Poison Ivy

[aquarose]

First thing I do when I get poison ivy is call my doctor and have him prescribe what I call the "birth control pills for poison ivy" They come in a pkg that has a row of a set number of pills you take the first day, might be 5, the next row has one less for the 2nd day and so forth.
They calm down the itch and dry up the rash. I wish I had a name for you but I don't.

Might be prednisone. My son had a very bad case and it took two weeks of prednisone to clear it up for good.

 

[Southern Gardener]

I'm very allergic - my identical twin sister is not. I make her weed one garden that is full of it.

 

[Andi]

Be very cautious with poison ivy. Its one of those plants that each time you have a reaction, the next exposure is worse, and will continue for the rest of your life.

I was immune until I got in my late 30s. I could pick the stuff with my bare hands.

When my son was around 13 he was clearing an area in the woods at his great aunt's house for a fort. He didn't realize it was poison ivy. His whole body swelled up (I mean WHOLE BODY) to the point of him being unrecognizable. He went over to his friends house and his friend didn't know who he was. The doctor told him if he comes into contact with it again, in any amount, to go immediately to the ER. Poison ivy has actually killed people.

What ever equipment you used to cut it, along with the clothes you were wearing, will likely have the oils on it. I've heard of the oils lasting long periods of time on equipment and the oils getting transferred to other clothes in a load of laundry. Wash you clothes with some dish soap, like Dawn, to cut those oils.

The reason poison ivy is so tough to kill is it has an amazingly wide spread root system that makes quackgrass look simple. I recall reading (but unfortunately don't recall where from) that poison ivy roots have been found to travel 3 miles (in a particular study in some remote forest somewhere) from a single plant. Mind boggling!

Oh, and that don't burn it advise is so true! You'll get blisters in your lungs.

Best of luck.

 

[dickiebird]

First thing I do when I get poison ivy is call my doctor and have him prescribe what I call the "birth control pills for poison ivy" They come in a pkg that has a row of a set number of pills you take the first day, might be 5, the next row has one less for the 2nd day and so forth.
They calm down the itch and dry up the rash. I wish I had a name for you but I don't.

Might be prednisone. My son had a very bad case and it took two weeks of prednisone to clear it up for good.

Prednison...thats the stuff. Works really good for me.
If I know I've been exposed to poison ivy I wash up in cold water with Fels Naptha soap. The Fels Naptha was my grandmothers way of removing the oils from any contact area.

THANX RICH

 

[seedcorn]

With a mild rash, antipersperonts (I know mispelled, sue me) work for me.