Is this poison oak / poison ivy (pics of my arms)

[skylar]

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Yes listen im a redneck and i love living the woods that poision oak

 

[suebee]

Lilchicks, so sorry about that. I had from Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever this summer. Luckily I saw the rash and dr. treated it before it attacked my nervous system.
I used to live in CA 20 years ago and don't remember ticks or mosquito's. I lived in Santa Barbara.
Rob, how's your arms and hands? If you tried all our remedies and failed, I'd go to the Urgent Care tomorrow.

 

[shabbyfarm]

There is a new medicine that you can buy over the counter that really works well. don't know the name right off, but it will be in a small tube and cost $50, will kill itch almost immiediatly (sp?). it is kinda gritty and you rub it in to the wounds and it feels great. sounds costly unless you are the one itching !!!!!!

 

[mamaKate]

Fresh cut aloe works for me.

 

[menageriemama]

Oh my gosh, big

to you!!! I had poison ivy ALL OVER me when I was 14 and in high school. Take some benadryl and hope that is goes away really quickly...

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

Thanks everybody!

I used some Buji soap from my wife and we'll see what happens.

I'm not worried about needing to go to the doctor any time soon, but I'll keep a close eye on it. I'm wondering if I kept reinfecting myself by wearing the same gloves over and over.

How long does it take you guys to show symptoms from the time you came into contact with the stuff? And in your cases, does it keep spreading even after you stop having contact?

The firewood is from about 10 different trees... oak, pine, eucalyptus, and a bunch of others. Even with all the pain I can't bare to think about not using / tossing the wood. :O

 

[cmcgoun]

You might be allergic to eucalyptus sap, a lot of people are.

Edited to Include: Hopefully you aren't burning eucalyptus and pine in your chimney! That is creosote city! I used to do it and when the chimney cleaner came he said, there was hardly any space left in my chimney and if we waited any long a chimney fire would ensue. I had only been burning softwoods for a year.

 

[sunnydee]

Quote:
that Ivy Dry is the BEST!! My son had a very, very bad case of poison sumac. The doctor's could not even clear it up. And then I got Ivy Dry and it worked like majic! It is expensive but very well worth it.

 

[bluie]

Its definitely poison ivy. My son had a bad case last year. It started with one itchy little bump on his neck, and it eventually spread all over his body. Turns out, one of his buddies (immune to poison ivy) had retrieved a ball from the bushes around the field by the school. Those bushes are infested with poison ivy. My son used his buddy's hoodie as a pillow in class. He needed two weeks of steroids to get rid of it, plus benadryl to make him more comfortable. The dermatologist said that when you have a little line of bumps somewhere in the rash, it is a sure sign of poison ivy. Your gloves can definitely be reinfecting you, and the poison ivy oil can stay on your gloves for a very long time. Throw 'em out.

 

[PortageGirl]

Yes, you can EASILY get it from firewood, or from clearing brush, or from raking leaves etc if you're you know, bagging them and such. Doubtful it's a problem in a nice clear residential area and all, but we're on the edge of woods, out in the country, so we HAVE it.

I got a horrible case of it 2 summers ago, some milder cases since... Listen to Mahonri, take Benedril, OR I take Zyrtec . That's what works best for me, so well I don't need any topical stuff. One of two days at the most worth of Zyrtec, and I'm past the itching stage.

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Trust us Ohio folks on this, when I went to the doctor, (rare for me but it was a bad case! Feet, between toes, legs, hot summer weather UGH!) The doctor said they'd been getting more and more cases, that the plants seemed to be going crazy that year around here, and those plants don't just fade away in a week or two, I'm still dealing with the stuff.

Wash the clothes SEPERATELY in hot water. TWICE!! And don't forget to wash those golves, YES they will continue to spread it!! If the water is hot enough, it will be fine, if it's not hot enough, the resin can remain, but be weaker, which is why I say twice. Any clothes in the same water can get it on them too, so don't mix other things with that load.

Once you get the plant oils off your skin by taking a hot shower (hot as you can stand, but NOT dangerously hot PLEASE!!) using some soap that cuts grease and oil well, but it doesn't have to tear you skin off, and pat dry. No gentle soap or lotion though, thats why I like an oral med against the itching, putting anything on the skin seems to just prolong it for me. All up to you though... things people have recommended already are all fine if you can't take Xyrtec or Benedryl, Calamine, Ivy dry, all that... no lotion for a few days, at least in that area, or anywhere near it.

[edit] once the oil is gone, you can't spread it, even if you scratch your skin or the rash 'weeps' ... residual oil in your fingernails or whatever can spread it though, so soap is your friend. Don't need naptha or such harshness so much as just not the super gentle types. I think I used liquid dial last time.