Please take the time to read through all of this because it could have a major impact on your poison ivy case.
Background:
I went to go do yardwork for this guy on saturday and he ended up (knowlingly) putting us to work in a field full of poison ivy. Then, he told my friend to weedwack the whole field (obviously this got the poision ivy as well) and then we should carry the piles of extra brush into the woods. Well I got poision ivy the next day. I'm not sure if I can possibly compare this to a more miserable experience in my life. I am covered; on both arms, my face, my stomach, and legs.... Luckily, however, I am having a controlled, regular reaction, not any special allergic reaction. Just to make sure, I went to the doctors yesterday and he perscribed me to steroids. My dad, incredibly upset that the guy told us to work in poison ivy, called him but the guy refused to apologize or even to pay for the perscriptions.
Let me just tell you, no amount of money you can make for doing yardwork is even worth the RISK of getting poison ivy. PLEASE: If poison ivy is even mentioned in an area that you will be working, just pass up the job and explain to the person how dangerous that is. I can only imagine if either my friend or myself had a bad allergic reaction or if it had gotten in our throats. Dispite my misery, I consider myself lucky...
Onto the Point:
1st off: As soon as you realize that you have poison ivy, check to see if there is ANY at all on your face. If there is, hurry to the doctors and get perscribed for steroids. I know this may sound like jumping the gun but if the poison ivy, even by chance, ends up covering your eyes, you will be so incredibly miserable. My experience with steroids is that they not only help stop the itching and spreading but they also reduce the blistering and oozing by a considerable amount. Please ask your doctor about this before its too late; my friend had it on his face and decided to wait for it to go away and ended up in the ER.
2nd off: I'm not sure if there are some people out there like me but personally, when I just see my skin covered in poison ivy, I get itchy. When I touch it with lotion, I get more itchy. This is why I chose to go with the oral medications such as benadryl and steroids because the rash too large to cover with lotion. My procedures are as follows:
Steroid with Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner
Benadryl with Breakfast and right before bed
Just remember: if you wake up with poison ivy on your face, it is very possible that it will soon cover your eyes and possibly have infected your mouth/throat. This is why it is extremely important to see your doctor.
Hope this helps |
