One thing that helps me is the knowledge that I can gently scratch poison ivy when I get it. When I was little my parents would tell me that scratching would make the rash spread. I used to go nuts! The itch would drive me crazy. Now I know that as long as I wash all the sap off and don't have any under my fingernails, my rash can't be spread by scratching. You obviously don't want to scratch until it causes scars or whatever, but a little gently scratch now and then can really help. I may be crazy, but now it's not from poison ivy itch.

I have an ointment that the dermatologist gave me that works wonderfully. Until I got that I couldn't find anything over the counter that would give me any relief. However, regular white vinegar applied to the affected area gave me quite a bit of relief from the itching. Good luck, I really hate poison ivy and wouldn't wish it on anyone.

Might want to try Ambusol or Ora-Gel -- gels meant for dental pain.
I used it in desperation one night when I was going nuts from mosquito bites and couldn't find the cortisone stuff.
Not sure what all's in the dental gel, but it works like magic. It dried the bite up, too.
I've also used it on "road rash" type burns and it was very effective in stopping the pain. Helped it heal faster, too.
It's not cheap, but a little goes a long way.

Cortaid is generally used to prevent outbreaks in the minutes/hours after you have been exposed. Once you have the rash it is less effective. Steroids can work after the fact (often prescription), but for temporary itching relief, there is a perfect and inexpensive "cure": When you think you can't stand the itching anymore, run very hot water over the area (not burning but as hot as you can stand from the tap). This provides temporary (and surprisingly effective) relief to itchy areas and has helped me survive many difficult nights.

Also as was mentioned before, don't scratch or touch the area or wash with a cloth etc. Outbreaks can continue even if you don't come into contact with the plant again as the toxins are already in your system. Touching or scratching helps the toxin spread.

So this stuff seems to work OK. I diminishes the itches... I think.

For whatever reason, my experience with ivy itch seems to ebb and flow in terms of itching intensity. Sometimes I go hours without need to scratch, and the I'm going nuts with scratching.

Anyway, given that I've had this ivy rash for a number of days, I can't tell if this Walgreens lotion is helping or if I'm just in a lull of itchiness... or if I'm getting a bit better just through the passage of time.

I've known people who go to the doctor every time they get the flu (sheesh!). So they have a flu for a few days, go to the doctor, then a few days later they are healed. Chances are, the passage of time did the healing and they are wrongly associating the doctor visit/meds with the progress.

It's difficult to run a proper experiment on these things.

Anyway, I do like the way this clear lotion goes on...it's not greasy in the least. It seems to just vanish with no icky residue.

Scratching does NOT spread the rash as long as there is no urushiol oil still present (either on the site or under your nails)! The rash can continue to develop from delayed reaction to the oil still there (often from areas of lower concentration), but scratching doesn't cause this! This is a myth!

One thing I sometimes do is to use cold water and soap when I'm scratching an area. That way, even if there is just a tiny bit of oil left, the soap will help remove the oil during scratching.

Jgwoodard, you may be thinking of another product besides Cortaid or the Removal Scrub that Cortaid makes. Cortaid is a company that makes many products most of which are to control itching. They do make a kit that contains a removal scrub that would be used mainly as you describe, but most Cortaid products are used to treat the itch AFTER the rash has occured. See the "Products" and "Itch Conditions" tabs on the page below.

Here is a link that might be useful: Cortaid Products

Yes, the "removal scrub & anti-itch" kit is the $30 stuff I was referring to.

So OK, I've gone through a bit of experimentation with the Cortaid Ivy anti-itch (clone) product and compared it with hydrocortizone, and the trick using hot water described earlier.

Without a doubt, the hot water provides the most immediate and profound relief. That is, it relieves the itching and actually gives you a reprieve where you don't feel *any* issues at all. Oddly, the hot water produces relief which is longer than I expected.

The Cortaid stuff gives a much less noticeable decrease in itchiness. In fact, after a treatment I only "maybe kinda sorta" feel less itchy.

So thanks for the hot water idea. My skin seriously needs a break from the scratching and the hot water has been the trick.

I have used the "removal scrub" made by another company called Zanfel. I paid $30 for that little tube, but it was a lifesaver.

I had gotten slapped all across the face by poison ivy while riding a 4 wheeler. When the itching & swelling started at midnight on Friday night - I was in absolute misery & looking for help on the internet. I tried everything I read & had available & some things would help for 10 minutes or so. I read about Zanfel & was sitting at a drug store when it opened the next morning. I woulda paid $100 for it at that time. I went home with my urishol removing wash & was SOOOO relieved. The scrub has tiny beads that you scrub with for a minute & wash off. That scrubbing was HEAVENLY - I was like a pup, slapping it's back leg around when you scratch just the right spot. The scrub got rid of almost all the rash & redness within 24 hours & the itch STOPPED immediately when I used it. I only had maybe 3 or 4 more bumps pop up & I scrubbed them away too that night.

