Hello Poison Ivy sufferers,
I remember "the incident" last summer, I remember it very well. It was nice and sunny day, I was mowing my mom's lawn, had my music playing on my headphones and I was lost in my own little world. My mom and I had made a deal, she would make me dinner and I would clean up her yard. No harm right?
So I began and the day would only get hotter. Beads of sweat would trickle down my brow and into me face, temporarily stinging my eyes. An hour later, I was almost done. Next thing to to do now is to wack some weeds. A buzz here, a buzz there. Whacking everything that was green or had green on it.
Almost finished. Last thing is to pick up all the excess junk, the cut grass, the weeds, etc. I had some big brown paper bags to put them in. I grabbed my work gloves and started picking it all up and packing it into the paper bags.
When the bags started to fill up, I would pick up more debris and pack it down even further inside the bag. A few minutes later I was done..finally! But it was only the beginning. The beginning of the most annoying and nagging pain and itching I had ever experienced.
A day later I had Poison Ivy. It started with a slight rash on both my elbows and oh yeah, it itched like crazy. It only got worse from there. It turned red and spread down and around my arms, I had a really bad rash with bubbles, bumps and even blood..it was a horror show.
So now, what can you do? The best remedy, of course, is not to contract it. So take the following measures.
Prevention and awarness:
- Educate yourself on what Poison Ivy, Poison Oak and Sumac look like. It can look like a harmless little weed growing in the corner of your yard or look like vines engulfing your fence. The best saying to remember is: Leaves of Three, let them be. If you are not sure, then do not touch!
- Always pay attention to your surroundings. Poison Ivy, Poison Oak can grow just about anywhere. Even when you are about finished with your work and hurrying to get the yard done, always be on the look out.
- Where as much clothing protection as you can without passing out in the hot sun..lol. Wear gloves, long pants and even long sleeves. You see, I was wearing sweatpants and gloves. But when I was pushing down the yard debris, even though I had gloves on, my arms were totally exposed. Guess where I got the poison?
- When removing your clothes, be careful not to touch the outer layer of your clothing with your bare skin. Don't do something foolish and hug someone!
- IF you know you came in contact with Poison Ivy, then wash the area you came in contact with. Use a facecloth. Do not use that same cloth all over your body! Only clean the suspected area by dabbing the spot with soap and water. Don't smear it because you will only make it worse and spread it to other areas. Then head to the local pharmacy and ask the pharmacist for specific cleaning agents.
Remedies:
- Do not Scratch! I know this isn't a remedy but you will only spread it and make it much worse.
- Of course, there are always the anti-itch creams like Cortizone, Benadryl, Zanfel and many others. Always get the extra strength or ask you pharmacist for suggestions.
- Palmolive, Dawn or any other type of concentrated grease fighting dishwashing liquid. Believe it or not, this worked awesome. Just put it directly on the infected area and let it dry. It also gives you some relief. There is something about the grease agents that bring out the poison and oils from your skin. Wash it off with hot water. Try to go as hot as you can without burning yourself.
- Hot water. This will give you instant relief. Make sure it is not scolding water, just hot enought that you are not burning yourself. Hot water from the faucet is good.
- Hair dryer. This one is for the hardcore sufferers and probably not recommended by your physician. Set it to HOT and go to town. Remember, do not burn yourself! This feels like you are scratching your arm and actually feels good. It did to me anyways but what can I say, I was desperate. The itching will go away for a couple hours sometimes too.
