Poison Ivy Cure?

jose bagge · Jul 12, 2012

Poison Ivy is just eating me up! About once every two years I get it so bad I can't stand it...must have gotten it picking blackberries the other day, and I've got it all over my arms and belly. Swear I didn't see any! Soon as I fely the itch I washed with Ivarest soap...two days later I'm blow up like a balloon, and blisters leaking so bad they ruin workshirts. Anyone have a remedy for this stuff?

redtom · Jul 12, 2012

I'm allergic and the only way I can cure it is to never get in it. Even got it from smoke from burning brush once and closed both eyes and bloated face. The last two times I got it bad i went to the doc and begged for a shot in a$$ and boy does it help. The only other help I find is washing often lightly with Lava soap and drying good and coating with calamine. Still, the best soap to use if you even THINK you got in it is an old bar of Fels Naptha soap if its still available. I have a 30 yr old bar I keep just for that use. Good luck

JD2ACWD · Jul 12, 2012

spray on antiperspirant will dry it out fast.good luck

Brian G. NY · Jul 12, 2012

I can"t vouch that it works but a friend of mine told me that Jewel Weed (Touch-Me-Not) is a remedy for poison ivy.
He says to squeeze the juice out of the Jewel Weed and apply to the affected areas.
He goes so far as to freeze the juice in ice cube trays for use even during winter months.
He points out that Jewelweed prefers the same habitat as Poison Ivy. Just a coincidence?

TXMF135 · Jul 12, 2012

I went to kountry life in the left margin of this site. Country living, country skills posted 3-29-2008 by Jeff Jeff IN said use Coconut oil internal and external. I havent tried it, but I'll bet it will get the oil from the poison ivy off of you.

Anonymous-0 · Jul 12, 2012

My dad got poison ivy bad at one time and doctor gave him a shot help helped him a lot.I think the itching stopped in about 24 hours after shot.

ILLEFTY · Jul 12, 2012

We use homemade lye soap

Geo-TH,In · Jul 12, 2012

Tecnu Extreme medicated poison ivy scrub. You will thank me later. Get it at Wal-mart $12, Krogers $14 or Walgreens $16.
George

PJH · Jul 12, 2012

Brian - you gave good advice. An old man I worked with tipped me off to the healing powers of the Touch-Me-Not plant. I'd fooled with those seed pods all of my life, not knowing that it would clear up poison ivy. I also had a guy that worked for me that would harvest it and squeeze the juice out so he could save it for off season use. He got poison ivy so bad that smoke from a brush pile fire in November would infect him.

I just wonder if you can find any in the midwest, due to the drought. It grows best in shady areas in the creek bottoms.

Paul

wolfman · Jul 12, 2012

Had poison ivy pretty bad when I was a kid. Old neighbor grabbed a poison ivy leaf with the warts on it and said "eat this and you'll be immune for the rest of your life". I'm around poison a lot and knock-on-wood hardly an itch.

Switchflicker · Jul 12, 2012

Is that up there with 'If it don't kill you, it'll make you stronger'???

Mark-Mi · Jul 12, 2012

The shot in the but works good.
You won't like our home remedy from back in the day. Scratch up the affected area and pour gasoline on it. Worked pretty good.

IaGary · Jul 12, 2012

I've fought it all my life. Cab tractors have helped a lot. All I have to do is drive by the stuff and I get it if the wind is in the wrong direction. I can feel in the air and smell it.

I have found if I go to the Doctor and get a shot it is gone in about 10 days.

If I use lotions and soapy water solutions it's gone in about 10 days.

If I do nothing and keep from itching it is gone in about 10 days.

It will be gone in 10 days.

Gary

notjustair · Jul 12, 2012

Every time I got it as a kid it was worse and easier to get. I finally got to the point that I would scratch it with a plastic fork and pour bleach on it. It's a miracle I don't have scars.

I went to the doctor the last time and got a shot and had some pills to take. I was in high school and I remember sleeping all afternoon each day after taking the pills. I have never had it since. I don't know if I am immune cause I still steer clear of it decades later.

