<p>The fact that the prednisone, benadryl, etc didn’t stop the itching wouldn’t necessarily mean it wasn’t poison ivy. The last really bad batch of that evil stuff my son had before he went to college was so bad that none of those things helped. The only thing that did was something called Zanfel, which at the time was available only over the internet for about $50! I bought it, because he was so miserable and it was all over his face and arms and torso. I figured I didn’t care at that point whether I was getting ripped off. It was amazing, and it’s in drugstores now. It’s still expensive–about $40, I think, but I would buy it again in a heartbeat.</p>
<p>I’'m going to look for this Technu, too, in the hopes that it’s a competing product that might bring the price down. If it works the same way, it’s like a rough beady wash that strips the oils from the poison ivy from the skin and actually stops the itching permanently. If it’s really awful, you might have to do it twice or even three times, but it really works. It’s worth the cost to end their suffering.</p>
<p>I went to a website that listed several “testimonials” for Technu and the site’s editor included the information that if Technu doesn’t work–which is what usually happpens if you don’t catch it early enough, you need the Zanfel to “bail you out.” I have no personal experience wth Technu, but I do like to tell people about Zanfel in case they ever have a child who suffers what my son used to suffer.</p>
<p>ctymom, Thanks for info about Zanfel too. I don’t know if you are getting the the same thing, and if it hasn’t expired etc., but I did see that ebay has it for sale for $15. Never mind, I just noticed that they are for sale at auction, so it won’t cost $15. Sorry.</p>
<p>Interesting that it’s being sold that way. It’s worth virtually any price to me, as it’s the only thing I know of that does what it does. But you really have to follow the directions exactly.</p>
<p>Not a solution, but… I’ve found that all sorts of discomforts, including itching, can be helped by an analgesic. Mention to your son–while he’s getting this under control–that an aspirin or tylenol can help make him a little more comfortable.</p>
<p>Another way to soothe discomfort of itching is a wet warm washrag dipped in apple cider vinegar & gently run up & down the offending area. The area will get bright red and very warm but alleviates almost all itching almost immediately. My favorite part is that it’s all natural & inexpensive. (thank you "just"aGrandmom!)</p>
<p>My D came back from a one-week conference at WashU in St. Louis with bites around her ankles. She couldn’t figure out where she got the “mosquito” bites as she hadn’t been outdoors at all. I told her they were probably bedbugs and she was horrified. :eek: </p>
<p>A word to the wise. Don’t know what dorm she was in.</p>
<p>I am very suseptible to poison ivy and get very bad cases of it. It usually takes me three rounds of steriods to recover. Soaking in aveno old meal baths definitely helps, but the water should only be tepid because hot water spreads the rash.</p>
<p>To those who are really allergic, poison ivy is not a localized allergic reaction but becomes systemic. It does not matter where the first contact was, the reaction can go anywhere, and sometimes is even internal from inhaling molecures, especially if the stuff is burned.</p>
<p>I would think a doctor could tell the difference between poison ivy and bed bugs and other candidates. Poison ivy oozes; others don’t really.</p>
<p>Another consideration - you can get the poison ivy rash from the stems in the winter, when there are no leaves to warn you. This happened to my husband and son.</p>
<p>Mommusic, those bites could be chiggers if she was outside at all, even just walking across the lawn on campus. They make small red spots and itch like crazy. They like ankles.</p>
<p>Almostlaunched - Could it be some sort of bug bite (from running) that he is now having a generalized reaction to? My son went through something similar. The dermatologist never quite figured it out.</p>
<p>Just got the report from my son after seeing the doc for the third time about his poison ivy. Sports doctor at university is convinced he has poison ivy. He just has a very bad case and his skin is super sensitive. He prescribed 8 more days of the prednisone to be tapered accordingly. He sent him home with samples of a topical which I don’t remember the name of. My son did ask about bed bugs and scabies and the doc thought that was ridiculous.</p>
<p>On a positive note, last night was the first night in 10 days he didn’t have to get up in the middle of the night and shower to relieve the itching. He said the rash looks a little better, but not much improvement there yet. </p>
<p>I will look into getting the Zanfur from the drugstore to have on hand in case this happens again, it sounds like a miracle product. </p>
