The following is an excerpt from the FDA website, with the URL below.
http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/796_ivy.html
Anyway, the following specifically addresses the concern that poison ivy can spread. From the information here, as well as what I have read before, it just SEEMS like it spreads, but the later rash areas just perhaps represents the particular amount of the oil absorbed. I have a very minor case of it right now, just two or three tiny bumps on my arm, and that has been the extent of severity this year for me, thank goodness, because it is such a miserable itch! (used to get horrendously thick rashes as a kid, and once as an adult had to take oral prednisone). Anyway here is the relevant excerpt:
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Because they don't contain urushiol, the oozing blisters are not contagious nor can the fluid cause further spread on the affected person's body. Nevertheless, Epstein advises against scratching the blisters because fingernails may carry germs that could cause an infection.
The rash will only occur where urushiol has touched the skin; it doesn't spread throughout the body. However, the rash may seem to spread if it appears over time instead of all at once. This is either because the urushiol is absorbed at different rates in different parts of the body or because of repeated exposure to contaminated objects or urushiol trapped under the fingernails.
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