I can only tell you what works for me. I spray the rash with really hot water (almost scalding hot). It will make it itch something fierce. I've been told that high heat will cause tissues to dump all of their hystamines at one time, and that it takes up to 8 hours to recharge. Hystamines are I guess what cause you to itch. By spraying the rash with really hot water I can get a decent nights sleep or make it through work between showers. This does not make the rash go away, that takes time. Some people suffer only about 10 days, others as long as 14.

I've tried just about everything except the shots and hot water works the best.

We just discussed home remedies at the Kitchen Table. The following was posted there:

Poison Ivy.....garlic juice applied on opened blisters will dry it up.

For me, it helps to wash the affected area as soon as possible, with cold water. Warm water will spread the urisol (oil in the poison ivy).

When I do have blisters, I break them in the shower, wash with plenty of soap, then use hydrocortisone cream.

Moni

DH is so sensitive to it, we don't mess around with home remedies. All he has to do is call our doctor and say "I've got poison ivy again" and they work him right in for a shot.

I, on the other hand, am not so sensitive to it and have only had it bad enough to need a shot once. That's when I was working and I was not allowed to leave my desk often enough to treat it. I had dark areas on my skin after the poison ivy healed, for months.

What I do is wash it with a bar of Fels-Naphtha soap, several times a day. Do this right away, as soon as you see eruptions. Keep it dry in between washings. If you see it start to ooze, wash it again. It should not spread once you start treating it. If it does, then you haven't caught it soon enough and you're probably better off getting the shot.

Merryheart,

Your poor DH. I've only had poison ivy once in my life and it was a very mild case but my family members get it every now and then.

I keep TechNu Poison Ivy Block and Poison Ivy Cleaner and Poison Ivy Scrub handy and use the block if I'm working near poison ivy and use the other two if I think I made contact and need to scrub the oil off my skin. Other than getting a cortisone shot at the Dr.'s office, I think you just have to experiment and see what works for him. Sometimes soaking in water to which oatmeal has been added helps reduce the itching. Aveeno even makes lotion with oatmeal added for itchy skin.

I am allergic to lots of stuff and when my skin gets itchy and taking an oral antihistamine like Benadryl is not enough, I take an over-the-counter acid reducer called Tagamet. I buy the Wal-mart generic which is sold under the name Equate Heartburn Relief, with the active ingredient being 200 mg. of Cimetidine. Why does an acid reducer help itchy skin? Well, I read once in the People's Pharmacy column in the newspaper that for people who are having an itchy reaction anywhere on their skin, taking 1 Tagamet a day helps stop the itch because Tagamet is an histamine blocker. It works really well for me when I break out in a rash from too much sunshine, and is the ONLY thing that works for me when I have sun-induced itchy skin. Other OTC histamine blockers (all sold as acid reducers) include Pepcid and Zantac. Of course, you are using the acid reducer for an "off-label" use, so be sure to read all the directions and precautions carefully because it can interact with certain prescription medications. When I first read about taking Tagamet for itchy skin, I thought to myself "Oh, sure, like that will really work!" But I tried it anyway and it worked for me.

I hope your DH makes a quick recovery. Oh, and some people think Noxzema works really well for itchy skin, but I don't know why.

Dawn

My wife became deathly allergic to poison ivy, back in 2002. When she gets it, it goes systemic and attacks her internal organs. They told her that she would have to RUN for the hospital, whenever she contracted poison ivy, from now on. But she did try TechNu Poison Ivy Block and Poison Ivy Cleaner and Poison Ivy Scrub handy, as Dawn mentioned. It works! It's amazing stuff. I've even used it.

George

Thank you all for your tips and advice. We will certainly have to be better prepared in future and will find that TechNu Poison Ivy Block, are there 3 different products or just one? Where do you get it?

By this morning he was so much worse and it had spread even more! Poor guy! It is on both forearms, all around his waist, on his upper thighs, spreading to his neck, on one knee and on one buttock!!! My gosh he was fully dressed...how did it spread like this? haha I have never had it..so I can poke a little fun.

He went on to the doc and got one of those dose packs...likely steroids. He also got put on high blood pressure meds and told to get a check up real soon! so perhaps good came from him catching this...so he would get on meds and know to get checked out!

Dawn yes I was told years ago that there are antihistamine-like properties in the acid reducers.

I will pass on this info to DH...he has tried a lot of things for sure. And we will try to be more careful and better prepared in future.

Thank you all! Hope everyone had a good Christmas!
G.M.

