Alright. I think I figured out the general cycle of treating poison ivy/oak/sumac. This cycle has worked for me and I hope it will help somebody else.
First of all, when the rash first starts appearing, treat the itch. Put some hydrocortizone 1% on there to relieve the rash a bit. Also, for the first 2-3 days, take cold showers. Hot showers will spread it if there is still urioshol oil on your skin.
Once the rash is in full effect, get yourself into a shower with a showerhead you can carry in your hand, and alternate between hot(hot enough to relive itch; it will feel orgasmic) and cold (cold enough to make the rash go numb). Do this cycle twice.
Once blisters have formed, I found that this is the last stage of treatment. Go to walmart and look for a green and white can that has the band-aid logo on it. It should say calamine spray and say "formerly Rhuli" on the bottom. Your blisters will pop in time (I however was not patient enough and I popped them with sterile needle and sanitized with massive amounts of alcohol and stinging), but the spray is there to treat the blisters.
The next phase is recovery. The rash and blisters are gone but there are still a few markings/discolorations. You should not feel any itching/pain/discomfort at this stage.
Good luck and I hope this helped. |
