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Poison Ivy Prevention/Treatment

Poison Ivy is evil stuff. I've had it bad dozens of times and have lost track of trips to the ER. 11/05/04 my wife was in labor with our daughter and I was at the other end of the hospital in the ER getting treated for the ivy (which I got deer hunting of course). Nurses kept coming into the room to check on the Mrs and they'd all look at me and say "Good Lord, what happened to you!?"
My dad gets it as well and in his younger days had a bad case on his "junk" (I didnt ask how, lol). Somebody told him to treat it with gasoline, which naturally didnt have favorable results. He's normally a fairly intelligent man, but DUH!! He was beating on his Dr's front door at 6 am in a total panic, the Doc wasnt impressed and told him to come back at 8:00. I love that story...

Washing immediately after contact helps alot. Otherwise I've tried about everything and only had real results with Prednisone. I used to keep notes on which meds worked and with Predinsone I was about 50% better in just 24 hrs. Somebody here said it was bad for you but I dont care what it does, it's worth it!!

Also, one of the Dr's said your sensitivity to PI can change over time, you may get it bad for years and then suddenly have no problems, and vise versa. Oddly, the last couple years I've had very few problems.
 
Looks like I'm in good company. I've had a few reactions when I was younger that caused me to miss work. Having your eye's swell shut......you just can't beat that!

It's always a treat when your wife get's secondary contact off of your clothes. I'm not sure what's worse, the rash of ringing ears.
 
Prednisone is the best, there's no question. I get it so often that I won't use it unless it's last resort- I actually took some 10 minutes ago, it was my "last resort" and probably the only time I'll take it this year.
Keep in mind, chronic use will eat your bones, causing Osteoporosis. It creats massive weight gain, severe acne, nervousness, it's a stimulant and you most likely won't sleep (which I don't anyways with Poison Ivy). It tears your whole body up, inside and out. If you don't taper off of it you can have very bad effects (I can explain if needed). There's a list a mile long of serious side effects, read up. Again, this is caution that is more of a concern on chronic use BUT some of these side effects are with short term use.
I would simply recommend a 2nd plan (steroidal cream) or something.
 
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I like ghost I can roll in it and cant get it. </div></div>

Just an FYI... I too, once upon a time, could roll in Poison Ivy without developing any symptoms, etc, but not anymore. I am 45 and I would say that I have been vulnerable to highly vulnerable towards it for about the past 10 years. I have read that you can lose your immunity over time with repeated exposures.

In other words, even if you don't get it now I would still take some precautions so you don't end up "using up" your stuff. /forum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif
 
Boys-
IMO

In cases of severe poison ivy.....I would not worry to much of about the side effects listed above. These are typically long term side effects associated with chronic use.

A short prednisone burst, especially in younger males...like most of you....is virtually side effect free and well worth the small potential of adverse reaction.

I don't think ole Tex above is to worried about developing osteoporosis. /forum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif
 
i too used to get it so bad, they would wrap me in sav, i was so bad ,from head to toe they gave me shots to get rid of it.i must be immuned to the stuff now , dont get it any more. a crazy therapy my friend told me about, he had it bad, went to his garage, and soaked a rag in gasoline, rubbed it on it ,dried it right up.it comes down to, do you want to itch like crazy, or smell like gas til you hit the shower?i had it so bad , i can take oak, or ivy, rub it on me , i will blister, but gone by morning. they do make a product called ivy dry that works well, put it on and wrap it up.you do not want to scratch open the blisters, thats when it will spread. remember, for ivey, three leaves,let it be, poision oak has a vine , runs up and down trees, shrubs ect, shiney leafs, again let them be.!
 
I find that I react to what I call "Five Finger Ivy" or some may know it as "Virginia Creeper" just as bad the poison ivy. Around my acerage I have as much five finger as I do PI. It vines like PI and has five leaves with searated edges. Ever notice that at a glance a box elder sprout looks alot like a PI sprout?

I mowed over a bunch of small PI a couple of years ago, on the rider, and the clippings landed on me and caused me to to break out like I had the measles. I had little splotches where ever I had exposed skin. Good thing is Crossbow herbacide works very well to kill it.