I do remember that a shower just as hot as you can stand it seems to help. It will itch like fire in that hot water but when you get out you will have a couple of hours of relief. Makes me wonder whether ice would calm the itching.

State of Jefferson · Jul 12, 2012

Most of the store bought stuff has "deodorized mineral spirits" as the #1 active ingredient. I save my $$, take a gallon jug of mineral spirits in the shower with me, pour it on, scrub anywhere with blisters, and anywhere else you think it may be. Rinse it off. Wash it off w/ hot soapy water.

Best remedy I know of.

I get it BAD!

Ben

tjdub · Jul 12, 2012

One word: Claritin.

I'm not alergic to anything that I know of EXCEPT poison ivy and I'm severely alergic to poison ivy. I get one little line on my arm from where there was contact with a poison ivy leaf and a week later I have a rash covering my whole arm. If I think there's even a chance I could have been in poison ivy, I start popping Claritin at whatever the dose is on the bottle and it really helps it go away.

Anyway, if I get it at least once a year, I don't break out so bad. If I go 2 or more years without getting in poison ivy, then there's BIG trouble.

If it's real bad, go to the doctor and they will give you a steroid that helps make those major rashes go away. I've had to do that several times, but not once since Claritin became an over-the-shelf drug.

Gary from Muleshoe · Jul 12, 2012

When I was a kid and got it Dad would apply white gasoline to the affected areas. Cured it and didn't kill me....yet any ways. lol

tjdub · Jul 12, 2012

Also I should say, that as a preventative measure, use the type of soap that takes grease off your hands easily. What you're allergic to is an oil. If you're hands are covered in grease from working on something and you use some bath soap or hand soap and you see that it just smears the grease around instead of taking it right off your hands, that's NOT the soap you want to use to wash after contact with poison ivy. If I think I've been in poison ivy, I wash down all my exposed skin with Goop hand cleaner then through my close straight into the washer.

As for the itching once you have the rash, I've never found a remedy except for taking a hot shower with the water turned up as hot as I can stand.

Tom Bond · Jul 12, 2012

Jose. I'm with George. Use the Tecnu Extreme. This stuff is a miracle worker. An Illinois DNR Biologist gave me a couple sample packs when he saw me get into some Ivy when we were doing a CPR planting. He told me I'd thank him later. I did! Several times. I just use it every time I even have an itch after working in the fields. Haven't had it since. Kinda pricey but well worth it. If you get it at a big box store like George mentioned, it's a few bucks cheaper.

Dave in Tx · Jul 12, 2012

Best I've found is aloe vera plant. break a big leaf off, squeeze the juice out of wherever the blisters are, let it dry and do it again. usually three or four times. Next day it is gone. YMMV

retired farmer · Jul 12, 2012

Do like I did when I was little. My mom showed me what the leaves looked like, told me it was poison ivy, and told me to stay the heck away from it when I ran across it. I did as I was told and never got any rash from it.

Billy NY · Jul 12, 2012

Tincture of Green, your pharmacist should know what that is, mine was surprised when I asked for it, not many people know about this stuff he said. I know in 2 paddocks, along the hedgerow adjacent to the county road, its in there, you have to watch out for it when mowing, trimming and repairing fence, also in the winter, break that vine, and get it on you, don't matter what time of year it is.

One of the hired help whom I worked with about a year ago, I warned, he was using a string trimmer, and I completely warned him about the plants, people doubt you and learn harsh lessons, told him about the soap, in the cabinet in the rest room too. Awful rash, dermatitis as the medical world calls it.

Apparently, the Urushiol, which leaches from the plant when you break the stalk or leaves, gets on you, knowing you have been in it, this tincture of green soap can be used within a certain amount of time, to clean it off, before it clings on your skin, followed by the allergic reaction.

This year it will be potent, dry like it is, I can see trees wilting near me, not good.

I hate the stuff, last time I had it was in '04, did not know much about it then, look for that plant now before doing anything in a questionable area, that last one was nasty, left craters and scars for awhile, still cannot believe goats eat it.