I for one will ALWAYS have some of the scrub on hand just in case. I have told friends about it & it seems to work for about 75 - 80% of them.

Didn't someone in the last poison ivy thread say something about how hot water spreads the poison ivy? I remember saying that I always used the hot shower, because it felt so good, but it did spread more. Just wondering.

I would just go on to the doctor and get the steroid pack. It never heals up on me because I must end up scratching it during my sleep. The steroids work, but I'll have to try that zanfel if I ever get it again.

Katie, hot water and scratching do not spread PI. The reason you have heard people say not to use hot water is that when the oil is on your skin, applying hot water opens your pores and allows the oil in. Once you have thoroughly washed and removed the oil, it won't matter if your pores are open.

Use cold water, initially, to scrub the oil off, but feel free to try the hot water, after the oil is removed, to prevent or lessen itching.

Scratching doesn't cause the rash directly of course, but it can certainly spread volatile oils to new areas, even after careful and prolonged washing. To get to a new location it must be transferred; scratching is one possible means of transfer. The oil remains viable indefinitely (or perhaps a year, who knows) and must be completely removed. This can take numerous washings over the course of several days in extreme cases. A friend of mine had it so bad that it virtually covered his entire body even though it only initially contacted his hands, arms, and legs. He was hospitalized on several occasions over several weeks and really needed the steroids. That is a rare case. Most people only contract a small bit of oil. He had been pulling the roots up for hours without knowing and probably had enough on him to make himself a biological weapon. LOL

I used to agree with this, because that's what I had been told. Then, I was talking to an extremely knowledgeably doctor who told me that it was not true. I have since talked to other doctors who all agree. The AMERICAN ACADEMY OF DERMATOLOGY and numerous other websites I just reviewed ALL say this is not true. The last few times I got PI (after talking to the doctors), I found that they were indeed correct. PI does not spread from scratching after washing thoroughly with soap and water. There are reasons this SEEMS to be happening, which are discussed on numerous websites for anyone interested.

When my personal experience matches what medical professionals and numerous professional organizations and websites report, it would be nearly impossible for me to accept an argument against that!

Here is a link that might be useful: American Academy of Dermatology

I found it even more clearly stated on the Poison Ivy, Oak, and Sumac Information Center's website. "Rubbing the rashes won't spread poison ivy to other parts of your body (or to another person)."

Also other sites clarify, "The rash can only be spread by UNBOUND urushiol." That means that once it binds to your skin (usually 10 minutes to an hour), it cannot be spread further.

Looking back on a previous comment, I found the following information helpful. "The rash will only occur where urushiol has touched the skin; it doesn't spread through the body."

I hope this information will help dispell some of the MYTHS about this subject.

Here is a link that might be useful: Poison Ivy, Oak, and Sumac Information Center

Not to drive this point overboard, but...

Volatility is the characteristic of a chemical or compound to "evaporate readily at normal temperatures and pressures." Urushiol is not spread through scratching because of its quasi-volatile characteristics. In fact, it makes it even less likely to be spread by scratching because the more volatile it is, the more it would evaporate and not be present at all shortly after contact.

Well, I sure wish this thread woulda started sooner. I had my first ever encounter with this nasty stuff at the last swap. While I was tying a string around a tree at our campsite, I thought I saw some, so I washed my arm thoroughly with soap and hot water. This did not help. It was all up the inside of my arm, driving me INSANE. I, too, would have spent anything to stop it, and did pay $27.95 for the new Cortaid product, after determining it was not the same old cortizone cream. I have to say, it did really work, stopping the stinging and itching for a good period of time. I am glad to know, however, that there are cheaper options out there that can do the same thing! For those saying PI is worse this year than ever, I have to agree. I have spent as much time as possible outdoors, especially in the woods, for 31 years, and this was my first experience with it.

I know this sounds weird, but bananas are the best thing I've found for poison ivy. I read it somewhere & then tried it, and I was amazed. You just rub the inside of the peel all over the spot and a few minutes later the itch is gone. It also seem to stop it from spreading.

The cure for removing Poison Ivy off of your skin!

The irritant in poison ivy is urushoil. It is a sticky oil.
If you come into contact with it, it will cause problems until it is removed from your skin and anything that comes in contact with your skin. There are several products sold just for this.

I'm very allergic to urushoil and have tried many. The best and most readily available is the same soap that your mechanic uses to remove motor oil from their hands.
Because urushoil is a sticky oil it does require a little more scrubbing but it works 100%.

