I own two farms, and live in a very rural area. As such, I spend a great deal of time everyday in the outdoors. I'm pretty good about working around poison ivy etc. and not coming into direct contact with it. But, every now and then, I unknowingly get a good dose of it. The ingredient in the plant that gives you the incredible histamine reaction is called urushiol. A few people are unaffected by it. But, most will develop an itchy and eventually painful rash within a few days after direct contact with the urushiol. Think of urushiol as a colorless, odorless invisible oil or grease. And, just like when you work on an oily, greasy automobile, you can get that stuff all over you and spread it everywhere until you successfully wash it off with soap and a washcloth. And, if you discover that you have come into direct contact with the plant, you need to wash the areas of contact off within several minutes before it soaks into your skin. Getting the urushiol off of your skin ASAP is key.
So, what if you start to develop a reaction? This will usually take two or three days. The trick is to deal with it early. It will start with a burning, then itching sensation like a patch of dry skin. There are a host of claimed remedies on the market. Some work, and some don't. I get into the stuff often enough over the years that I have developed a method of heading it off before it develops into those painful blisters.
I have found that Vaseline Men's Healing Body & Face Lotion works really well on shutting down the burn and the itch early on. The Equate brand from Walmart works just a good. I apply it often throughout the day. I also incorporate Allegra (fexofenadine) 24 hour antihistamine. For me, this is the best antihistamine for the reaction from the urushiol. I am currently five days into a good dose of poison ivy over several parts of my body, and by incorporating these treatment methods, I have arrested my condition before it developed any painful blisters. It never really itched much, and it looks like it's starting to going away.
Remember, it's not the oozing blisters you can get, but the residual urushiol that you spread around that can give you and others in your household some uncomfortable rashes. Don't ignore direct contact with poison ivy/oak/sumac. If you start getting a burning, itching patch of skin, start treatment immediately. It sends many people to the emergency room annually.
So, what if you start to develop a reaction? This will usually take two or three days. The trick is to deal with it early. It will start with a burning, then itching sensation like a patch of dry skin. There are a host of claimed remedies on the market. Some work, and some don't. I get into the stuff often enough over the years that I have developed a method of heading it off before it develops into those painful blisters.
I have found that Vaseline Men's Healing Body & Face Lotion works really well on shutting down the burn and the itch early on. The Equate brand from Walmart works just a good. I apply it often throughout the day. I also incorporate Allegra (fexofenadine) 24 hour antihistamine. For me, this is the best antihistamine for the reaction from the urushiol. I am currently five days into a good dose of poison ivy over several parts of my body, and by incorporating these treatment methods, I have arrested my condition before it developed any painful blisters. It never really itched much, and it looks like it's starting to going away.
Remember, it's not the oozing blisters you can get, but the residual urushiol that you spread around that can give you and others in your household some uncomfortable rashes. Don't ignore direct contact with poison ivy/oak/sumac. If you start getting a burning, itching patch of skin, start treatment immediately. It sends many people to the emergency room annually.
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