[13493]

For a day or two I have had itchy legs to the point of being insanely itchy! I took a hairbrush to the affected parts and scratched them until they bled. Stupid I know but the relief was amazing!

It's all over my legs and thighs! I can't figure out where I walked into poison ivy unless it was on the back lot of the cottage. When I go again I will look for "leaves of three".

I tried putting vinegar on it but the burning sensation is just away too much for me too handle.

I really think I should go to the doctor because one the areas on the side of my hip is spreading!

Anyone else experience this? What did you do for it? Should I go to the doctor? The spot if my outter hip is oozing and I am lying here with my pajamas stuck to it! Going to wet it to see if I can peel it away! I just tried to pull it off and it hurt a way too much.

 

[Guitar101]

The doctors will tell you to use Prednisone which you can only get by prescription. I use an antihistamine to dry it up and it works for me. Allegra, Loratadine (from Costco) etc. But, if you notice swelling and dark areas around the areas that are blistered and itchy, a doctors visit it probably a good idea. You may need something stronger than just antihistamine.

 

[13493]

I am going to the doctor as soon as I can get in.

My armpits are itching now I think I have been scratching during the night and scratched my arm pit when it became itchy! God, I hope I don't have it there because of the sweat glands.

This really sucks! I think I had this when I was younger but can't really remember!

The only upside to this is I am on vacation. What a way to start!

 

[Distortion]

I have had it and yes the only way to get rid of it is with a doctors prescription. Big pills as I recall.

 

[Robert1950]

Yeah, It REALLY sucks. I know because way back the 60s, a friend of mine and I were hiking in the woods and we must have walk through some. He was literally bandaged like a mummy for almost two weeks. Some people get it worse than others.

I, on the other hand, found out that I was one of the small minority of people not allergic to poison ivy. I confirmed it with a little clinical test a few years later. Nothing.

 

[butterknucket]

Never had it, but many years ago a friend of mine and his girlfriend decided to shag in the woods in the middle of the night. Apparently two people rolling around naked in poison ivy isn't a good idea.

 

[knight_yyz]

To make a treatment for poison ivy rash, especially one red with blisters, mix 3 teaspoons baking soda and 1 teaspoon water and apply the paste to the affected areas. When it dries, the baking soda will flake off.

Calamine lotion as well

 

[oldfartatplay]

Absorbine Jr. will take away the itch.

 

[13493]

I went to the doctor. I am on a corticosteroid because the rash is so widely spread.

I had to go in my pajama bottoms because I couldn't get the part that stuck to my hip unstuck!

The doctor just squirted sterile water on it and slowly peeled away leaving a bloody mess!

I am just to keep it clean and dry. Apply Calamine lotion whenever it gets itchy!

He said it may take up to 3 weeks for it to clear.

 

[Guest]

Get better sister.

 

[13493]

Get better sister.

Thanks Larry! I am so uncomfortable! My hubby went out and bought me cotton gloves so I won't be tempted to scratch! He hid my hairbrush on me! So stupid. I have to follow doctors orders or risk infection!

I am just going to eat 1/2 a cookie and chill. Hopefully that helps me.

 

[Ti-Ron]

Woah, I didn't it can be that bad.
I remeber when I was younger and playing in the forest we had some occasional rash but nothing bigger than mosquitoes bites.

I feel for you Lola, get well soon!

 

[Robert1950]

Woah, I didn't it can be that bad. I feel for you Lola, get well soon!

See my post about my friend who was wrapped up like a mummy for a couple of weeks. YES. It can be that bad

 

[marcos]

Ouch!!! I have never had poison ivy but i feel for you, No fun and hope you get medical attention soon.

 

[cheezyridr]

i react severely to that stuff. the thing that gives you problems is this oil that is on the plant. if there is a next time DO NOT SCRATCH IT! instead, you want to remove as much of the oil from your skin as you can. i use alcohol on a paper towel. if you do this a few times when it's early, it goes away much faster, and wont spread. chances are it is on your gardening gloves or the shoes you wore when you got it. touching these items weeks later even, can still cause a reaction. throw the gloves away, clean the sneaks with something that is color safe but will get rid of the oil. look below. one of these got you. see how the leaves are shiny with oil?

 

[Jim DaddyO]

My wife looks at poison ivy and gets a rash. She usually puts Gold Bond powder in an old thin wash cloth and ties it up like a little bag with the powder inside. She uses that to rub the itch.

 

[ZeroGravity]

I got some a couple of years now in my backyard in the burbs! Not bad, but I started to break out and figured I had some kind of allergic reaction to one of the weeds I was pulling - turns out that weed was Poison Ivy. Round up took care the rest.

 

[Guitar101]

i react severely to that stuff. the thing that gives you problems is this oil that is on the plant. if there is a next time DO NOT SCRATCH IT! instead, you want to remove as much of the oil from your skin as you can. i use alcohol on a paper towel. if you do this a few times when it's early, it goes away much faster, and wont spread. chances are it is on your gardening gloves or the shoes you wore when you got it. touching these items weeks later even, can still cause a reaction. throw the gloves away, clean the sneaks with something that is color safe but will get rid of the oil. look below. one of these got you. see how the leaves are shiny with oil?

The oil is Urushiol. I've dealt with this my whole life and have decided that antihistamine is the only thing that actually helps me. My doctor thinks I'm nuts but it's not him that suffers with this. A couple of days after using the antihistamine pills mentioned earlier, the blisters turn brown and dry up. Even after it goes away it can come back again for no reason. That's when I go back on the antihistamine for a couple of days. Whatever you choose, I hope it works. Back when I first got it 40 years ago, I ended up at a skin specialist. He prescribed erithremycin (for the infection) and prednisone. I was off work for 2 weeks. I found out about the antihistamine by accident years later but it works so I don't use anything else.

 

[13493]

Problem is I don't know where it is! The back lot at the cottage is heavily forested. I will have to go on a search to find this stuff with long pants on.

I am feeling incredibly miserable! If things get out of hand I will just hightail it to the hospital.

I have a Valium tucked away as well. I won't be a martyr. I will take it if I need it!

 

[sambonee]

Washing and scrubbing immediately after exposure can greatly reduce the effects. Literally taking off layers 1-2 of the 7 layers of skin. .