Poison Ivy Again

I got into poison ivy again . Blister from wrist to elbow. I thought I did a good job at not getting into it this time. I really don't want to wear a space suit in the 90 degree sun. Anyone seen long gloves? So I can still wear a tank top. Thanks for your time.

These are long gloves for beekeeping. www.betterbee.com/Products/Gloves
May be what you need.If you are skilled at sewing, perhaps adding a sleeve to simple cotton garden gloves would be cheaper. Those could also be laundered. I hope you are on the mend soon.

google 'rose gloves'

they have all kinds of different gauntlets. My wife is trying out several pair because she's starting to get rashes when she does her thing in the ornamental gardens.

There is a product out there that you can use to help with it if you get into it called TECNU. You use within a couple of hours of getting in it and it will help control the out break. You put in on and wash the area really well with it using cold water. We keep it on hand for our guys at work and they love it. They also have a spray that will help dry it up. It get it at CVS.

I never thought of taking precautions other than long sleeves and pants. However, in my business (lawn maintanence), it's just a fact of life. The split second I put on shorts, BANG, I get the ivy and have it the rest of the summer.

I'm glad I'm not that sensitive to it. I don't beak out bad enough that it's even visible....just like little bug bites here and there.

Good luck finding something. I know of some people that it practically hospitalizes when they run into it. Haha, those people aren't too into giving me hugs this time of year.

I am one of those who used to end up in the emergency room over poison ivy. I know what it looks like (and all of its nasty cousins) and don't touch it, but get it anyway. I also shower head to toe with Technu ($12 a tube) if I even THINK I have been around it and still break out. With my level of sensitivity, I have never found a physical barrier that works so my focus was always on finding something to dry it up ASAP after I break out. The methodologies used in my family are not for the faint of heart, however...

Best home remedy--bleach--- scratch it open and put bleach on it. We use it undiluted, and it burns like fire, but it works. I have heard of folks who dilute the bleach and use everything from a spray bottle to soaking in a bath of it, but couldn't tell you the ratios.

I don't get it nearly as bad as I used to. I did have some good results with rubbing alcohol this summer when I got some on my face. It also burned but dried up after one application. I tried alcohol on my hand with mixed results (probably not getting all of the blisters open).

Not to sound completely condescending, but you just reminded me of a movie, My Big Fat Greek Wedding. "Put some Windex on it."

I have heard some that have it so bad they can get it inside their airways and it can be life-threatening. Hope you aren't in that boat.

My best friend and I, growing up in CA, had the same problem with Poison Oak - which has the same oil on it as Poison Ivy and Poison Sumac. We both were (are) the type to end up having to go to the hospital for cortisone shots to keep our eyes from swelling shut and our nostrils open! Her mother started using straight bleach on her, and my mother gave me a bar of Fels Naphtha soap. Both work! As soon as I see the telltale rash starting I get in a cool shower with the Fels Naphtha and smear on a good layer all over, then turn the water off and smear on some more to make a good thick layer and stand there until I can feel it start to tighten up from drying. Turn on the shower again and rinse it off. This has never failed me. I have not had to get the butt shots now for 30 years!

Thank you everyone for your suggestions. I am in the middle of the Ivy Spectrum...Last time I had it it took 6 weeks to stop itching and ozing with steroids. But I haven't had to go to the hospital yet knock on wood. I still wasn't healed up completely from the last time. I'm gonna Try a couple of them. AND get long gloves for next time I get a weed up my butt to weed lol. I also wrap my arms at night to keep from itching. Then I'm told that you need to pop the blisters lol.
Any way thanks.

My hubby sprayed the poison ivy to kill it. About 3 weeks later, I went to remove the brush. Be careful. The ivy is still ivy even if it's dead, it will still get you!
Jo

I have found some suggestions which work pretty well, first off start cover with Ivy Bloc areas likely to be contaminated areas with the usheriol oil from the poison ivy.

1. Wait until after (or during ) a heavy rain to work on removing the plants... you need to pull the roots, and wet (soaking wet) ground will allow you to pull the plants pretty much root and all. Alternately, water the area until the ground is completely saturated, even if it is several times over a few days to allow the water to really soak into the ground.
   
2. Wear heavy boots, protective goggles, Pants, and Long Sleeve shirt. Make sure everything is tucked in well.
   
3. One website suggested using heavy plastic bags -not the thin grocery ones ( place one on each hand ) to pull the plants, then you can turn the bags inside out and tie shut without ever having touched the plant or directly handled them. It also warned not to be cheap and reuse the bag but to use a new bag for each plant. Kool idea. I usually use heavy leather gloves over a pair of heavy duty furniture stripping gloves - kinda like the type used to wash dishes, and duct tape the plastic gloves to the shirt.
   
4. When done removing plants, Throw away the leather gloves, and with a helper who is using some nitrile gloves remove the duct tape from the shirt and gloves. Then let them help you straight into the laundry room and remove whatever clothing directly into the washing machine and wash in cold water... no soap. Re-wash as you regularly would using soap.
   
5. Go into the shower and rinse with no soap and no hot water and no washcloth... don't want the pores on the skin to open. Afterwards, shower as you would normally. Supposedly the oil is water soluble, and will rinse off.
   
6. Cover the area you were working with a tarp or black plastic to keep anything you missed from sprouting.
   

I hate poison ivy, had it as a kid so many times, it was awful stuff. I wouldn't ever willingly remove it without a long sleeved shirt; you're probably much more coordinated than I am though.

Mark

OMG I fould something that helps dry up the blisters. Pimple spot cream. lol I figured It couldn't get worse. So I woke up this morning and I have very little itch. And the blisters are getting smaller. That and benedryl and I should be fixed up in no time. Oh And I have been washing my arms daily in alcohol. YAY!

Distilled white vinegar works very well and almost instant relief (stings a little) but not as Bleach,,, you can then consider yourself a pickle!

Fwiw, I use a topical cream you can find in a Walgreens. It's called IvyDry and comes in a yellowish tube. It dries things up fairly well in mild cases. Some of you sound too severe for this to do much good, though.

Another thing that works well for me is bentonite clay. It's very inexpensive and really stops the itch. I mix it with aloe vera juice and then keep a spray bottle handy. When it dries out, I squirt it because it stops the itch far better when it is moist than dry.