Poison Ivy, Oak, Sumac WHATEVER YOU CALL IT! Please read!

A person can develop a sensitivity to the poison ivy/oak/sumac family at any time, even if they haven't had prior breakouts. I've known people who've thought for YEARS they weren't allergic to it, then BOOM! suddenly they have encountered it and have the telltale itchy rash with blisters. The poison ivy/oak/sumac plants look VERY different at different stages of growth, and this time of year after its leaves are gone, it may only be a hairy-looking vine twining around trees or shrubs. Many people never realize they've touched it. The oil is in the leaves, bark, roots, and hairs on the plant and can be transferred to your shoes/boots, socks, jeans, jacket, or anything else you're wearing or have touched, including on your pets' fur. Washing with hot soapy water within 10-15 minutes of the initial exposure can usually prevent a rash, but after that, the urushiol oil (which causes the reaction) has had time to penetrate the skin. If you do cleanup around your place and cut out any brushy growth you're not sure of the type, do NOT burn it!! The urushiol oil goes up with the smoke and can cause the same reaction INSIDE YOUR LUNGS that it causes on the skin. If the skin rash doesn't clear up soon, use hydrocortisone ointment and/or calamine lotion or Aveeno like debi raymond suggested. If it hasn't gotten markedly better soon, you may need a round of steroids taken internally such as a Medrol / methylprednisolone dose-pak, or even an injection. I have a good friend who thought he wasn't allergic to it. He went hunting, had some contact with it, and ended up hospitalized over it. Poison oak/ivy/sumac is not a good thing to mess with if you're not very, VERY careful. My condolences on your itchiness!

I have rubbed with jewel weed plant.I have seen soap sold online with jewel weed. I have rubbed open the blisters,wash repeatidly, then sprayed the rash with an bactrin type spray that numbs and prevents infection.

Grinding up some oatmeal.Place in sock to wet and drip onto rash to lessen itchiness. I used the calamine too.

Take a lot of vitC to aid in skin healing.

But if it isn't itching, is it really poison ivy/oak/whatever or is it something else? Other plants' sap cause breakouts, and then there's bugs. Or ringworm - that makes a circle type rash sometimes. I use athelete's foot cream to clear that up.

At Rural King there is a soap there called "Grandma's Poison Ivy Soap" I believe. It's actually Lye soap with some aloe and other "nice" things added, and it will clear up poison in about 3 days. But, the fact there are blisters involved might take a little longer. Benadryl is good working from the inside on the itch, and the calamine lotion comes in clear now which is very nice.

I use a tube of really abrasive cream called Zanfel. You can get it at a pharmacy, walmart, etc. but it's pricey. $35 bucks a tube. But for me, it's worth it. If I so much as look at poison ivy I've got it. It used to be that I had to be into the dr. within 24 hours of getting poison ivy getting steroids and antibiotics for it. It used to spread like wildfire on me instantly forming blisters. Ever since I've used Zanfel, I can fix the rash immediately.

It sounds really wierd that there's no itching, but it sure would be worth a try. Basically, with the cream, you are scrubbing the oils out of the rash that's on your body....that means it can't spread.

On another note, I'm wondering (since there's no itching) if it's a sulfur (sulfa) thing. My step-dad has recently found out that the rash that he gets all over (no itching) is caused from sulfa....wierd I know, and it will literally seep out of his skin sometimes And he can't get rid of it for anything--just occassionally it'll get irritated and flame up. It may be worth going to the dr. just to see what they think it is - if all the alternatives don't work.

Hopefully you can find some Zanfel though-yes, I'm a pusher . I tell everyone I know about the stuff because I know first hand how well it works. It's just getting over the cost of the tube....but that tube can be used over 20 times......so it's worth it.

Good luck!!

I had poison ivy so bad a couple years ago, my doctor took one look and said: "There's not enough cream for this!" All up my arms, across my stomach, down my legs- almost a solid, red rashy thing. Very few blisters and hardly any itching. He gave me oral steroids, and had me get the Poison Ivy Scrub at CVS. It's rough and abrasive to use, but you scrub it into the skin and it helps take the irritating oils off the skin. Best to use right away, if you even suspect you've come in contact, but it helped me even a few days after. I use it now pretty much every time I work outside. Poison ivy is everywhere up here!