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Poison ivy. What was your experience.

Quilter

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2 weeks ago I visited the PA at my dermatologist. One small dark spot was a mystery to her so she put Vaseline and a bandaid on it. The next morning it was a swollen ring. I let it go another day and it only grew and went up my arm.

Another visit and this time the dermatologist said it was poison ivy. He gave me prescription for cream and said it would get worse before better. He wasn’t my regular dermatologist and his disjointed bedside manner left me unconvinced.

Our first grandchild was on the way and I was ready to leave town any day. The rash was now on my midriff and arm. I wanted to be sure it wasn’t shingles so I visited my general practitioner who is a holistic doctor. He confirmed poison ivy. Yes, I had pulled some before the breakout but thought I had fully protected myself and wash after, which has worked for me for many years.

We did come to witness the birth. Our daughter was over a week late, we knew the baby was large. This had me anxious as she had been a late 9 lb. baby with the larger head that runs in my husbands family. More than anyone else the delay of the birth concerned me. I get rashes and hives when I’m anxious. I also had one isolated blister that showed up on my back. Because I still wondered if it was poison ivy compounded by shingles the doctor on the labor/delivery floor took a look and confirmed it wasn’t shingles.

Here I am going on the 3rd week. Midriff rash is nearly gone as well as some of the blisters on arm. What I still have is a circular rash about 3-1/2” across with the original spot that is still irritated and itchy.

If you had poison ivy that took 3 weeks to heal I’d like to hear your story.
 

DaveNV

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I've never had it, but wanted to express my sympathy to you about this. It must be really frustrating, dealing with this. I hope you heal quickly. Good luck!

Dave
 

easyrider

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I know guys that have had to deal with poison ivy rash for months. One friend had the rash on 2/3rds of his skin including his privates which was what he complained about the most. Most of these guys got it on fishing trips. Most eventually went to the er. All of them got better. So will you. :)

So far, I have been lucky. Hope you get better sooner than later.

Bill
 

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My Dad was not sensitive and I may ha inherited it from him. Many times when I was in Boy Scouts friends had poison ivy/poison oak and I did not have a reaction
 

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Poison oak in the '80s kept spreading. Anything that touched the infected area created a new one. They finally gave me some prednisone which did it in, but it's really nasty stuff and not to be taken if you can avoid it. Once it mostly went away, I would get a raised irritated and itchy area around any tight areas light waistband etc. It lasted 6 months. It started as a small patch just above my waistband on my back and then spread to cover my entire back, along arms etc.

I was kind of cocky about it before this, thinking I was immune. What I learned is that each exposure makes you more allergic so while the earlier exposure is no big deal, the next one is the one that gets you. You now need to avoid contact for 5 years for less allergic reaction and 10 years is better.

In the meantime, keep in touch with your doctor. I didn't and regretted it.

Sue
 

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Many times when I was in Boy Scouts friends had poison ivy/poison oak and I did not have a reaction

Me too. When I was in the Boy Scouts I picked up poison ivy and handed it to friends (obviously didn't know what it was). They broke out. I didn't. It must be genetic...

George
 

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Me too. When I was in the Boy Scouts I picked up poison ivy and handed it to friends (obviously didn't know what it was). They broke out. I didn't. It must be genetic...

George
I also got poison ivy from pulling weeds a few weeks ago. It spread from my left arm (where the contact with the poison oil first took place - I was wearing gloves and only my arms were exposed) to my left side (hip). I had come in to take a shower, and in undressing, my arm touched my torso. The rash continued to appear and grow for about 10 days. It is true that, from start to finish, you need to give it 2 - 3 weeks.
 

Quilter

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Thank you this has been encouraging.

Having this happen just as the baby was overdue and we were trying to figure out when to leave town added an extra element of unsettledness to this. I didn’t want to transfer anything to daughter and the baby.

The PA and dermatologist, who reminded me very much of Beeker on the Muppets, didn’t evoke much confidence. My own general practitioner is an MD who is widely respected in the holistic approach to medicine. I showed him the tube of flocinonide the dermatologist prescribed. He said it wouldn’t do much for me and recommended an Arnica gel.

