… no, not the song from Batman and the 70s, or the character either… the infernal greenleafed interloper that has me swelling up and itching like a … um… swollen, itchy mass of nerves… I’m about to explode!!!
Needless to say this is getting extremely old, very quickly, and it is keeping me from finishing the set of Whistle Rolls I was working on (pretty certain anyone even remotely allergic will appreciate that!)
I’m going (even more) NUTS!
and now it’s working its way in between my index and middle fingers on the hands and interfereing with practice too! I’m fit to be tied!
I was given a prescription cream once called TOPICORT. It’s the only thing I’ve found that helps, but it’s a pretty powerful topical steroid and must be used sparingly or it can cause skin damage (but at least it won’t ITCH)
I think it’s still by prescrition only. But you can check with your doc.
UGH! I had a bout of the stuff this spring. My sympathies to you. It can certainly put an end to your fun for a few days! I’m extremely sensitive to it; I almost always have to take a round of oral steroids to clear it up.
Hope you feel better soon!
P.S. I like Band-Aid anti-itch gel (formerly Rhuli Gel) or Caladryl Clear to stop the itch. Helps dry it up too.
Ive been using both of those, and am on steroids for a different problem, so the mix seems to be off… I had it pretty badly about a month ago too… what ever happened to immunity??? ARGH!
I have never had it but I can go nuts with one little mosquito bite, so I can’t even imagine having poison ivy. I hope you can figure out why you are getting it so frequently and solve that problem----once a month sounds too often!!! Hope it goes away soon.
Oh dear…I’m sorry for you, truly I am, but the fact is that you might be INsensitive to start with, but the more you react to poison ivy, the more sensitive you become with each exposure.
Every part of poison ivy causes this reaction. Root, stem, leaf, berry. Even dried over years, the stuff is pernicious. You need to be aware that it can seep into tree bark that the ivy vine grows on, so if you cut or carry wood, wear gloves. In the shrubby form it can hide in our backyards, along our fences, anywhere. If you walk in the woods or have dogs gallumphing through the undergrowth you’ll want to be aware and not pet the dog.
If you THINK you’ve been exposed, HOT soapy water and a thorough washing may help.
Oatmeal baths and soaks do help, but steroid creams are better. See a dermatologist if you possibly can.
Best of luck and no, you can’t pass it to anyone else, even if the sores are open and seeping, but people react better if you have gloves on…and you may be able to put an oatmeal poultice on and gloves over that.
I used to do land surveying for the State where there was a lot of poison oak and they actually issued us Tecnu (I think thats what it was called), and it was a preventative as well aiding cream-like substance. I really suggest it.
When I would get poison oak I would put lacquer thinner on it and it would dry it up really fast. I don’t know if I would suggest this though. :roll:
For symptom relief, this has worked for me since I was a kid.
If the swelling is in a place where you can run hot water on it do this. Run very hot water on it and slowly turn the heat up until you can’t stand it. Let it run a bit more. This will relieve the itching for awhile, and I think it helps it go away a bit faster.
Once again, the dreaded disclaimer that I am signed under my wife’s sign in name.
My step-daughter helped her grandmother remove some vines from the side of her house. Her grandmother assured there was no poison ivy of any kind. She was wrong, wrong, wrong. In less than two days, her face was so swollen that she looked like Rocky Balboa after 6 rounds with Apollo Creed. We talked to a nurse at the emergency room who recommended this - www.zanfel.com We went to our local worthless Walmart to check into this Zanfel solution. She gave us a “I think it sounds too good to be true” speech. Because the product is OTC, as well as $36.00 for a very small amount, I decided to forego getting it. We took her to the doctor the next morning who proceeded to bring a pamplet with him for (you guessed it) Zanfel. Since she ended up with a shot and a 12 day supply of Prednisone, he said we didn’t need to use the Zanfel, but if we ever run into this problem again to use it.
I’ve only had the stuff once, about 10 years ago and I never want it again. Since I’d never gotten it I was not careful and a cut on my leg from a cedar stump, then climbing a fence covered in the stuff ,gave me a whoppin’ case. I had blisters solid from the knees down. Before it was all over, about a month later, I even had it in my scalp. Prednisone did nothing but make me feel worse. I’ve never been so miserable in my life. The only good thing from this is it destroyed the hair folicles on my legs so-no more shaving!
That stuff can be nasty. My daughter Sarah got a bad case of it on her face when she was about 6. I had to take her to the ER for an injection of steroids. Those worked REALLY well.
I think I may be immune to it. I played in the woods constantly as a kid and as far as I know I never had an outbreak.
I never had more than a couple of bumps from it til I was pregnant with my first kiddo… had it or 6 months! 'cause they couldn’t give me anything for it.
Now, last month I was doing warfare on it on our property, cutting, mowing, spraying and all… and it fights back… so I wasn’t too surprised to get it then… I looked like the bad end of a mispent life until I started on the Rhustox pills… cleared up right away. But now… I don’t know how I’m getting it… did pull some by accident, but recognized it immediately (telltale pair of leaves on that ‘grape’ vine…) and washed thoroughly with the ivy removal soap… several times… but here it comes again, swelling up my eyelids this time and itching like mad. I am on the end round of Prdnizone for a pain problem, and so don’t think that it was particularly helpful this time for the ivy… very frustrating. I suspect the four-leggeds are bringing to me on their coats. It is hard not to pet and cuddle them, but this is no fun at all!! I’m trying to be lovey from a distance. I need this to go away. If it isn’t somewhat improved by tomorrow, it’s back to the doctor.
It’s everywhere around me and it’s my enemy. Dermatologist gave me a prescription for Clobetasol Propionate. It’s a corticosteroidal gel (or ointment). It is the stongest topical solution, but it still takes a few days to stop the itch and a couple of weeks to disappear completely. I get one minor outbreak at the start of each season, sort of a freebee. Any exposure after that is blister and swelling time.
I don’t know your living situation, but I do my best to destroy all poison ivy on our property. Last Sunday I did my annual Round-up walk in the woods around the edges. I zapped any 30 or 40 small individual vines. If I skip a year it’s 100 vines and some are shrubbs. I don’t normally encourage amateurs like me to spray poison in the environment. But if you read the label and follow directions, you’ll be okay. Round-up breaks down in a couple of days. I use a small sprayer and spot spray individual plants, no broadcast spraying or you’ll create a barren landscape for a year.
You have to get rid of the roots either by spraying or by digging. Digging is just not feasible unless you have just one little sprig. Mowing isn’t going to do any good as far as I can tell other than spread stuff around. I think Round-up can be handled carefully and safely if a person does as you say.
I have read that the dead roots will still cause reactions, so watch out if you handle even dead looking plant parts.
My mom got into a lot of poison oak when she was young. After a few days, she couldn’t wear anything but a sheet, and she couldn’t sleep. She ended up having to go to the ER to get a shot, and after that, it cleared up right away. She should have gone to the ER right away because her case was so bad.
Anyway, hope you get better soon and get back to playing whistles and making your bags.
