Poison ivy

**llama momma** Mon May 21, 2012 1:11 pm

Arrrrggghh, enjoy gardening but I suppose the birds bring in poison ivy. Try to be so careful to weed out occaisional plants from the non-sf. flower garden. Wear hat, gloves, wash up and bam. Somethings itching... the only relief is to dry it up with salt water paste. There is no good place on the body to have P.I. It's definately not attractive on the face, and bad behind the ears where my hair keeps touching it. Puts a damper on everything...ok done griping!

Goosegirl Mon May 21, 2012 2:04 pm

llama momma wrote:Arrrrggghh, enjoy gardening but I suppose the birds bring in poison ivy. Try to be so careful to weed out occaisional plants from the non-sf. flower garden. Wear hat, gloves, wash up and bam. Somethings itching... the only relief is to dry it up with salt water paste. There is no good place on the body to have P.I. It's definately not attractive on the face, and bad behind the ears where my hair keeps touching it. Puts a damper on everything...ok done griping!

Griping is definitely allowed when it comes to poison ivy, oak, or sumac! Evil or Very Mad

GG

**llama momma** Mon May 21, 2012 2:31 pm

Thanks, think that was good. For today Laughing

elliephant Mon May 21, 2012 3:32 pm

I thought you were going to ask the spacing.

WolfHeart Mon May 21, 2012 3:42 pm

elliephant wrote:I thought you were going to ask the spacing.

LMAO Spacing tongue

Seriously though, I have found Dawn dish washing soap to work best at getting rid of poison ivy. it is the oils that are on the plant that cause the reaction and dawn true to its tagline takes grease (and oils) out of the way. I have done a lot of field work and have handled poison ivy without gloves gone home taken a shower using dawn and never itched or reacted to it....

Hope you feel better soon.

**llama momma** Mon May 21, 2012 6:27 pm

elliephant--Spacing! Hysterical! That would be my absolute worst SF garden nightmare, or The SF Garden from H---!

Thanks Wolfheart - I've heard that Dawn works, maybe try that too. Had it so bad decades ago and ended up in the ER.

Goosegirl Mon May 21, 2012 9:45 pm

I always use Fels Naptha soap (heavy-duty laundry spotting bar soap). I take it in to the shower with me, get wet, turn off the water, and rub the bar all over me and stand there to let the soap paste dry for just a bit. When it feels like a peel-off mask tightening up on me, it is time to turn the water back on and rinse it off. It keeps me out of the ER, where I end up when I tangle with poison oak (ivy now that I am in the midwest and not in CA!) Has worked every time since that fateful day in 5th grade when my teacher called my mom and had her get a doctor appointment for me because the one eye I could still see with was quickly swelling shut.....

GG

memart1 Mon May 21, 2012 9:56 pm

My niece works as an environmental educator at Patuxent National Wildlife Refuge near Washington DC. She saw some poison ivy near my driveway and told me that washing the oil off your skin ASAP would be essential to not getting the rash and itching. I think either Fels Naptha or Dawn would work fine. Just be sure not to let the oil linger.

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