As new spots and blister on my back appeared over a week from initial appointment it was more concerning. Daily I was looking up rash pictures for shingles and poison ivy. Read numerous testimonials for products and home remedies. Found a link to Zanfel and went out and bought the $45 tube of the miracle cure. Truthfully it seemed to help by the mere fact it’s abrasive and the blistering dries faster.

I added coconut oil to the daily regime after the arnica dried. Took Benedryl once or twice a day. Yesterday we were in Walmart and I looked at the mass of products claiming relief and healing. I wanted to calm and heal this remaining patch on my forearm. I ended up with a small jar of Blue Star ointment and a bottle of vitamin E oil. To me they seemed to have the test of time on their side. I tried the ointment as soon as we were out of the store. It only inflamed the rash. Back at the house I washed it off and applied the vitamin e oil. After 24 hours of repeating the vitamin e oil it still prickles but the reduction in inflammation and healing of two open areas is visible.
 

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I've been waiting for a chance to share my recent experience with poison oak. I had been in the woods, reached down to pick up something. My daughter said, careful, that's poison oak. That night at bedtime I notice an itchy rash starting on my wrist. I was drinking white wine with an ice cube. I placed the cold glass on the itchy spot to try to calm it down. (Earlier I had noticed something foreign floating in the glass, so had already decided I wasn't going to finish it. ) For some crazy reason, I decided to splash this white wine on my wrist. It seemed to help, so I repeated several times. Fell asleep, and when I awoke, there was no trace of it.

At breakfast I was sharing this info with my daughter and she said, 'well, sometimes it comes back'

To which her young son said to me: 'that's okay Grandma, mama has more wine.'

Thankfully it never reappeared.

Been wondering what is in white wine that would be my miraculous cure for poison oak.
 

bluehende

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I am very susceptible and when a kid had some miserable times. Your experience is about normal. It can break out over a week after contact. Usually the original spot has the worst exposure and hangs around a long time. The only thing I ever found that helped was a salt water soak. At least it stops the itching for a while and does seem to help it dry up.
 

rickandcindy23

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So sorry you are going through this. How horrible!

I had poison ivy in my back yard about 18 years ago, and I had no idea what it was because we live in Denver at 5280 feet, and it's not supposed to grow in our altitude. I thought it was Virginia Creeper, which is what it looked like to me. We have a lot of volunteers of the creeping vine, and I lop it onto the fence and it is really beautiful stuff.

Well, it was a huge amount of ivy, and it was invading around my trees and was strangling my perennials, especially my plumbago and blue vinca. I felt I had no choice but to pull it. Leaves of three, let them be, well, I never heard that before because I just never saw anything like it. It was tough to pull. I had Rick help me. Days later, we were so miserable.

Our doctor gave us some antihistamine, really strong stuff, little white shiny caplets. Anyway, we slept it off. For days, we were so sleepy, we would sit and watch some TV and we would both doze off. The topical stuff worked a little too. We laid on towels and couldn't touch skin on skin. I am sure we looked awful. All of the kids were out of the house, so no big deal.
 

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If you had poison ivy that took 3 weeks to heal I’d like to hear your story.

I am extremely sensitive to it.

If I am very careful around it, I still get it. If I am not careful around it, or don't see it, I get it real bad.

It stays in my system, and I get recurrences, in the same places I've have had it before, even 30 years ago. I've had to throw away clothes I was wearing when I got it, because I keep getting it again from them.

40-some years ago my buddy and I were living in Indiana, working at Purdue, and we both got dirt bikes. We went riding through a bunch of weeds wearing shorts. You know the rest.

Strangely, though, I don't get bothered by chiggers, but DW is. She can get eaten up when I don't even get one.
 

vacationhopeful

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As a teenager, I haved lived in Scout Camps for 2 entire summers. I grewup in a rural area with posion ivy vines all around.

