Poison Ivy

[NightLife]

I always get poison ivy and it sucks... Is there a possible way to get rid of the reaction???

[ninja9578]

No, if you're allergic to it you'll never not be allergic to it. Large doses of diphenhydramine hydrochloride internally and a topical treatment of cortisone should clear it up very quickly though. For large reactions you may also want to get a cortisone injection as well.

[NightLife]

I always felt that if I cut the infected piece of skin off, then I wouldn't have the reaction there... If I get poison ivy on my foot, I think that I'll cut into it a little and pour some baking soda inside, to leach out the toxins... Is this a good idea or a bad idea??? Obviously I would wash the knife... I had poison ivy on my face and that was terrible...

[ninja9578]

You don't want to have open wounds like that. For one it causes scarring, it could also become infected. Cutting it off wouldn't work because your body has already sensed the poison and started releasing histamine. An immediate topical treatment of cortisone should keep it from breaking out very much, but you should also take the histamine blocker.

[nitsuJ]

I'd suggest wearing pants and long sleeve shirts if you're out a lot to protect you from brushing up against it and all. It may be hot as hell but at least you won't break out as bad hopefully.

[Man of Steel]

Also remember that the oils are near-impossible to get rid of once they're on your clothing or person. Wash yourself and your clothes with HOT water and soap as soon as you get inside after being near it. Use water as hot as possible for your clothes, and strong soap to cut the oils. Too, the oils in the plant can survive long after the plant itself is dead, in the leaves as well as in the roots, so don't go touching it just because it's dead and withered.

[Shift]

I have an amazing cure for poison ivy. Problem is you have to do this asap after getting it on you. Jump into a pool. There's something about the chlorine that does it, I guess. I'm not sure what. But I was lost in the woods and bush-bashing for about four hours once, when I got out I knew I was just covered in poison ivy and I was starting to break out. Someone told me to jump in the pool, and it disappeared.

[ray]

chlorine helps because it dries out your skin and the oil that causes irritation.thankfully i have developed a resistance to poison ivy. (product of living and playing in/around it all my life.) i still get it, it just doesn't itch barely at all.