My husband has reactions that sound like yours, @thumper1 . He uses Tecnu, but has had to go in for a steroid shot.
My dad burned it on logs in the fireplace when I was young. I got it in my eyes as well as windpipe. I have multiple other PI horror stories from childhood.
Now I can easily identify it and Round-up for the poison ivy, Tecnu scrubbing for me. Label says rinse with cold, but if it continues, re-do and rinse with warm. Rinsing with the hottest water one can stand will increase the itch for a very short time, then alleviate it for several hours. Dishsoaps such as Dawn and Ajax will work in a pinch.
Allergy shots for several years also helped. They didn’t help with any of the other allergies, but definitely have made PI less intense
Poison Ivy/Oak//Sumac is the worst, DH, D1, & I are hideously allergic. I’ve had my face swell so I was unrecognizable, my DD had her fingers swell and split open, DH tends to get blood poisoning from scratching it. Once it was so bad (he took down ‘tree’ branches wrapped around another tree and tossed them on a burn pile the three of us were working on) that we sat in a dark house for a week, crying, using hairbrushes to scratch until we bled because pain was better than the deep level of itching, and showering in the hottest water we could stand to use up all the histamines for a few hours. Prednisone injections did not touch it.
We temporarily moved to an area that turned out not to have the poisons and we decided to stay, with that being one of the deciding factors, we can touch our pets, hike, and relax. I can still spot the poison stuff when traveling.
I can barely click on this thread and type anything it brings up such an intense visceral reaction & makes my chest feel tight. If spies were threatening me to get me to betray my country, I think Poison Oak would do it ;(
I evidently came in contact with poison ivy while weeding last week. I washed up when I came in, but not within 10 minutes of contact, so the urushiol bonded with my skin. I developed a rash on several parts of my right arm and hand, and 2 small patches on my face. I always have several tubes of Zanfel in the house so I scrubbed with that. Those patches are slowly improving.
Problem is, I am continuing to get tiny patches-- often just one small blister-- on my right hand. I must have transferred some small amount of urushiol to something that only I handle (my DH and DD are not affected) and am recontaminating myself. So I’ve been going around cleaning-- and in some cases disposing of-- items that I alone touch. The rubber gloves I use to wash dishes. My toothbrush. My Eos lip balm.
My computer mouse. My hairbrush.
My immersion blender.
I keep thinking of new things to clean.
I sure hope I solve this mystery soon. It’s getting very old.
@CTmom2018 I sure hope you get better. Soon.
I sort of had the same issue. Except in my case, the poison ivy spots each became larger. Spots developed on my other arm, legs, and neck…days later.
I was washing all the sheets and towels I used every day. I finally started using paper towels for my hands and arms, and face and neck. One use then trash.
I’m on my last day of antibiotic today. I should have finished it yesterday, but clearly, I missed taking some pills along the way…
This poison ivy episode has not been as bad as other episodes in the past (the worst were when our now-deceased cat used to bring urushiol in on his fur) and I’m really hoping this is the end of it!!