Don't scratch.
Calamin lotion is an anti-itch cream ... and dries it out blishers.
Don't pet your outdoor pets (their fur can carry the poison ivy oil).
Wash your hands with a 'real soap' ... not the soap for your face or a soap with any oil in it.

And learn what the leaves and vines look like for Poision Ivy, Poision Oak and Poison Sumack. They all itch with blishers .. but have different levels of pain and blishers.

Bad cases or blishers near the EYES ... see doctor ASAP.
 

x3 skier

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I seem to be immune. I had at one time removed some thick poison ivy vines bare handed. My hands were black with the oil after. Washed it off in the shower with no effects whatsoever. No effects in any other contact although I’ve become more cautious in my later days.

My sympathies toward those who become afflicted.

Cheers
 

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My wife had it so bad a few years back that Prednisone was prescribed! Reaction to PI can be nothing to extreme!
 

Sandy VDH

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It has a memory, and every subsequent time you get it, you react worse than the previous case. Beware.

I am in code RED if I get it again.
 

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I'm also extremely reactive to poison ivy. For me, Zanfel is a godsend. It binds with the stuff in poison ivy that makes you itchy and pulls it out. Did you only use it one time? I'd keep doing it if it seems to be helping. When things are really bad the doctor gives me several days of prednisone. Not fun (especially for me as it fuels uti's) but will get things under control if it's systemic.

Did the main rash ever get weepy along with the rash and the itchiness? If not, it doesn't sound like poison ivy.
 

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I second Zanfel. I have had poison ivy several times that is painful and slow to heal. Zanfel works wonders. It dries the poison ivy up fast. Costs about 40.00 for a small tube. I bought it at Walmart. Best $40.00 I ever spent.

Thunder Up
 

moonstone

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The first summer after we moved the country our oldest son got it bad. I had never seen it before and didn't even know it grew around here. DS came in after a day of playing outside and complained that his leg was itchy around the top of his sock. It was a bit red and since he was filthy I put him in the bath! Biggest mistake ever! Over the next 2 days he became covered from scalp to toe (and in all the crevices in between, if you know what I mean) in poison ivy blisters. He was nearly going out of his mind itching. I gave him some Benadryl and covered him with calamine lotion, then took him to the Dr's. He said there was nothing more we could do for him. The Dr said if I had showered DS instead of putting him in the bath, where the oil could spread everywhere the water touched, he wouldn't be in such bad shape. Thank goodness I cleaned the tub before putting our other 2 kids in it that night! The Dr also advised me to wash DS's clothes and sheets separately from the rest of the laundry to avoid any of us getting it. Thank goodness we didn't. It took about 2 weeks for most of the blisters to dry up and heal. We got a neighbour to show us what poison ivy looks like and where it is most common around our rural subdivision. He has never had it again and both of the boys were always showered after playing outside from then on.

The next summer our neighbour was clearing some undergrowth around the trees at the edge of her lot to make flower gardens. She was burning the leaves, branches and what she thought were weeds, that she removed. She didn't know it but there was poison ivy in the stuff she was burning. By the next day she was experiencing shortness of breath and her throat was swelling inside. Her next-door neighbour, who is a nurse, took one look in her mouth/throat and rushed her to the hospital. The poison ivy toxins in the smoke had gone into her throat and lungs. She was very close to needing a tracheotomy and spent over a week in the hospital.


~Diane
 

Quilter

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Don't scratch.
Calamin lotion is an anti-itch cream ... and dries it out blishers..

We flew down to NC. I brought the tubes of recommended ointments. Didn't pack the calamine and now I wish I did. I have 2 bottles of it at home. The itch is now more of an intense prickle whenever it touches anything. Since I'm right handed and it's on the underside of my right forearm it rubs on everything. I've kept it covered with long sleeve shirts but now those are a constant annoyance.
 