Old Roy · Jul 12, 2012

You are gonna wish you had me by the throat if you try this,,,,but the blisters breaking is what causes the poison to travel. dry them up with good old fashioned Clorox leave opened to the air. you may put benadryl ointment that turns to a powdery look.

Used-to-be-iowa-dave · Jul 13, 2012

New stuff-Zanfel scrub, works good for me.

Sid · Jul 13, 2012

same here

Philt · Jul 13, 2012

I use tecnu rash rid or ivy dry, also if you go to the doctor you can get a cortizone shot which is what I had to do the last time I got it. My wife got it one time and it got infected which led to a 2 day stay at the local hospital her arms sweld up twice there normal size. Don't wait to long to see the doc.

Wile E · Jul 13, 2012

First thing to do is get Roundup poison ivy killer and spray that around to kill all of it. Then go to the doctor and get a set of steroid pills.

Anonymous-0 · Jul 13, 2012

Zanfel works great and keeps me away from doctors & shots. Especially if you don't wait too long. It's expensive but some of the big name drug chains have their own brand that's less expensive and seems to work as well. Best of luck, Jose! joe-

Anonymous-0 · Jul 13, 2012

I used good ole calamine lotion, last time I had it, in May, there was no jewel weed to b e found. Now it's plentiful, around here, look in partly sunny wet spots, around here it has a light orange flower.
Jewel weed

JRSutton · Jul 13, 2012

If you're really suffering - go to the doctor. They can give you a shots and really ease your misery.

I, the typical male anti-doctor fool, always choose to scratch it out for weeks, while my wife and kids wisely just get the shot whenever they need it, and they move on.

If you're the doctor avoiding type - you need two things - Tecnu Extreme and benedryl lotion.

benedryl will give you itch relief, but do nothing about the poison ivy itself.

The tecnu hels get rid of the urushiol oil (or whatever the heck it's called) that causes the problem.

That oil gets in your skin, and binds in solidly.

Whenever you think you've touched poison ivy is th best time to SCRUB with soap and water immediatly - and use some of that tecnu to be safe. That's the best thing you can do to avoid it.

Unfortunately, the longer you wait, the tougher it's going to be to remove it - the oil just keeps getting deeper into your skin.

It's a common belief that the poison ivy spreads, especially through the liquid in the blisters if forms. That's not really true.

It APPEARS to spread because different areas of the body react more slowly than others. And surrounding areas tend to have less oil on them, and react more slowly for that reason as well.

So you get a rash in one area, and it slowly gets bigger, or other areas start popping up around it - it does look like it's spreading, but it's not. It's just fully showing itself.

It will of course spread if you don't wash or come in contact with more oil from contaminated clothing/pets/etc. But that's not really "spreading" it's just getting MORE poison ivy.

Stay cool. Keep clean. You don't want any further infection in the blistered areas giving you grief. Slap on some benedryl whenever it flairs up. It'll be over in a few weeks.

jackinok · Jul 13, 2012

that stuff is thick around here ,and ive fought it for years.i so far have not got a rash as bad as your in a long time,but whenever i get out where i even may have been around it I take a back with technu. regardless if i see it or not. like i say ive not done it ,but both my brother and brother in law are some of those that has it if they get within fifty feet of it.both of them head imediatly down and get the shots.there was a pharmacy here selling some sort of pills that was supposedly able to stop you from getting it.

Nancy Howell · Jul 13, 2012

Zanfel. You can get it at a pharmacy where they have their poison ivy remedies. Follow the directions. It works immediately.

I used to get it a lot when James & I were doing a lot of clearing. Tried it and was amazed at how well it worked.

Its a little pricey, $40 a tube, but it works and it works right now.

old · Jul 13, 2012

This will hurt but works well. Take some good carb cleaner like the O'Reilly's brand stuff spray it on a rag and then wipe the area you have it on and it will dry the stuff up nice and fast. You may have to do it 2 or 3 times about and hour apart but it works very well BTDT

Poison Ivy Cure?

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