How do you get rid of poison ivy on your skin?

Answer 1

Depending on the severity, poison ivy can be treated by over the counter medications such as benadryl. Most cases require prescription strength topical cortisone cream or even prednisone by mouth. Poison ivy can be contagious and can spread by person to person contact. Wash your hands frequently and avoid scratching the affected area(s) to prevent it from spreading.

Wash with mild soap and water - the sooner the better. After it's already blistered, some people say that Calamine lotion helps. Others say it doesn't. Leave it uncovered - try not to spread it to other areas of your body or to someone else. Advice to be taken at your own risk:

Apply bleach (Chlorox) diluted 1:1 with water. Start with a test area using more water with the bleach in case of sensitivity.

Poison Ivy has a naturally secreted oil called Urushiol by the Japanese. It can be spread but the weeping reaction of your skin is NOT contagious. However, the oil secreted by poison ivy is insideous and pervasive. You must vigorously wash your self and your clothing to remove its traces. The amount of Urushiol oil on the head of a pin can cause thousands of blisters and it can lay dormant in dead poison ivy plant systems for years.

Prevention from assumed exposures is to frequently rinse exposed skin and change clothing often, also considering ivy blocker products.

(see related link)

Answer 2

This advice is to be taken at your own risk.

Apply bleach (Chlorox) diluted with water (1:1 or less). This will dissolve and dry up the reaction. Start with a test area and apply carefully after scratching open the blisters.

The best cure is prevention. If you suspect exposure while doing yardwork, for example, never abrade or scratch your skin surface, and continually wash and rinse exposed skin areas as you work, even frequently changing your clothing if the exposure is intense.

Poison Ivy's allergic reaction is caused by the oil it secretes. Poison Ivy oil can lay dormant and viable for many years in both living and dead plant form. It should never be confused with the skin's release of reactionary fluids. The weeping of the skin is an allergic reaction and is not poisonous or contagious, however, the allergic ivy oils are invisible and pervasive. Exposed skin, clothing and bedding material should be thoroughly washed.

BTW: I have suffered severely from poison ivy Allergies in the past requiring steroid shots and was dubious, even appalled, at the suggestion of bleach and water. Never have I been more happily surprised in accepting advice. And since, and during, the clearing of the back half of my little square in the American Southeast, I have been pleasantly surprised at the effectiveness of the Chlorox "solution", but mainly at the value of understanding what poison ivy is and how it attacks the skin organ. After my initial horrendous exposure, I effectively used preventive measures which resulted in zero need for treatment. Constantly taking wash down rinses and clothing changes in a controlled and educated manner resulted in this success, with many thanks to the linked website. Education is the key.

(different user)

The bleach thing hurts when you do it but it is worth it. What hurts less is oat meal baths (my step mother tells me this really works too). If you don't like baths and you take showers then you can take this product and put it on the infected area and let it soak for a while.

Answer 3

as soon as you are exposed to he plan wash with urasol this is a soap that will neutralize the chemical in poison ivy that causes itching. cool compresses and cortizone creme will help dry it up however if it i very bad on your body a steroid shot will help tremendously.

Answer 4

the best thing to do if you cant get to any stores is mix baking soda and vinegar. depending on how much poison ivy you have is how much u add and mix. basicaly you can save the left overs and repeate this process so dont worry about adding to much. add a cup of baking soda and quarter of a 1/4th of a cup of vinegar, then wait till it comes out like a paste. apply it to the skin . note its going to burn. not to much but you will not be ichy at all! it will dry out the poison ivy . when you get the time go out to the store get tecnu. it works good youll realize it has the same effect as the baking soda and vinegar. for a quick treatment repeat this at leat every hour and a half and take 3 cold showers. apply tecnu at night. and travel with tecnu you wont even realize you have poison ivy =) hope this helps ..zack

Answer 5

You take a quick stop, and go to a pharmacy. Such as Rite Aid, Walgreens, CVS, etc. And then you purchase a cream destined to get rid of or stop the irritating of poison ivy

Answer 6

Most people use calamine but it doesn't really help. You should try tecnu which you should be able to get from the pharmacy. Tecnu removes poison ivy and poison oak oils.

Answer 7

I've learned that using a hair dryer you can blow dry the area of the poison ivy and it will reduce the itching for a while.

Answer 8

take a real good shower

Answer 9

I don’t know