Directions for removal:

1.Apply the [mechanics] soap dry (DO NOT ADD WATER) to the affected area.

2. Scrub for 2 minutes.

3. Wash off completely with COLD water. If you use hot water, then you may be in for an unpleasant surprise!

Note: The residue soap will now contain the urushoil, and when the residue drys it may become sticky oil again.

4. All itchiness should be gone. If not repeat the process.

I like Lava and JoJo brands the best. The grittier the better.

Walmart, KMart, Your local auto parts store will all carry this soap. I usually buy the 16 oz squeeze bottles for around ~$2.

This soap also gets the urushiol and many stains out of clothes. Just be sure to hose the residue off the clothes before adding them to your laundry.

Just to be clear, washing the toxin off your skin only prevents it from causing further problems on other parts of your body if it is physically spread by accident.

Once the toxin has made good contact with your skin, your finished. Prepare to be very itchy for days regardless of how well you washed up.

Now, maybe an early washing produces milder problems than just letting the toxin sit on your skin for a time... that makes sense. Of course, you'd have to know that you have touched it... I never do.

Since my original post 10 months ago, I have had poison ivy rash almost every month!!! I'm living in a new house, and I'm quickly trying to get through the dirty work of clearing out areas of the back wooded area to create a more pleasantly scenic back yard. If I worried about the poison ivy, it would take FOREVER to do anything back there.

I get down and dirty as I dig with my hands, swing a pick ax, and shovel and pry my way through all sorts of areas. I'm just going with the philosophy that I'm just going to "be itchy" until I get this stuff done.

I'm not a rashy kind of guy, but I have some rashes (shortly after yard work) that are somewhat different than other rashes that I associate with poison ivy. I am assuming that there is other stuff out there that can affect the skin (other than poison ivy/oak/sumac)... these other rashes are itchy, but not nearly as intensely itchy.

For me, I use a generic version of that Cortaid Poison Ivy remedy, and the hot water when the itching gets unbearable. The hot water is the ONLY instant escape from the itch that I have found.

Oddly, I have not yet had an ivy rash anywhere on the palms of my hands which, you would think, would get the most toxin exposure!

TECHNU, For washing after you have come in contact with it,

IVA-REST for the itch after the fact. I always manage to get it every year, no matter how careful I am.

I saw all the poison ivy at the swap last weekend and must have washed my arms and legs in the shower 5 times trying to make sure I didn't catch it. I'm one of those that gets it for weeks after contact and end up washing sheets and pillowcases every night and going to the Dr. for a shot and steroid pack. I used Technu as soon as I got home, threw everything in the washer and so far only have 2 little spots on 1 arm! Technu is great and I alwasy keep it on hand now. I'll try the hot water trick tonight. Thanks for the hint.

If the poison weren't so darn annoying, I would conduct a somewhat controlled experiment to check on the effectiveness of various strategies.

One can never know if the cleaning actually works. You may have *not* contacted the poison (but thought you did), scrubbed like crazy, and then felt that the scrubbing is the reason you avoided the rash.

It's hard to say. The time between contact and the actual rash can be a full 24 hours... so it's also difficult to determine what, exactly, has the poison. (i.e. Is the poison on one of my garden gloves?...and is that what gave it to me? Did I touch a poison ivy plant? Is there old/dead poison ivy plant material that touched me? Did the rash come from poison that was on my pruning shears?.. which I haven't used for two months!)

Even a very small poison ivy rash itches MUCH worse than any mosquito bite that I have ever had, so I'm not willing to experiment on myself! : ]

Ohhh yes, I have to jump in here! (thanks Joe, for that yard waste bags thread LOL)

SPANK that itch! LOL Okay, I'm laughing, but I'm serious. Being the tactile creature that I am, I used to have the nasty habit of scratching itches (poison oak or ivy rash, skeeter bites, wounds healed to that almost completely healed point but scab not quite ready to come off itch-at-the-edges stage, simple dry skin, whatever... you get the idea) to the point - without conscious awareness, particularly bad on auto-pilot in my sleep - of scratching things into a laceration. I had to re-train myself to spank/slap itchies or to use a cotton, well-textured cloth.