The 'Bonker
 
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> I mowed over a bunch of small PI a couple of years ago, on the rider, and the clippings landed on me and caused me to to break out like I had the measles. I had little splotches where ever I had exposed skin. Good thing is Crossbow herbacide works very well to kill it.</div></div>

Being the smart guy that I am. A couple of years ago I was brushogging some paths to drive on at our riverbottom ground when I went through a patch of it.( not knowing of course ) Bad part is I had my shirt off and was all sweaty. With the wind blowing the stuff stuck to me like glue. It was a rough couple of weeks after that. Definately the worst I've ever had it.
 
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: baggin_bucks</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> Bad part is I had my shirt off and was all sweaty. With the wind blowing the stuff stuck to me like glue. It was a rough couple of weeks after that. Definately the worst I've ever had it. </div></div>

I can almost guarantee that this will happen to me at least once this year, but it won't be Poison Ivy. I'm extremely sensitive to Wild Parsnip. /forum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/frown.gif Same "contact dermatitis" as Ivy and most doctors will mis-diagnosis it as Ivy. Doesn't really matter as the treatment is the same.
 
a freind of mine went out & cut wood for a prom party last weekend, they stoked it up but didnt realize poisonoak vines on it. campfire was awsome unless you were in the direction of the smoke. one gal reluctent to go up wind of it is paying a dear price today, she is swollen up like a poison pup, didnt even recognize her when i went to see her.bad news, keep that in mind when cutting down trees, if you see vines , move on, they may not be dead as the tree is.
 
I am so glad to see that there are other people out there that get the stuff once or even twice a year. I am a double dipper I like to get it in the spring and the fall. I had it so bad that it was on over 50% of my body my eyes were swollen shut and I couldnt go outside for like 2 weeks. I react to it pretty fast within a day of getting it I have it in about 10-15 different spots on my body. They say it gets into your blood stream and spreads that way. I use to use ZANFIL and it worked great, but the time it was so bad it took 2 bottles everytime I showered and that stuff is not cheap. I know it isnt good but about the only thing I have found that really works anymore is Prednisone I take a couple pills and within 2-3 days it is drying up and dissappearing.
 
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">gal reluctent to go up wind of it is paying a dear price today, she is swollen up like a poison pup, didnt even recognize her when i went to see her. </div></div>

I hope this lady is getting some medical attention, I knew someone once that was cutting out a fenceline and burning as they went and over the course of a day inhaled poison ivy laced smoke to the extent that they almost died. It has been a few years so I don't remember exactly, but I know he spent 1 or 2 days in ICU with breathing assistance, etc.
 
I used to be able to roll around in the stuff up until last week. I must have gotten it out mushroom hunting last Tuesday. It still seems to be only getting worse at this point. I have blisters on both arms both legs and a little on my face. I have tried a little bit of everything so far and nothing has seemed to help. Might have to make a trip to the doctor this week.
 
If you wanna save some money, call your doc's nurse, tell her your story and see if they'll just call something in. Saves $100 visit every time!
 
I will say,,Iowa is a pretty toxic place. I moved here from N MI. Up there, no ticks, no chiggers,not much poison ivy, hardly ever see poison oak. I have to be careful. Even Red Cedars make me break out. Good thing Iowa has good deer hunting! The further south you go,,seems you run into more pesky plants and bugs. Farther North gets bad too..like Alaska. Black flies and Mosquitos, carry you away!
 
yes she did, she went to the doc ,and gave her a shot and pills to dry it up and is doing much better now.it must be worse this yr than ever , tons of people are getting it they swear they havent come in contact with it. im wondering if people arnt getting it from the air? they say breezy days you can get it at the right time, and god knows the wind hasnt stopped for weeks around here.people burning ect?i make sure and wear long sleeves when im out, and strait to the washer when im done.ive been there and its no fun being wrapped insav- gauze for a week watching your skin peel off as they take it off, trust me, your skin is really tender and sore when there done , no fun!!
 
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