Dawn,
You are so right in the stomach medicine. My hubby had to go to the doctor for hives and he told him to take the stomach medicine and gave him some pills. I forgot what kind of stomach medicine he said, but now I know. Pepcid or acid reducer. That comes in handy when you can't get to a doctor. He also said to take an antihistimine pill. I had hives one time in my life and believe it or not, I had not eaten all day and got a headache. I took some aspirin (which I found out is the most common cause of hives!!) and all the sudden I was digging at my skin it itched SO BAD. I was at work and had to leave and hubby was trying to put everything and anything on me. I guess we finally hit the jackpot with some antihisitmine pills. I thot I was going to die. I was hopping around rubbing on the doorways and scratching as fast as I could. I must have looked like a wild woman! If I had to endure it much longer I would have gouged my skin off. It was already bleeding. I'll never forget that and feel sorry for someone caught out in the middle of nowhere. AHHHHHH But you know I take aspirin every once in awhile and it hasn't affected me like that.

GM,

The Ivy Block, Cleanser and Scrub are separate produts. I googled and found a photo of the Tecnu Ivy Block so you could see what to look for. I usually buy it at a drugstore or at Wal-Mart. Sometimes, though, you can only find it locally during the "warm" parts of the year. If you can't find it locally in the winter months, you can usually find it someplace online like Drugstore.com or Gempler's.

All the other Tecnu products--the cleanser, the scrub (which is new and is similar to the cleanser but has little pellets to help scrub the oil out of your pores) and the rash relief spray have similar packaging and usually can be found right beside the Ivy Block.

I bought the Ivy Block when we started clearing our land before building the house, and it has been a lifesaver for us, as have the related products.

There is a homeopathic product that is a pill you take to prevent poison ivy reactions, too, but I've never tried it. I think you have to take it long-term to see results.

Hope DH is better and the blood pressure meds help him too.

George,

I am glad to hear the Tecnu products work for you and Jerreth. It is always wonderful to find a product that does what it says it will do. I also enjoy the peace of mind of knowing that, if I happen to get into poison ivy when I'm not wearing ivy block, then all I have to do is go inside and scrub it off with the ivy cleanser or scrub.

River,

I didn't know ordinary aspirin was the most common cause of hives. That's good info to remember. I think using acid reducer-type histamine blockers is one of the great "unknown" remedies for those of us who react to various things with itchy rashes.

Dawn

Here is a link that might be useful: Tecnu Ivy Block

There is a pharmacy in Shawnee that sells a product that I have taken for several years. They also sell a lot of it to people who work outside, OGandE emps, etc. You can look on poison ivy prevention dot com and read about it. I don't have any affiliation with the business, I just know that I use it along with 3 other family members who are susceptible and it has been a lifesaver. If you do use it and contract poison ivy, it is just a little bump or two and a booster knocks that out right away. I was going to use it last winter and I broke out with a bad case of P.I. that required the shot.
I will be using it this year before having a chance to get P.I.
As for home remedies, I have found that lye soap soothes it, and also a cup of vinegar in bathwater soothes it also.
not a miracle cure but does make it a little more bearable.
justsaymo

When DH had it, we tried banana's on it -- it helped. Then he got it again, but worse -- we used bleach diluted. Third time he got it even worse so the dr recommended Sarna -- it's an anti-itch lotion (we got ours at Walgreens) and also Zanfel (which we also got at Walgreens). The Sarna and Zanfel work wonderful.

Lots of good tips here. Once again, I have learned something.

Merryheart, I hope your DH is on his way to recovery. I fully understand your situation. The first time my DH got poison ivy, he tore a dead vine off the side of a house we were renting, years and years ago when we were young. The rash started on his arms and before we knew it, he had it ALL OVER HIS BODY! And I do mean EVERYWHERE. It's funny now but it sure wasn't then. After that, we were very careful. Whenever we accidentally got into something we thought might be poison ivy, we washed ourselves off right away. When I find poison ivy around the house, I go out with a plastic shopping bag over my hands, pull the plant, and turn the bag inside out over it as I withdraw my hands, tie it in a knot and throw it in the garbage.

A woman I met at the doctor's office told me that she found this pretty little plant growing alongside her house, potted it up and brought it into her beauty shop. She was quite proud of it till one of her customers said, "OMG! Do you know this is poison ivy??" LOL

Forgot to add, if you are allergic to p.i., you might want to avoid mangoes - as they are in the same family. Didn't bother me the first time I ate them, but the second time really caused a reaction.
justsaymo

Ewell Gibbons, in one of his books, wrote about an old time method to avoid poison ivy problems. He said to start in early spring, before the leaf buds break open and eat one or two leaf buds a day. Continue doing so as the buds open and each day one will eat a little leaf, which is a little larger than the day before. After a week stop. He claimed that old time loggers and woodsmen would do this and have resistance for the coming year.

I tried it when I was 15. I got poison ivy in my mouth!

George

George,
That's a great story!
Seedmama

George,

That is a great story, but a lot of people swear by the method. Euell Gibbons ate a lot of stuff that I don't think I'd try, though.

It used to be that some compounding pharmacies (even in very recent years) offered something similar and probably still do although I haven't seen them advertised in a newspaper the last couple of years. I think the product is dried p.i. leaves in a capsule form--and it is said that taking the pills helps you build up an "immunity" to the p.i. so that you don't react to it. One of DS's friends from high school said her parents had used them during her childhood and they all took them and the pills worked, although none of them have taken the pills in recent years.

