Poison Ivy

[flinthillbillie]

I was just at the farmer's market this afternoon and there was a man selling various emu products. He was touting all the many benefits of emu oil to a woman checking out his wares and mentioned that it was also fantastic for relieving poison ivy. Sounds to me like the emu oil is a cure-all for everything. It's extremely expensive, so I'd hate to buy some and be disappointed! Does anyone here have an opinion about it?

 

[Mulemom]

We don't have posion ivy here, but we've got posion oak and lots of it. I've been thru it many times and never had a reaction, but last fall we did some clearing and I ended up with it on my legs. It made my thighs swell up so big that my baggy sweats were tight! I made a dr's appointment, but couldn't get in for a couple of days, so I started looking for answers on the web. I have the cure, and I have a feeling that it may be the grit in the $35 drugstore treatment. The absolute best thing is regular old table salt! You put a pile in your hand, wet it and grind it in to the rash. It feels great at first because it means you get to scratch, but then it burns like hell for a few (which is still better then the itching) . You just let it dry to a crust. Leave it on as long as you can (yes your house will be covered with salt if you move around). It stops the itching right away, and the salt leeches the posion and drys up the rash. By the time my dr's appt came up two days later there was no rash!

I have also read to use vinegar to help the rash. It sounds to me like the recipe for killing the poison ivy would also work on the rash!

 

[chicks for better health]

I have always gotten poison ivy really bad as well. I have tried just about every thing that I could think about to dry it up. Some of my concoctions as a kid.

Cement make a sticky mud and apply to pussing areas leave on as long as possible.

50:50 bleach water mixture soak infected area as long as you can stand it. (Works but I don't know that I recommend it.)

Clean area with straight rubbing alcohol or peroxide (always seemed to dry it out)

Domeboro as directed on package

I just tried making a domeboro paste and applying to infected areas (burns way more than the salt mentioned above) but it dried up the worst areas, I will let you know if it gets rid of it.

 

[Rhett&SarahsMom]

I seem to only get it right before important life events.
I got it a week before i married both my first husband and again before I married my now husband.
I should be safe as long as I dont get divorced and then remarry, again.

On that note. I can take pain more than itching. So I avoid ANYTHING that looks like it might cause me to itch.

 

[crazychickengirl]

I swear I'm the QUEEN of poison ivy! I not only get it horribly every year (and usually more than once each season)...I also have 3 acres of which about 1 1/2 acres of it is wooded and full of the ivy! Last year we bought two pygmy goats and this year have put them on weed duty so we don't have as much weedeating to do. I didn't realize they would eat poison ivy, but they do! Usually within a day or two, they have everything eaten down to the pine needles (we only have pines). However, I'm not sure it will keep it from coming back since the roots are still in the ground...I guess only time will tell on that.

I once borrowed a book from a friend that had a recipe for poison ivy killer in it but can't remember it exactly. It called for boiling water and rock salt and I think that was all. You mixed them together and then sprayed it on the plant. I will try to get the recipe from her today and post it on here.

Good luck!