Cures for Posion Ivy...got any ideas?

[sdhershey]

Ive been getting Poison Ivy and Poison Oak alot recently and was wondering if anyone had any successful remedies. Ive heard of bleaching it (i dont know about that) or gasoline or starting fluid...kinda hesitent to try those. Let me know...Thanks

Scott

 

[RandyMac]

wash with a strong soap in cool water after exposure. Put a paste of baking soda on the rash.

 

[madhatte]

Behold!

 

[lone wolf]

Sleep with a fan on to cool the itch.

 

[dingeryote]

First get all the Urishiol off of you and all your gear. Skip the bleach and anything harsh on the skin, as all it does is irritate and dry out the already irritated tissues. Plain old dish soap, simple Green, and any good degrease will do. The Urisiol is what causes the allergic reaction, and the histamines generated by your own immune system are what you are left dealing with.

Technu is good stuff for getting the crap off, and providing pretty good Itch relief.

Benedryl helps keep the itch down from the histamines, as will running warm to hot water on the affected area, as it will drive the histamines from the affected tissues. Hot as you can stand it, but don't get to burning yourself.

Next, head to the local Mexican store, where the local ag working Migrants get thier chow and do all thier western union business.
ASK for the mexican poison ivy cream, as it will be out of site under the counter.

Usually it will be "Qudraderm NF" which is sold OTC in mexico for like 10 bucks, and costs about 30 bucks after they bring it here.
The stuff flat works. Better than script Diprolene by a good margin. Kills the itch, and has both Sulfur and an anti-biotic component in addition to Diprolene.

If it gets bad, get to the doc for a med pack of prednisone. The crud CAN go systemic and can do some real damage including killing you.

Double wash all your stuff and remember to run a decontamination cycle of the wash machine. No point in recontaminating yourself or somebody else in the house.

Good luck with the crud!!
Just getting into our own "Poison Ivy season" here, and dangit does it suck!

Stay safe!
Dingeryote

 

[powerking]

Yea...don't go the bleach route....I did that a few years back and burned up the skin pretty good...so good, that I still dont have any hair on my upper thigh!!
Rich

 

[pdqdl]

Tecnu is good for reducing or eliminating the exposure to the urushiol (itchy stuff in Poison Ivy), but it won't help get rid of the reaction when you are exposed.

I have had a good bit of luck curing my guys in the past or reducing the severity of their reactions by putting them on a regular dose of poison ivy pills. By consuming very tiny amounts in your diet, gradually increasing your dosage, most folks seem to eventually become immune to the problem. Some of my guys have reported that the rashes go away sooner when they start taking the pills, too.

Check them out here: Rhus Toxicodendron 6X on sale | Rhus Tox. 6X 250 | Hyland's | Rhus Toxicodendron 6X by Hyland's

Start out with the 6x, then step up to stronger doses until you got no problems with it. If you are lucky!

 

[OregonSawyer]

Not sure if this is all that helpful to the OP. It is more in regard to the pills idea. I haven't heard of that one before, although in a conversation with a friend of mine who is in Med school the topic of Poison Oak came up. I personally have never reacted to it (not to rub it in) but she (Med school friend) was telling me that as soon as your immune system thinks it needs to respond to that particular oil on your skin it will forever do so. The idea of taking pills makes sense though (I am not a doctor) in that it would reduce/eliminate the amount of shock to your immune system to warrant the reaction.

Just my (inexperienced) opinion.

 

[madhatte]

I get rashy just thinking about Urushiol:

Ain't no WAY I'm taking it internally, not on purpose.

 

[dingeryote]

I get rashy just thinking about Urushiol:

Ain't no WAY I'm taking it internally, not on purpose.

Not to mention that there are some things toilet paper WASN'T supposed to do.:msp_scared:

Stay safe!
Dingeryote

 

[BigGthetree]

Use Tecnu a lot to wash off before showering. Warning kids, don't try this, I am a verified idiot. Noticed on the bottle it contains mineral spirits "paint thinner". So one fine day I cut through a poison oak vine about 4" thick (it is the state plant here in Oregon:hmm3grin2orange. The thing swung at me like a snake and bit me (hit me) square on the forearm with its sappy goo. Had a small can of paint thinner, so I poured it directly on my forearm. The burn was, how shall I say, like resting your forearm on one of your stove's red hot coils. It bleached the color out of my skin and to this day, I have an idiot mark about the size of a silver dollar to remind me of my genius.

On the plus side I found something that, at least for me, completely stops the itching and burning. It's called Burn Jel from Water Jel. They are little packets of burn jel that contains 2% Lidocaine. This stuff flat out works wonders on burns and poison oak. It comes in a box of 25 doses. Amazing stuff. I have never seen another burn gel that works immediately like this stuff does.