Dawn

My grandpa once told me that the "old country doctor" that everyone in this area used for years, gave him and my grandma a liquid formula for poison ivy after they both had a bad case. He told them it was p.i. extract and for them to be very careful with it. They put a certain amt. in a glass of water and increased it daily for a week or two. Neither one had any more breakouts after that and I know they both had plenty of opportunities to get it again.

I don't know that I could follow through with it.
"Here, drink this, it's the same stuff that caused that rash and itching."

I have heard that if you do come in contact with it, it's best to wash with a soap, like dish soap, that will cut grease. Also to use lukewarm/cool water as to not irritate the skin or unnecessarily open the pores.

Michelle

A friend of mine, who is a pharmacist, told me to use Cimetidine (Tagamet) and Benadryl for poison ivy. He said they should cure it within a day or two, max. He says using the combination is far more effective than using steroid packs. Cimetedine is an H2 histamine blocker, and Benadryl is an H1 blocker, and used together they give more relief because they affect different parts of your allergy-response system. I personally have never had poison ivy, but friends I've told of this treatment say they get relief fast.

I hope your husband is cured by now, but if not, give this OTC remedy a try and let us know how it works for him!

Dawna,

I've used Tagamet + Benadryl for a itchy skin reaction I sometimes have to excess sunlight, and it works great for me. I've never tried it with poison ivy because I've only had a reaction to poison ivy once in my life and it was very long ago and very minor.

Dawn

My dr. also recommended Tagamet for cold sores. Works really well. Esp. if you catch it when it is first coming on. I also found that generic does not seem to work as well in the case of cold sores. YMMV
justsaymo

Some doctors use Cimetidine (Tagamet) as a cure for warts in children. It doesn't work as effectively in adults though.

I think Cimetidine is a miracle drug. :) I first learned of it while searching for help for melanomas in my elderly Arabian mare. Most grey horses over 15 years old develop melanoma. Since chemotherapy isn't commonly used in horses, Cimetidine is often used to treat the melanomas. The first round of Cimetidine I gave my horse, it shrunk away all of her melanomas, but they later came back when I stopped giving her the drug. I've given this drug to my horse off and on for the past four years. She just had her 28th birthday and is doing very well. I credit the Cimetidine with helping keep her healthy and alive.

If you know anyone suffering from melanoma, colon cancer or gastric cancer, please do a search on Google and learn about this drug and its use as an adjuvant medication in cancer treatment. In one study, colon cancer patients who took 800 mg of Cimetidine for a year along with their cancer treatment, increased their 10 year survival rate from 23% to 85%. Another group increased their survival rate from 33% to 90%. I truly believe the reason this drug is not more commonly used for treating cancer is because it is so cheap, and the drug companies can't make money from it. I pay $12-$14 for a three month supply for my horse.

Well, I am long winded when it comes to discussing Cimetidine. I really believe strongly in this drug. Please read the link below to learn more about it, and maybe you can help a friend or family member if they are ever diagnosed with melanoma, colon cancer, or gastric cancer. A google search for Cimetidine and Cancer will pull up lots of information.

Here is a link that might be useful: Cimetidine as an adjuvant medication

Dawna,

Thanks for posting the link on cimetidine as a adjuvant medication with certain forms of cancer. You never know when a message like this will help somebody.

As a cancer survivor myself (almost 10 years now), I am always interested in hearing about new treatments for cancer, even if it didn't start out as a cancer treatment.

By the way, there are a lot of people who share your belief that less-expensive treatments (for lots of illnesses but esp. for cancer) are shunned by the medical world/drug companies because they'd rather use the treatments that are most profitable for them. If that is true, it is a terrible disservice to the ill.

Dawn

Wow thanks to all of you for all the great info on help for this horrid problem. My DH has read over all of your posts and I have saved it for future reference.

Poor DH is finally improving. This has been a long ordeal for sure. His rash is still visable but is fading and not itching so much. Every where the rash has been is now very dry so most of the itching he has now is from severely dry skin. He is still taking steroids...stepping down though now.
It has taken all the info he could find to get through this...so everything is greatly appreciated.

I had no idea that Tagamet was such a miracle drug. That is one we will remember also.

Thank you all for your help. I knew if anyone would know about poison ivy it would have to be a gardener and I was right.

Anyone out there ready for SPRING? I certainly am!
G.M.

G.M.,

I'm glad your DH's poison ivy is improving....he must have had a very severe case of it.

I'm ready for spring! There are not many signs of it here since it has been so dry, and I am sure you've noticed that around your place as well. We drove to Purcell for a wedding yesterday, and it was dry/dormant brown to wheat-colored vegetation all the way with only a few tiny bits of green.

I am SO ready for something (anything) green.

Dawn