<p>Thanks for everyone taking the time to post, it helped me a lot.</p>
<p>Almostlaunched: I can’t stress enough that he should shower only in tepid water. Hot water can definitely spread the rash. Once it becomes systemic (which it sounds like it has) it can pop up any where.</p>
<p>AlmostL: your son should also try to determine where he got the exposure, the oils sit and wait for you to be stupid enough to touch them again then the whole cycle starts again!</p>
<p>I mentioned hot water in abother post- when we have had a horrendous case of the “oak” where the break out was fully engulfing our bodies, we would use hothothot water on the spot, usually with a hand held shower feature on the hardest blast. It would make you cry or moan out loud, but if you do it for 5-10-15 minutes, until it no loner itches, then the histamines would be all gone in that part of the body for several hours. This only works to help one get through the next few hours when the case is so severe you are basically in a darkened room itching for a month </p>
<p>MM is right that a hot shower early can spread it. My very first exposure was when walking property we were considering purchasing, got it on my ankles (but did not know) came back to the hotel and took a bath, so I had little dots everywhere!</p>
<p>She is also right about it being systemic, my DH gets blood poisoning from the tiniest spots of poison oak. My skin swells up, pops open and oozes serum0- very attractive, I look like I have been beaten severely.</p>
<p>The best bet for poison anything is prevention and if you get an exposure, react IMMEDIATELY and do anything you can to minimize the breakout. Prednisone after full eruption does not always make a difference, sometimes your body just has to heal itself with time.</p>
<p>I got scabies from using someone else’s lab coat or from hanging my coat next to another coat. I suffered for a week trying all types of remedies before I broke down to see my doctor. I got so paranoid about it that I sprayed my self with RAID even after using the pyrethroid cream. My wife was not happy in washing everything, and wife and DS had to undergo the treatment. I was not happy because I was quarantined for the next month.</p>
<p>I second somemom’s trick re: concentrated stream of super-hot water, limited to ONLY the bad area. For year’s now, I’ve developed a late summer/fall rash on one or both ankles. It’s MADDENING, and I’ve scratched my ankles bloody on many occasions. Sometimes the only relief comes from the scalding water. It’s almost unbearable, but it beats the itching.</p>
<p>Also, the Tecnu brand scrub seems to provide some relief, even when it might not be poison ivy. The abrasive scrub is comforting, and it seems to dry out the rash a bit.</p>
<p>The derm. also prescribed “Clobetasol Proprionate ointment .05%.” It helps, but only after being applied for a couple days under bandages. He says it is almost as potent as oral prednisone, so don’t know it if would be safe over a large area as mentioned in the OP.</p>
<p>Some people just seem very prone to skin reactions and dermatitis, I think. I might have something as simple as a papercut or mosquito bite, but if I touch or scratch it, it can almost immediately progress to a blistered itchy rash that might last weeks. Ugh!</p>
<p>Unfortunately my younger D also seems to have sensitive skin, and is prone to hives. Allergy tests have revealed nothing. Almostlaunched, your son def. has our sympathy. Good luck!</p>
<p>“Clobetasol Proprionate ointment”- This was the ointment that my son’s dermatolgist prescribed too. I did not realize that was nearly as strong as an oral steroid. He was allowed to apply it all over (he was covered with poison ivy from head to toe). He did not use bandages, or he would have had to look like a mummy! This medication really helped a lot, but it still took nearly a week from the time that it was prescribed for the rash to clear.</p>
<p>Is the remedy worth the risk vs letting the PI run its course naturally. PI, PS, PO rashes if I remember my occurrences lasted about 2-3 weeks from itching to scabbing to clearing up.</p>
<p>northeastmom-- Am sure your S’s dermatologist knew what he was doing. I think mine just wanted to be sure I was aware that it was a strong steroidal treatment, and that it would be absorbed through the skin. In fact, the literature said NOT to use it with bandages, but my ankles were so bad that he had me apply the clobetasol and then wrap them loosely in gauze. At this point I use it when the rash flares up, and it usually prevents it from getting as bad as it used to be. I try not to use any more treatments than I have to. Glad it worked for your son too.</p>
<p>You can ask my son if the remedy is worth the risk and he will say yes. When you cannot sleep night after night and a freshman in college tackling a difficult major… yes it is worth the risk in my opinion.</p>
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