 

[fdoberman]

Hydrogen Peroxide directly applied to the rash will solve the problem in one or 2 applications.

It will also fully test your resolve to keep living and cause you to make loud threats to the deity of your choice should you have been peeing in the woods without regard to proper hand sanitation. It will however eliminate a lot of scratching private spots in public places and save you the humiliation of informing the doctor's receptionist why you're there.

 

[BigGthetree]

Was fishing in Mexico a few years back and saw a small boy get stung by a large jellyfish. He was screaming his head off. One of the Mexican panga captains poured some of the two stroke mix on the stung area and covered it with damp sand. The kid stopped crying almost immediately. Hadn't thought about it until "gas" was mentioned as a treatment. Hmmm.

 

[spanky1205]

I have been doing a couple of things when I know I have been exposed. When I am finally able to get to the shower I wash down with dish soap. As stated earlier it cuts the oil without hurting your skin. I also rub any area I think was exposed down with alcohol after my shower. My father in law mentioned the two step method to me. It seems to work.

 

[BigGthetree]

Used to shoot trap on Wednesday nights at a local gun club. The place had a large black lab that roamed all over the property, up into the woods full of poison oak. New guys would pet the overly friendly lab and then go to the head. A couple of days later or on the next Wednesday night they were all walking like cowboys just back from a long ride. They didn't believe the warnings posted on the doors to the head about petting the dog. Protect your goodies.

 

[floyd]

Banana peels take some of the sting away.

After exposure rubbing alcohol on the hands will dissolve the "pitch".

Alcohol off doorknobs & stuff like that too. Don't forget your saw handle.

 

[BigGthetree]

Yep, anything you touch, the saw handle, your gloves - especially your right hand glove, right forearm, right side, right leg - that's where I usually get splattered when cutting through the nasty. Leather gloves are the worst for holding the poison oak oils. I have switched to White Ox heavy cotton gloves, you can wash them and have fewer problems with oils. I buy them by the dozen and wash them separate to avoid contamination.

 

[sdhershey]

Thanks guys for all the advice. I think I'll combine all the ideas and hopefully get a good remedy. about a month ago I had the stuff real bad. All down my legs, on my face, on my stomach and back, all over my arms, on my hands (ouch) and on my feet. Pretty much everywhere. I waited 3 weeks like that trying all sorts of creams and stuff until it started to slow me down at work and then I bit the bullet and payed the money to go to the docs. They gave me some sort of pill, probably similar to the one mentioned and it cleared right up. Since then Ive got it 4 more times and it kinda went away on its own. I have it again now and was really looking for a way to get rid of it without going to the docs. So thanks for all the advice ill give it all a try!

Scott

 

[pdqdl]

... but she (Med school friend) was telling me that as soon as your immune system thinks it needs to respond to that particular oil on your skin it will forever do so...

That simply is not true. Your med school friend needs to spend more time in class before she starts meeting patients and telling them things that are blatantly incorrect.

The human immune system is very complex, but it is a VERY well known fact that people can be treated for some immune reactions to cure them completely. Dermatologists do it all the time. Conversely, some immune reactions continue to get worse with each new exposure. Bee stings are a famous example which can be treated but often gets worse with each exposure.

A rather well known exception is peanut allergies. These are so severe and life threatening that one researcher was attempting to create a treatment regime. His treatment plan was to expose a person to a very tiny dosage of a slightly modified peanut allergen while they were prepared with a full medical emergency facility to treat the reaction. One of the test subjects was killed, and the treatment plan and research was terminated as a result.


I have had several employees over the years that started out getting vile rashes and blisters from poison ivy, but after years of exposure and sometimes with the Rhus Tox pills, they either became immune or the severity of the rash was reduced to a few itchy bumps on their skin.

 

[BigGthetree]

That simply is not true. Your med school friend needs to spend more time in class before she starts meeting patients and telling them things that are blatantly incorrect.

The human immune system is very complex, but it is a VERY well known fact that people can be treated for some immune reactions to cure them completely. Dermatologists do it all the time. Conversely, some immune reactions continue to get worse with each new exposure. Bee stings are a famous example which can be treated but often gets worse with each exposure.



I have had several employees over the years that started out getting vile rashes and blisters from poison ivy, but after years of exposure and sometimes with the Rhus Tox pills, they either became immune or the severity of the rash was reduced to a few itchy bumps on their skin.

You are right. Over the years, I have never gotten used to Poison Oak exposures. The idea that your body adjusts might be true for some but not for everyone.