A Peppergomez Public Service announcement:

Got a HEINOUS case of poison ivy last week, which triggered a serious eczema outbreak. It is still gnarly...all over legs and arms and torso.

Tried almost a weeks worth of doctor prescribed mess (heavy dose 60-80mg) of steroids, as well as some other prescribed meds including topical cortisone and very warm oatmeal baths. Didn't seem to help much. Until 30 min ago, I was going crazy...scratching already exposed skin, not sleeping, not being able to do much at all.


Did some research and found several things to try. I just did and am finding more relief than I was before using just doctor-prescribed methods:

Warm bath (as warm as you can stand) with Epsom salts
Wash with Burts Bees Poison Ivy Soap (the sense of relief was pretty immediate)
Spray infected areas with Ivy Itch Releaf 

Jewelleaf and plantain are apparently good for relieving the itch and pulling the oils to the surface, which quickens the healing. Both Burts and Ivy Itch have these.

Also, I made a poultice out of equal parts Indian Healing Clay and liquified (30 secs in the microwave) coconut oil, with a small capful of tea tree oil. It's like a face mask, and I spread it over the infected areas.  I am feeling a whole heck of a lot better for doing all these things.

Whole Foods should carry all these items.

So, if any unlucky sod should have a run in with poison ivy or oak, I highly reccomend trying these steps.

I might also make a tincture of equal parts jewelweed and plantain with 80% white whiskey, if I can find find whole jewelweed and plantain anywhere.

All of this poultice making reminds me of Skyrim!

Jewel weed works great for my wife, who gets poison ivy really easily.use leaves and stem.just crush it in your hands and rub the juice and mush all over the rash.you can even ffreeze it, in case of a problem in winter when jewel weed is dormant.

I used to suffer from horrible Poison Ivy/Oak/Sumac. For some reason I stopped having reactions to them when I turned 24 or so, but before that I could break out from someone burning brush up the road. I found that the Epsom Salt bath did wonders for "relieving the itch", but the absolute best thing for taking the reaction away entirely was rubbing granular Clorox vigorously on the affected area. Now this isn't for the faint of heart, as it burns like hell and isn't good for your skin, but I had a Doctor recommend it when the steroid shots weren't hacking it, and after a few days of itching I gave it a go.

Basically it dries/burns out all of the chemical that causes the reaction, and I was completely cleared within a couple of days of doing the treatment.

If you can catch it in time you can use tecnu to clean it (it will bind with the poisonous oil from the poison ivy) and then you wipe it clear and you are good to go. I have caught PI on my wife when it was just getting read and cleaned it up and it went away. That stuff is a life saver. I carry some with me whenever we go out into the woods.

http://www.amazon.com/Tecnu-Extreme-Medicated-Poison-Scrub/dp/B0007IOVZK

Technu is definitely exceptional stuff, I used it for some years. The problem is when you have a major reaction you can get very "deep" lacerations that require you to use Technu on the affected spot multiple times. It essentially brings some of the urusiol (poisonous oil) to the top, and then you must wait for the oil that's underneath to percolate up top before using it again. The only reason I chose Clorox over Technu was because it was taking a week to get each "spot" cleared out, but each treatment of Technu worked very well individually.

Bleach. Hurts a bit when you first use it, but it really breaks down the poison ivy agent. Remember it is a chemical agent like mustard gas, and bleach (STB) is the universal decontaminate.

Thanks Master. Just ordered two bottles each of the original and the extreme. No more F'ing around with steroids and modern conventional medicine when it comes to treating poison ivy.

Heard some horror story about a teenager paid to do some weed-whacking and did not recognize poison oak, and weed whacked it, spraying the sap and juice all over his legs (he was wearing shorts).

From what I understand the active ingredient, urushiol, actually chemically bonds with skin cells, so if you don't wash it off within 10 minutes, you've got it, everything else is just moderating the allergic reaction. It is an allergen, not a poison.

There are also some blockers you can put on your skin if you know you're going to be in it. Most people wear sunscreen, I personally think that helps by making a barrier to casual exposure.

I did a recent test a few months ago, since I never really got it as a kid, I cut off a single leaf and touched to my arm. I did get a rash, curiously it did not itch that bad. *After* it healed then it itched like crazy. Weird. Anyway, I may repeat it just to see if it is same/better/worse reaction. If better than maybe it can act as an innoculation of some sorts. Would be useful as California is just full of it, unless you're high enough in the Sierras. One reason I love hiking there, no worries.

I get sprayed on a regular basis while weedeating, and rarely get any symptoms. Usually I don't do anything to remove it until it dries and then blow it off with my leaf blower, or wipe off with my mechanic rag. If it is an allergy, perhaps I have just gotten used to it. I know several tree trimmers who add poison ivy leaves to tea bags and brew sun tea, which they drink, affording them protection while climbing trees and cutting ivy vines. I don't think they are faking it, but don't recommend it.