poison ivy

[patrickg]

Ewoss3, Every spring since I moved to south central OK I have seen signs up in front of a drug store about 24 miles away from me proclaining it to be time to start taking poison ivy extract. That is nearly myt total info on that. I wuld guess a decent net search woudl turn up whatever there is.

Patrick

 

[MDSteve]

I ordered some last year from a camping and hiking website. It was based out of Charlottsville Va. If I come across the info I will send it to you.
Steve

 

[johnjc]

When I was growing up I got poison Ivy bad every year. Usually ended up getting a shot from the Dr to cure it. When I was seventeen someone told me to pick small new growth leaves and eat them. Well being young and brave I tried it and didn't get it again for 12 years. Now every several years I just have a couple leaves for a salad and I'm OK.
When I was growing up I got poison Ivy bad every year. Usually ended up getting a shot from the Dr to cure it. When I was seventeen someone told me to pick small new growth leaves and eat them. Well being young and brave I tried it and didn't get it again for 12 years. Now every several years I just have a couple leaves for a salad and I'm OK.
Read that the pills contain extract from the plant so guess I'm getting mine fresh.
Use at your own risk!
Went on a camping trip several years back with some friend I work with. We got a late start and it was dark when we got into the woods. We were a long way from the Comfort Station and one of my friends wife had to go real bad. Didn't see what she was squatting on in the dark. Lets just say it was a long weekend for Carol
I've had good luck with a tank mixture of Roundup and 2,4,D but you do have to keep going back. Seem like deep roots will grow back some times as much as 4 or 5 years later
John

 

[s1120]

I got a case of it real bad this week. First time ever. I was weedwacking, and I must have hit some and spryed it all over me./w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif I have been iching like crazy![/w3tcompact/icons/mad.gif/w3tcompact/icons/crazy.gif How long does it last? I am on my 5th day now, and I am getting sick of it!

 

[RobS]

My wife and I each got poison ivy pretty bad a year or so ago. I started <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.tractorbynet.com/cgi-bin/compact/showflat.pl?Cat=&Board=rural&Number=43448&page=&view=&sb=&o=&vc=1>this thread</A> which resulted in a lot of good information. I can still vouch for the Zanfel soap as I have used it a couple of times since then.

Good luck and keep on itching /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[rmorgan]

s1120--

Sorry about your PI. It can last what seems like a lifetime; certainly five days is not even the midpoint for me on a bad case. Some hope exists. There is a product called Zanfel which was available last year at Walgreen's (website is zanfel.com), and there is another product called Tecnu. Zanfel is pricy, like $20 for 1.5 oz. or something like that, but it worked for me like a charm--seems like the PI almost washes away. Tecnu is less effective but also very good at easing PI symptoms and speeding recovery. The one thing to watch out for on a bad case is that it can enter your bloodstream and become "systemic," in which case you will need a course of Prednisone. If you have a lot of swelling, especially a few inches away from the PI, then you should talk with a doc.

 

[johnjc]

Go to the drugstore and get some Hydrocortisone Cream Mine is 1% but I think you can now get 2% without a prescription . Years ago when you couldn't buy Hydrocortisone without a prescription the only thing that would dry it up fore me was Clorox but it sure stings. The other bit of advice I can give you is don't scratch it. It just makes it worse and spreads it. Good luck!
John

 

[Anonymous Poster]

A bottle of Hydrogen Peroxide will kill off the itching and end the poison ivy episode, just scrub it on good with a gause pad.
Oh, it will burn like fire for a minute or so, but that sure beats scratching.

 

[knucklehead]

I'm told if you wash soon (2-3 hours) after contact, you can at least diminish the effect. Calamine lotion drys up the blisters and reduces itching - it spreads by the fluid from breaking open the blisters, which you do when you scratch. Don't know what's in it, but we always have some. Try not to let the blisters contact the couch and stuff, and try to sleep with it covered, or you may end up prolonging it.

Ditto on the Roundup, & a big ditto on the burning! I like that leaf eating thing - appeals to my simple side (must be REALLY appealing, then, huh? Yuk Yuk Yuk).

 

[Bird]

I think everyone has their own cure (and unfortunately, all of them take awhile)./w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif When I was a kid, calamine lotion was used; nasty looking stuff after you smear it on; sure glad I don't use it anymore, but I guess it worked. Then about 35 years ago, I learned about Ivy Dry; clear liquid, pretty thin, works better than calamine lotion for me least. And in the last 4 or 5 years, I've found that Benadryl lotion (clear but thicker than Ivy Dry) seems to work as well or better than anything else I've used (and the generic from Wal-mart is as good as the name brand).