What a great day to be stuck inside with severe poison ivy...

[mweber02]

I've always been pretty good avoiding poison ivy and have only gotten small patches maybe half a dozen times. Not this time. Full out severe coverage on the back of 1 knee, pretty good on both lower legs and some tiny spots popping up on my forearm, neck, back (probably from the waistline of my pants coming up over my legs), and behind 1 ear.

[rob-kayak]

Been there done that... clearing mountain biking trails... toss out all the clothes you were wearing...
or maybe wash them a couple of times in clorox.

Sorry to hear of your dilemma... hope you feel better.. maybe get a steroid shot from the doctor will
speed things up.

[hooked again]

I know what you're going through - many years of poison ivy cases - hang in there. The only thing I found that works besides doctor prescribed prednisone pills is something called Zanfil. It's expensive - maybe $25-30 for a tube, but both my wife and I found that this is the only over the counter poison ivy cream that works fast. Good luck

[chex]

Stick your poison ivy itches under very very hot water. Feels great...

[PigPen]

I don't seem to get poison ivy any more since getting a lot when I was a kid but I do get poison oak since moving to MD. I definetly would say the hottest shower you can withstand and my docter gave me an oral steroid last time so that I could open my one eye. Not sure it was worth having to stop drinking though. I found 409 does a good job of cleaning up the contaminated clothing and equipment. I forgot to clean my shoes after my last encounter a couple yers ago and I still get a small spot here and there from what I believe to be the laces. Another great thing about kayaking, it keeps you out of the forest to find remots fishing sites. I've used Zanfil and it says it works best right after getting it but since I don't know I'm contaiminated with poison oak it's ussually too late. It helps in the treatment but not to the degree a perscription cream would.

[tufnik]

I had that nasty stuff too. Ohhh....the pain. Hang in there!

[quikdrive]

Stick your poison ivy itches under very very hot water. Feels great...

X2 Get in the shower and turn the water up as hot as you can stand it.

[Southerly]

I've had more than my share of poison ivy. it's also how I found out I was slightly allergic to some zinc compounds.

it took a while but I noticed my medicine actually made things a little worse. not immediately, but after it was on for awhile. since then, I've noticed some sun screens will make my face slightly irritated if I don't wash thoroughly at the end of the day. so I switched over to neutragena is zinc free.

too late for you,... but this is what works for me with poison ivy. if you're in a poison ivy area, don't scratch your legs, don't rub or scratch your face, etc. as soon as you're able, shower in cool water and wash thoroughly with soapy washcloth, fresh clothes. cool water is intended to help prevent your pores from opening while the irritant may still be around. the soap dissolves the irritating oil of the poison ivy. even though i'm allergic, I can apparently withstand some limited exposure - just need to get rid of the irritant as soon as possible.

but after you have it and are broke out- if you get a kick out of the hotwater thing,..hey wth.

[mweber02]

So I sucked it up and saw a doc today and got 3 scripts. My leg has gotten so swollen it was uncomfortable to have a loosely tied shoe on. The relief of having scripts will I'm sure be countered by my wife pointing out that she told me to see a doctor a week ago.

I reluctantly gave the $35 Zanfel a try Saturday morning and used it for 3 days. I think it helped a little to control the itching but I guess I was too far gone after almost a week for it to really do what the packaging and reviews claim. For the price, my co-pay and script cost probably would have been about the same.

As for the hot water suggestions, I have always heard hot water encourages seeping from the blisters and opens your pores, leaving an opportunity for easier spreading. I've heard both sides that it can or cannot spread from the blisters but I have seen a 2nd person voluntarily expose themselves to a friend's rash (days after the initial plant exposure) and break out.