Poison Ivy Rash

Home care: The plant oils that remain on the skin or cloths can be spread further on your own body and passed to others causing the same  reaction. Therefore, It is important to wash all the oils off your skin and any that might have come in contact with the plant oils as well. ASAP. Use ordinary laundry soap and bath soap to do so.

Avoid tight clothing and anything that heats up your skin(hot showers/Baths, direct sunlight etc.) since this will make itching worse.

For weeping blisters make a solution of 1 pint of water with 1 tablespoon white vinegar or 1 packet of DOMEBORO powder(available at your local drug store.) Soak a wash cloth in mixture and apply to rash this should be done  severial times a day. Keep remaining solution in the ice box for future use. If their is Large areas of the skin that is involved, take a luke warm NOT HOT! bath with 1 cup cornstarch added to the water.

For severe itch attacks, apply an ice pack or use Benzocaine anesthetic cream or spray(available at your drug store as LANACAINE or SOLARAINE).

Benedryl (an antihistamine also available at your drug store) will reduce itching. Use lower doses in the day and higher in the night since it will cause drowsiness.

See your Dr. Or ER if their is swelling of the face,neck,eyelids mouth,throat or tongue. Rash that spreads to the groin and causes swelling of the penis, scrotum or vaginal area. Or difficulty urinationg due to swelling of the genital areas. Any signs of infection in the areas of broken blisters,yellow fluids,yellow or brown crust.

Any fever over 100.5

Your Dr. May give you an injection of CORTICOSTEROID. This will reduce the swelling.

In the case of my 12 year old daughter this helped her within 1 hour... She was given 2 doses of Corticosteroid in her IV. Her Dr. said this was the worse he had ever seen. He also gave her steroid pills to take for 14 days. By hour three most of the swelling was gone. 3 hours earler I didn't even know this was my child, Her face was so disfigured due to swelling and rash. Their isn't one spot on her whole body that isn't affected by Poisen Ivy. He also gave her 2 other shots and took blood. I have never had to deal with Poison Ivy before. But when my Daughter started vomitting and passed out on me I became very scared. I hope to never live to see her get this again. I wish all of you well.....

Helena Killins of Waxahachie Texas