Itching has stopped. YAY. But rash looks exactly the same. Picking up Keflex this morning because they suspect possible infection…and that does spread.
But at least no more itching.
With all the strange skin infections out there, they no longer take any chances on possible infections and prescribe antibiotics more often for spider bites, poison ivy, and other open skin conditions.
I’m not complaining about the antibiotic. Wish I had been given that Thursday as well. The smaller rash around my big poison whatever it is rash is probably systemic…not a contact rash.
Hoping this will be behind me soon.
So funny…I was picking my RX up at Target Pharmacy CVS, and I had to wait so I figured I would pick up some garden gloves. The summer seasonal section looked like the toilet later section did the month of April. Shelf after shelf empty. I mean nothing. There were no garden gloves, no garden tools, a teeny teeny amount of garden furniture…and I mean teeny. No decorative stuff, no pots. I wonder if they just ordered less not knowing whether they would even have a garden season…or what.
So…instead of garden gloves, I bought a box of nitrile glove. Probably better anyway because I’ll just toss them after I use them once.
I’ve had this prescribed, too, and it worked very quickly.
My poison ivy rash laughs at fluocinonide.
Depends when you start it. Topical high-potency steroids are effective in helping with itch if started early.
Oils are very persistent in the environment, so be very careful with washing clothes that may have contacted poison ivy.
Oral steroids work, but a lot of doctors prescribe a very short course. That can lead to rebound symptoms once you stop. It’s recommended to take steroids for two weeks or more.
H and I both have a little around our ankles now and are trying to figure out where we got it. It’s small enough to probably just use some gel we have on it.
The worst PI cases I ever saw were back when I was in Air Force Field Training doing wilderness training and a different group than mine got into some while setting up a campsite. Unfortunately, no one in their group knew they shouldn’t burn it. Four went to the hospital and two were later sent home. We were told they inhaled the fumes causing their windpipes to get affected.
This was still during the era when I was immune, but the incident is still solidly in my memory. I try to share it when PI comes up just in case anyone else is helped from the story, potentially saving themselves or those they know from a similar experience.
Yikes! Those poor folks who inhaled PI irritants! That sounds like torture! I’m glad that as far as I know we have no PI in our state.
We were young cadets at the time. It definitely gave us more respect for a lot of things. Mostly we thought of Field Training as fun and games. I suppose it was still fun and games afterward, esp since everyone survived, but afterward details seemed to matter more.
I’m pretty sure the Powers That Be who ran it added a PI warning to the briefing prior to setting out on Wilderness Training afterward. They were a bit shaken from it too. I have no idea how often it happens.
I found our patch this morning near our chicken yard. It’ll be taken out soon, but it won’t be burned.
I remember learning that poison ivy can be dead for one year and you can still get a rash from it.
I had heard longer, so I googled it. Up to five years. This whole fact sheet is quite informative if anyone wants more info:
https://www.iwu.edu/physical-plant/tailgate/grounds-tailgate/april-poison-ivy-oak-sumac.pdf
ETA: It also gives the warning not to burn it due to breathing in the fumes. Always be careful if downwind of a brush fire.
Update…I’ve been on the prednisone for 6 days, and the Keflex for 3, and my poison whatever it is is finally going away…and doesn’t itch!
I can tell you…I will be VERY careful with my weeding now!!
My husband and I are so sensitive that we have given up doing any weeding. We pay our lawn maintenance guys to do the weeding. They don’t seem to mind handling poison ivy (and other poison plants). On occasion, they have shown me which plants are poison whatever and I would not have recognized them.
It’s a thought. I have lots of washes now, and gloves, and clothes to just wear and toss directly in the wash. Instead of weeding a small portion every day (which was easier), I’m doing a larger portion every three days or so. So far it’s working.
It’s a balance between not letting the overall weeds take over, and also not getting poison whatever again!
One thing to do is wash with Technu every time you come in from gardening as a preventative measure. I have found this to be the most effective approach.
I had one poison ivy incident when I was a teen. It was the worst experience. Never again.
I grew up in Oregon. There we had poison oak, but the oil is the same as in poison ivy: urushiol. I knew someone who didn’t know it shouldn’t be burned and ended up in the hospital.
I agree about technu after every weeding session.
I have tecnu and have been using it at my wash. It says it’s 100% guaranteed…but not for what!
Zenfal is also good and I have some of that too.
This probably won’t touch the really bad cases, but for general itch I highly recommend Sarna lotion.
I wonder how common this is. Until my AF experience (with it affecting others) I certainly didn’t know. We had some growing around home because my sister would get it once in a while (at that time I wasn’t sensitive to it), but I’ve no idea if we ever burned any or not.
Almost everyone I tell about it doesn’t know until I tell them. Granted, this is usually high schoolers, but still. If so many don’t know, how often does it happen to the point of sending people to the hospital?