patann...since you have had the rash for so long and the prednisone didn't work you might want to go back to the doctor's. It could be your rash isn't poison ivy but something else. I'm not sure what but rashes are hard to diagnose. He might send you to a dermatologist or something if you can't get rid of it. Over a month seems a long time to me.
    Joann

  • Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL
    11 years ago

    Agreed! A month is longer than I've ever had PI. I agree it sounds like something else, unless you are repeatedly exposing yourself through pets, garden tools, some article of clothing, whatever has come in contact with your vine.

    Have you tried posting a picture of the vine to name-that-plant? It would help your treatment if you knew what it was, especially if it's NOT PI. Giant heart-shape leaves doesn't sound like PI, but describing can be inadequate.

    Aveeno makes a cream with calamine and something else that I found very soothing when I had a mysterious rash earlier this year that looked and felt just like PI although I know I hadn't touched any, not sure what "got me." It's with the PI meds/creams.

  • lavendrfem
    11 years ago

    Burts Bees makes a soap for poison ivy - it helped me tremendously.

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