tecnu. It washes off the oil before it enters body. My neighbor told me about it. Great stuff.
I am highly allergic to poison ivy/ oak. Had several awful episodes requiring steroid shots. I stay mainly out of the depths of our yard now.
I mistakenly reached for some acne cream ( DUAC (clindamycin phosphate and benzoyl peroxide) Gel, 1.2%/5%) instead of hydrocort. It helped so much faster than anything I have ever tried.
Now if i see what looks like the start of a poision ivy type rash ( small bug like bites in a row almost tracking) I put on the duac. My family laugh at me a say I am like the father in My big fat creek wedding with the windowlene.
Blue Dawn, which many people keep in their home (or should!) breaks up the oil and washes it off if done soon after exposure. It’s a lot cheaper than Tecnu so it can just be a routine thing to do after doing yard work or while camping.
If the itching gets annoying, I keep Ambesol or similar around the house…it’s great to rub on a bug bite, itch, canker sore, cold sore, or paper cut. There are also Neosporin versions with the pain aid that remove discomfort from itch/pain.
Ivy Dry also sells a soap to wash off the oils. It’s on the earlier link.
My wife just learned about this the hard way. It’s not actually the poison getting into your bloodstream and spreading, but rather that some people have a systemic allergic-type reaction to poison ivy. So you can have itchy rash at the spots where you touched the oils from the plant–but also other places all over your body because of the reaction. In my wife’s case, it lasted for almost two weeks and then faded away. The treatment for this is a steroid injection, although she didn’t get one.
@dstark You are SOL at this point unless you go for a Medrol Dosepak. That drug starts with a high dose that tapers to 0 over a week. By that time, it will probably have run its course on its own
. Usually takes about 3 weeks for me, and I get it many times per year. A cheap tub of mechanics hand soap like “Goop” works better and cheaper than any specialty soap for removing the oil. Remember too that the oil can be on gloves, tools, your steering wheel, your dog, your shoelaces, etc. It’s the oily gift that keeps on giving.
My DH had a bad case of poison oak a few years ago and he did have to go to the doctor for a prescription. It was a pretty miserable experience
Ambesol - Do you mean Anusol or Anbesol?
@madison85 Anbesol (sorry for the typo)…maximum strength preferred.
I recently used a cream that my dermatologist prescribed to essentially burn off damaged skin that could be “pre-cancerous.” That cream leaves you with a face that looks like you’ve been dragged over gravel, so after it does its thing you’re prescribed a 2.5% hydrocortisone cream to fix your complexion back up. 2.5% hydrocortisone turns out to be a magic potion. I’ve used it on other skin irritations - even “unfortunately” located ones - and they’re as good as new in around 48 hours.
My H, sigh, decided to totally rely on Tecnu and attacked a huge underbrush patch in our yard that we knew was full of poison ivy. He was barefoot, shorts, had gloves but not all the time, and stayed out there way too long. I was horrified when I realized what he was doing. The times I’ve attacked the PI, I dress head to foot covered, safety glasses, plastic bags over shoes, etc. Only after that do I rely on the Tecnu. He waited too long to clean up, it turns out.
Upshot is he is suffering from a horrible case. Feet, legs, arms ,hands–all swollen and itchy. I do worry about it being systemic; he’s so swollen. This man was a doctor–he should have known better!
He’s using Tecnu’s spray (might be similar to Ivy Dry.) has swum in salt water but didn’t help much. Also using Calamine.
He really can’t take steroids because of a former condition that might be set off by it, something very dangerous.
I’m feeling awful for the poor guy, but also shaking my head over the risks he took, and is paying for.
On the flip side, the poison ivy is gone.
My H, sigh, decided to totally rely on Tecnu and attacked a huge underbrush patch in our yard that we knew was full of poison ivy. He was barefoot, shorts, had gloves but not all the time, and stayed out there way too long. I was horrified when I realized what he was doing. The times I’ve attacked the PI, I dress head to foot covered, safety glasses, plastic bags over shoes, etc. Only after that do I rely on the Tecnu. He waited too long to clean up, it turns out.
Upshot is he is suffering from a horrible case. Feet, legs, arms ,hands–all swollen and itchy. I do worry about it being systemic; he’s so swollen. This man was a doctor–he should have known better!
He’s using Tecnu’s spray (might be similar to Ivy Dry.) has swum in salt water but didn’t help much. Also using Calamine.
He really can’t take steroids because of a former condition that might be set off by it, something very dangerous.
I’m feeling awful for the poor guy, but also shaking my head over the risks he took, and is paying for.
On the flip side, the poison ivy is gone.
Go to the doctor. If you have a rash that is lasting for a week, whatever the cause, and not getting better, it might be infected or worse than you thought.
Applying hydrocortisone willy nilly is not good, especially if it is a large area.
(doctors aren’t always best at doctoring themselves - good luck to him for recovery)
The only thing that really helped me relieve the discomfort was the Aveeno oatmeal bath. Honestly, I lived in the tub for 4 days.
@garland oh no! my S1 once got poison ivy and it went systemic. It was truly horrific so I sure hope that your H doesn’t have that (but it sounds like he does). He may need to find out if there are any alternative Rx’s to steroids.
bare foot!!
garland- the PI is gone now but it will be back. It is tough to get rid of. You almost have to kill all vegetation in that area.
A farmer told me to poor bags of salt on the area where it was growing and let it dissolve. It kills everything.
Agree Tom. We used roundup on everything that kept coming up for two years. The root system is amazingly extensive and extremely oily.
Again,finding the Ivy Dry was the best thing that happened for us. That is an understatement
Well, we won’t use roundup on anything. I think we’ll just go with “pull up when necessary” but I’ll be in charge of the suiting up!
H is looking better today; swelling a little less.
Can you get a lawn mower into the area? I have been told constantly cutting the growth over and over again will end up killing it also.
Also PI loves apple trees. I have been told if there is an old dying apple tree look for PI.
it’s an area under a couple trees in our front yard, with a wooden plank border, not lawn. Previous owner had mulched and probably sprayed a lot, and had some carefully spaced perennials. We let it get out of hand because I like the wilder look–the whole yard was much too manicured for me, lol. Plus we know he used all sorts of pesticides, weed-killers, and stuff which we won’t use. So I think we’ll probably mulch and try to cover over to keep it from growing back.