Poison Oak remedies.....HURRY!

[MossRoad]

<font color="blue"> I guess the context driven ads are working. </font>

Yeah, that's something, isn't it? Pretty cool /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[pruntyc]

One that has not be mentioned yet, that works for me is, CalaGel. You can get it at WalMart. I have a problem with oak and ivy here, and it works better than anything that I have tryed, and it don't cost much either. You get it as a kind of kit it has a wash to get it off of you, then a gel that takes the itch away. It is supose to work on Sumac too.

 

[Hoosier_Daddy]

I never heard of the "Z" stuff before. I will remember that. As a kid we always got sent to the doctor and he put a blue light on us for a while and then give a bottle of calamine lotion and sent us home. I hated that pink stuff. It turned white when it dried and didn't taste very well either if you got a taste of it.

My railroad Dad always had us wash good with hot water and soap when we worked around brush but we always managed to get it when he wasn't with us in our everyday exploits.

As an adult and my early days at the phone company they provided a product called Oak and Ivy. (watching the bottom of the screen) But now if I am out and think I am into the stuff I wash off the exposed skin with GOJO hand cleaner and rinse with hot water.

Pop always said you need to get rid of the oil from the plant.

It seems to work well for me so far.

Hope you didn't get a nature call while in the woods if you know what I mean.

Good luck with the scratching post.

Tom

 

[pruntyc]

The CalaGel is made by Oak-n-Ivy, so they are probably the same thing. At WalMart.

 

[Phred]

Its to late now but if you ever think you have touched poision oak or ivy, etc.. wash off the area very well with rubbing alcohol. If your fast the rash will not develop.

The problem is that the plant resin is not water soluable so when you wash with soap and water you just spread it around.
The alcohol apears to disolve and wash away the resin that causes that awful rash.

Good luck.

Fred

 

[RobertN]

Try Technu. They make a good wash/soap for when you have been exposed, and it helps after exposure.

Real Aloe works good for itch. Some of the stuff you buy in gels and creams is processed, and the processing affects how well it works. The real juice right out of the plant works best.

Old fashion homemade lye soap is the best darned thing for poison oak. It reall cleans well, and really takes the itch away.

Technu and Avon make pre-exposure creams that work ok. But, you gotta put them on before you get in the toxidendrum.

Toxidendrum is part of the Sumac, or Anacardiaceae family. Pistachhio is in that family too, and can give a minor rash and itch. Here in Calif, we have Anacardiaceae Toxicodendron diversilbum, ie Western Poison Oak. Runs throughout the "Gold Country".

 

[MarkV]

Thanks for all the recommendations so far. Last night I went to the drug store and got some Zanfel. It is basically a special soap to remove urushiol oil, the toxin in poison ivy and oak, which causes the allergic reaction. Though pricey, $40 for a 1-oz. tube, it has helped a great deal. Thank you Cowboydoc.

According to the directions one washing will remove the oil and relieve the itch. With some of the real bad spots a second washing may be needed to get the deep set oil. I can't say that all of my itching has gone but most of it has. The next thing to watch is whether I have a systemic reaction where the oil has absorbed into the skin and is being transmitted by the blood stream. That will show up as new spots in the next couple of days. If that happens a steroid treatment will be needed to stop the spreading.

According to the information sheet most of you have the right idea of what to do when around poison ivy or oak. This urushiol oil is pretty resistant stuff. If you catch it right away, during the first 2 hours, normal soap and water will remove the majority of it. After it has bonded with human skin normal soap does not work. On anything except human skin soap and water will remove it regardless of how long it has been. The killer is that the oil stays active for a full year. That means it is important to wash cloths, gloves, tools and tractors after exposure.

I'll see how it goes at work today and hope there are not any new spots. Thanks for all the help.

MarkV

 

[gsganzer]

Another product to use is "naptha soap". It's an old fashioned bar of soap that you can sometimes find in the laundry soap section of your grocery store. It's brown in color. The lye soap works to. I wash up with the "naptha soap" whenever I think I've been exposed and it seems to help.

Back when I did forestry and arborist work I got the worlds worst poison ivy exposure. I climbed and was taking down a tree that had a wrist thick poison ivy vine growing up it. I had on a face shield, long sleeves, gloves, bandana etc. (thought I was adequately protected) It turned out that the sawdust and chainsaw bar spray was hitting me in the forehead, went down my shirt, into my skivvies, down my pant legs and into my socks. Yep, you guessed it, I had poison ivy from head to toe (literally). You've never suffered with poison ivy, until you've had it on your johnson. Pure agony! The oral steroids mess me up bad, I just used calamine lotion (Liberally) and took coloidal oatmeal baths (helps it dry up).

 

[pruntyc]

Again the technu, is made by the Oak-n-Ivy people. The kit I was talking about at WalMart is the technu and CalaGel, you get the two together as a kind of a kit to get rid of the itch. It works great, I know. The CalaGel is a clear gel, the only thing I wish is that it would dry quicker, but it does dry, and stops the itch.

 

[kensfarm]

I was wondering if anyone has had a similiar reaction..

I had a good patch of poisen ivy on my forearms & legs from chainsawing one Sat... so on Sunday morning I hit my arms and legs w/ the "CalaGel".. it's what I've used all along.. seems to work good. Sunday was a sunny but cool day.. well by 10:30 a.m. I was sick as a dog.. feeling like I had heatstroke.. ended up having to go lay down. Later on I had read on the "CalaGel" bottle.. not to apply to large areas of the body. I've used this product all summer.. maybe it was just a coincidence.. anyone have a similiar reaction?