Quilter

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The Dr also advised me to wash DS's clothes and sheets separately from the rest of the laundry to avoid any of us getting it.
~Diane

From the day the dermatologist told me it was poison ivy (3-4 days after initial itch) I've been washing clothes in hot water. I was also changing and washing bedding daily. We arrived here about a week and half after the first contact. I stayed in hotel for a couple nights before staying at the house so I could use as many towels as I wanted and was still wondering about the sheets.
 
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Quilter

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Did you only use it one time? I'd keep doing it if it seems to be helping. When things are really bad the doctor gives me several days of prednisone. Not fun (especially for me as it fuels uti's) but will get things under control if it's systemic.

Did the main rash ever get weepy along with the rash and the itchiness? If not, it doesn't sound like poison ivy.

I used the Zanfel several showers. It lasted probably for 4 showers although the tube says there was enough for 15 spots.

I've avoided the prednisone since it might react with other medication I'm taking or cause sleeplessness which would give me a lot more issues. I have wondered though if this went systemic. I also wonder if it causes you histamine levels to go whacky for a while which could be the answer to the odd flares on different parts of the body. I know after a bad cold I get overactive airways that bring on coughing for ages after the cold is gone.

Different spots of the rash may have weeped or it was the Arnica that stuck to my clothing. When I would pull my shirt off the spots they seemed to ooze but they were raw which made sense.
 

Quilter

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Quilter

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So sorry you are going through this. How horrible!

I had poison ivy in my back yard about 18 years ago, and I had no idea what it was because we live in Denver at 5280 feet, and it's not supposed to grow in our altitude. I thought it was Virginia Creeper, which is what it looked like to me. We have a lot of volunteers of the creeping vine, and I lop it onto the fence and it is really beautiful stuff.

Well, it was a huge amount of ivy, and it was invading around my trees and was strangling my perennials, especially my plumbago and blue vinca. I felt I had no choice but to pull it. Leaves of three, let them be, well, I never heard that before because I just never saw anything like it. It was tough to pull. I had Rick help me. Days later, we were so miserable.

Our doctor gave us some antihistamine, really strong stuff, little white shiny caplets. Anyway, we slept it off. For days, we were so sleepy, we would sit and watch some TV and we would both doze off. The topical stuff worked a little too. We laid on towels and couldn't touch skin on skin. I am sure we looked awful. All of the kids were out of the house, so no big deal.

I'm a garden designer with several classes in plant identification in horticulture. I've instructed many people in how to identify poison ivy/oak and the warnings for washing gloves and tools and to not touch trees after the vines have been removed. My NY City friends had no idea what it looked like but I saw masses of it by the bus stop when we visited Grant's Tomb and showed them. I'm usually warning people to stay in the middle of hiking paths because PI is on the edge.

We have lots of Virginia Creeper in our yard. If you look at the immature sprouts/vines of Creeper you'll see it begins with 3 leaves. As you move up the vine you'll see 4 and then 5 points on the leaves. The early sprouts are difficult to distinguish but I feel I'm pretty good at it. Still I'm usually careful. Neighbors on all sides of me had more poison ivy than I've had. I usually keep a close eye on the yard and can generally distinguish a poison ivy sprout from a Creeper sprout. I usually pull and go immediately and wash my hand or glove. I always have a bottle of Tecnue in the laundry room.

The ivy I think was the culprit was a sprig with one large 3-point leaf that looked like it was on steroids I saw it one week and knew I needed to go after it before it became a problem. Little did I know! Decided one day to deal with it, grabbed a glove and plastic grocery sack for extra protection. I was expecting to pull a sprout but was surprised that it was the tip of a vine. It was in an area I haven't tended this year. I didn't have on boots so I pulled until the vine snapped. I thought I washed but I may have just discarded bag and gloves. The first spot on my arm is just above where the sack stopped. I was careless from years of not having any issues with all the sprouts I've pulled but I don't ever remember going after one of these sprouts that looks like it's on steroids.

I know I'll have to go after the rest of this vine at some point. It's a shady area densely covered with pachysandra, hosta and ferns. I was ignoring it because I planned to give it a redesign in the fall.
 
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