I've tried all of the OTC and no small amount of Rx stuff for PI/PO... and by far, in order of what I tried OTC through the years and all effective for me, these have been the best:
bleach water solution (1 part bleach, 9-10 parts H2O - same principle as what follows below)
Rubbing Alcohol - used gleefully on a terrycloth washcloth that was otherwise clean/dry, rubbing it on - be sure to wash with an oil-"attacking" detergent such as Dawn with hot water and not re-use without washing.
7% Iodine Solution - Oh yes yes yes yes! Be careful though, you can usually get this some place that sells vet/livestock supplies like the co-op BUT, you will know the difference with this compared to OTC people-pharmacy iodine, you open the bottle and the fumes can make your eyes burn/water... stout/potent, but very effective.
Ethyl Alcohol - oh yea baby... move over regular rubbing alcohol, this was so much better.
Germ-X - and this one is more recent and sheer fluke. I canNOT stand how my hands feel when I have been in public anywhere, especially after touching things that who knows how many other people and things have come into contact with, my hands just feel NASTY - but keeping soap and water in my vehicle became a PITA because bottles got left not sealed/closed tightly, water leaked out, etc. so I tried this stuff and "fell in love" - main ingredient: ethyl alcohol, with a carrier, moisturizer, - and fragrance if you like.

The primary factors with my preferred "products" are that they have some impact on drying the PI/PO oils along with one's own body oils and subsequently removing it from the area, and with "victimized"/irritated skin/tissue, these things "burn" and that sates the general urge to scratch. I've had PI/PO on my face and near my eyes before, the only one of those that I will NOT use on my face/near my eyes is the Iodine.

My son that has become so sensitive, he has had really good results with a mixture of essential oils that "Grandma" mixed up for him because he keeps getting into the stuff (climbing trees, out in the woods, being a boy, ya know?) If anyone else is "into" essential oils for treatment, let me know and I'll send or post the exact EOs to mix/use and at what ratio and "dosage" (topical)

Iva/y-rest, etc. have never been of any use/relief for me personally. I have also not had any noteworthy relief or countering from steroids, taken internally or applied topically. Cortisone creams help for bug bites for me but rarely PI/PO irritation.

Aside from 1) attempting to avoid the stuff 2) secondary offense being washing with soap and water if there is/was a chance I was exposed [this usually happens too late for me for bad outbreaks because I'm out working, sweating, and sweat just passes the oils right along and unthought of and usually spread hours before I quit work for the day and get to the shower] and 3) the above list of OTC stuff when #1 and #2 have not prevented an "outbreak". The bleach water solution I *personally* mix stronger than that but that above is how the "recipe" was given to me. I have used straight bleach on the stuff before. But YMMV and everyone has different skin types and sensitivities. The bleach water solution, at the 1:9 and 1:10 ratio though is pretty effective for skeeter bites.

All of you who are sensitive to PI/PO - you have my empathy!!!!

Yes, it has had some effectiveness for me in treating immediate, minor irritation - but has not worked as far as speeding riddance of the oils, healing/anti-allergenic effects, etc. I consider Jewelweed a "field treatment" when nothing else to choose from/on hand. But it's an incredibly pretty flower and does the COOLEST thing with its seedpods when they are ready to open - if you haven't experienced it, you have GOT to have a seedpod of Jewelweed open in your fingertips - very neat - one of those things in the plant world that will just make you giggle and grin like a kid at the "thrill" of it no matter whether you are 9 years old or 99 years old! Great fun and a chortle-worthy garden-party-trick to share with those who haven't experienced it...

I have used hair spray to relieve the itching and it works well for me. Cheap too.

PVP

NOT cheap by any means (unless you have prescription drugs covered in your insurance), but I wanted to mention that there are pills of oral steroids your physician can prescribe for you if warranted. Disclaimer: I am not a physician and I think the idea of any steroids is bad for people with immuno-compromised systems and fragile bones and such (I read through this very quickly while my poor little daughter waited to get her first dose a couple weeks ago).

It did help her a lot, though.

Our pediatrician said that a hot water bath could cause a "flare up" (we were well beyond the spreading stage) and recommended tepid oatmeal baths instead. And loads of calamine lotion and benadryl. For whatever it's worth.

She's better now, poor little thing. Yes, she got this from helping out in our garden. :( Sorry to hear about others' encounters ...

well, I after reading all these posts about how to treat poisonivy, I just had to put my '2 cents' in. I've tried just about every treatment listed here with limited success. I've whittled the field (no pun intended) to just one product which is called Ivyoff. It's not pink like calamine and it works for me. If I know I've been in contact with the leaves, I put the Ivyoff on when I get home and the rash is minimal. If I can't do it immediately, I do it as soon as I see the rash and it contains the spread and relieves the itch. I can use it as often as I need to and don't have to worry about doctors, shots, steriods, prednisone and the like.
I can't buy it in stores, so I get it online and keep at least one bottle on hand at all times.
Just wanted to share my story.

Here is a link that might be useful: Ivyoff

I only got the stuff really bad last fall when DH (NOT dear hubby this time) threw some "vines" in my fire pit. It was down my mouth, in my eyes,in my ears, all over me!

Yes I ended up in the ER for major shots and pills for days! NOTHING helped the itch. I could have stood in the shower all day.