Poison Ivy: PART TWO - Poison Ivy got you, now what?

As you may have heard, June 2024 was dubbed the month of poison ivy for this glamper. It found me one Friday night, hid undercover until Saturday night and then has bothered me ever since 😫 I wasn't being careful, wasn't being ever vigilant, and have I got two lower legs full of poison ivy rash to prove it. You can thank me for using a photo of the poison ivy plant for this blog post, rather than my legs 😬

In Part One of this series we chatted about where Poison Ivy is and how to recognize it, but for today there are more pressing matters... what to do once you've come into contact with it, especially if you're like me and didn't know you had until the allergic skin reaction 😳

If you’re lucky enough to realize you may have come into contact with poison ivy, the first thing you need to do is WASH! WASH! WASH! Soapy water wash any potential urushiol oil from the plant off your skin and wash what you were wearing in warm soapy water.

Once you find the poison ivy skin reaction there are three things to focus on: relieving the itching, reducing the inflammation, and promoting the healing.

Here's what I've been up since I realized my VERY itchy “mosquito bite” overnight Saturday was not, in fact, a mosquito bite when I woke-up Sunday morning: 

🧊 To help with the itching try hold a "cold compress" (aka an ice pack wrapped in a clean cloth) to the rash to help reduce for about 15-20 minutes several times a day.

🩹 Scratching the rash can make it feel itchier and cause infection. I'm keeping mine covered with gauze (because I'm out of monstrous bandaids) to help resist the urge to scratch. Check out Part-three of this series for the practice stuff and what worked best for me. 

🧙‍♀️ Creams, lotions & potions can help reduce the itching as well, like Calamine Lotion and Hydrocortisone Cream.

💊 Drugs can help as well, I already take an oral antihistamines, so now I'm just doubling up (well within my limit, don't worry!).

🫣 Pretend like it's not there and wait... poison ivy rashes can go through multiple stages and can take up to three weeks to fully heal. Remember too that the area will be more susceptible to the sun, so be kind & gentle with the area for a while to come. Moisturize those scabs and sunscreen that fresh skin!

If the rash is severe (covering a large area of your body, on your face or genitals, or causing extreme discomfort), if you have difficulty breathing, or if you develop a fever, seek medical attention right away - otherwise, you should be able to treat your poison ivy rash at home.

Next up... what worked for me, tips, tricks & first-hand recommendations!

~ Anja