Best remedy for poison ivy!

[crappyice]

I know an old timer who “takes an alcohol bath” after he showers after working in the field. I never heard of such a thing but he said after he takes a regular shower he takes rubbing alcohol and pours some in his cupped hands and then spreads it all over himself. Says it’s super refreshing...not so sure I am up for that but I imagine it will remove the oils previously mentioned.


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[nyslowhand]

14 hours ago, 2012_taco said:

... Poison Ivy doesn't spread from the rash, it spreads from having the oils under your finger nails and contact with clothes etc. that have the oil on them. You can actually handle something that has the oil on it up to a year later and get a rash from the oil.  I've actually done this! poison ivy must have contacted my boots and the next time I wore them i got the rash! 

Once you know you've had contact with PI, there is a window of a couple hours (??) that it can be washed off before I starts to penetrate your skin's pores and the itching begins. During this initial clean-up use a HD detergent (Dawn) and COLD water, hot water opens the pores and drives the oils deeper. Not recommending this, but a clean cloth & gas will wash off the oils in cases where soap & water aren't readily available. After the rash & itching begins, use whatever works for you! For minor cases I've had good luck with the pink Calamine lotion. For a more severe case, I'm headed to the Dr for a steroid prescription. Depending on your relationship with your Family Dr, they might even simply call-in a prescription w/o an actual office visit...

Unfortunately, the oil that causes the skin irritation is invisible. Be aware it can be on the handle of tools, trimmer parts, clippers, chainsaw bar/chain, clothing, boots (esp laces), gloves and assuming even on your pets if they've run thru it. FYI - If in doubt and you use someone else to sharpen saw chains, thoroughly rinse chains in gasoline before some one gets a 2nd hand irritation from handling chains &/or equipment. Take it from me, they are NOT happy with you if this happens!!!!

Oh yeah, DO NOT BURN POSION IVY if you're in the proximity of the fire! Somehow the oils are carried within the smoke, Think a rash is annoying, should see someone that gets the oils from the smoke in their eyes!!!!

Edited July 20, 2019 by nyslowhand

[First-light]

Ok day day 4. Itch is almost gone. I run everyday and was not giving up sweating. It did not spread but I did lath up with the tecnu before going out. Was in the pool for 2 hours today and did put some bleach on the inflamed site. So far so good! No beak oil or gasoline yet! LO in my teens I did the gasoline thingy! lol

[Jeremy K]

carb and choke cleaner 

[wolc123]

I had it pretty bad a few times long ago, after working on firewood in the woods during the summer.   These days,  if I do that, I throw all my clothes in the wash and take a luke-warm shower as soon as I get back to the house.  Getting rid of that oil, before it soaks in, works very well to keep the rash away.   Plain old irish spring soap and water works just fine for that.   I also try and do most of the in-the-woods work in the winter, when those little 3-leaf monsters are long gone.       

[nyslowhand]

... DYK you can still come in contact with the irritant oils thru the vines, not just the leaves.

[stubborn1VT]

Good thread.  Glad to hear you're managing First Light.  Something worth noting, is that the real key ingredient in preventing poison ivy is to get the oils washed off is friction.  There is no magic soap.  You can use soap specifically for PI, but Dawn dish detergent works as well as anything.  Use cool water and a wash cloth.  Pretend you are trying to get axle grease off your skin. (In a way, you are.)  Another key is to get the oil off everything you touched: tools, steering wheels, clothes, shoes, bedding etc.  Earlier this year I kept getting a mild case of poison ivy because I didn't get the oils off my truck steering wheels and my chainsaws.  Wiped everything down with Clorox wipes and was GTG.  

Sorry to be long-winded.  Just hoping that this info might help someone.

[2012_taco]

12 hours ago, wolc123 said:

I had it pretty bad a few times long ago, after working on firewood in the woods during the summer.   These days,  if I do that, I throw all my clothes in the wash and take a luke-warm shower as soon as I get back to the house.  Getting rid of that oil, before it soaks in, works very well to keep the rash away.   Plain old irish spring soap and water works just fine for that.   I also try and do most of the in-the-woods work in the winter, when those little 3-leaf monsters are long gone.       

You don't need to contact the leaves to get poison ivy! even in the winter cutting and pulling the vines will get you! Although in the winter you will have on long sleeves and gloves to help protect you. Just be careful handling your gloves as they will have the oils on them!

[nyslowhand]

15 hours ago, 2012_taco said:

You don't need to contact the leaves to get poison ivy! even in the winter cutting and pulling the vines will get you! Although in the winter you will have on long sleeves and gloves to help protect you. Just be careful handling your gloves as they will have the oils on them!

This is exactly how I get my annual PI rash on my wrists, putting on & taking off leather work gloves. So obviously, gloves can spread the PI oils around onto anything they touch. May sound like a simple fix for clearly a dumb-a$$ move, but when you have property that's infested with Multi-flora roses and poison ivy - you just have to minimize your exposure.

Also, as above quote implies, you'd better remove cut vines from firewood  before handling &/or burning!

No sure if anyone has mentioned handling &/or washing the clothing you've wore while wading thru or working around PI. Have to be super careful just taking off this clothing, ie; not touching pant legs, shirt sleeves, socks, etc. Not always possible, but I remove clothing near washing machine & immediately put into washer. Once in the washing machine, I've had pretty good luck with Tide and a squirt of Dawn in warm/hot wash water. A 2nd rinse doesn't hurt. As a precaution, I always run washing machine a 2nd time with or w/o clothing and same detergent/ water temp combo. 

The trick with handling & minimizing the spread of the PI oils is you have to simply imagine you can see these invisible oils and where they're possibly spreading to. Sound bizarre, works for me!?!

Edited July 22, 2019 by nyslowhand

[covert]

On ‎7‎/‎19‎/‎2019 at 9:43 AM, NFA-ADK said:

I do battle with it every year.  First if you are really bad see a doctor!  

Have to keep your skin dry.  Taking any medication that does this helps like sudafed or Mucinex.  2nd salt water or chlorine help dry it out if you have access to a pool or salt water or a bath in epson salt helps.  2 stay dry!  If you sweat you can spread it very easily.  Gasoline is a last resort but it does remove it quickly, just not very good for you in the long run, I would stay away from this fix. 

Tecnu is good for cleaning and removal,  I recommend getting some type of spray and buy more than one type of brand.  Sometimes switching brands help dry it out faster and spray is much better than rubbing anything on that will cause it to spread.  

Good luck, my yard looks like a jungle because I am so tired of getting this crap!   Now I pay someone else to remove and trim the yard, if he ever gets to it!   

PS:  Cold water will lessen the itching. 

Another vote for this stuff.  I've had great luck with it.  Something else that used to help me was going swimming right after my grandparents shocked the pool.  When the chlorine smell was so strong it was awful; seemed to dry it right out.

[First-light]

We are at day 7 and 75% of it is dried up. Had a few spots that spread but nothing major. Thank you guys for all the help. That TecNu soap is pretty good!