You might be unfortunate like me. This is a letter I sent to the FDA. I've had PI for over 2 months now...
"I got infected with poison oak and ivy April of this year. I read glowing reviews on the internet of homeopathic remedies (that contain minuscule amounts of poison ivy) that supposedly counteract the itchy rashes. Supposedly homeopathic remedies will cause a person to become immune with the antigen (poison oak/ivy ingested) so that it reverses the symptoms of itching/rashes or so I thought. I purchased a bottle of Oral Ivy. I don't believe what has happened to me is peculiar to the particular product or store in question, but all homeopathic "remedies" for poison oak/ivy. I broke out in an even itchier rash on my chest, abdomen, legs, neck, back, and other unmentionable places that was NOT resultant of the original rash. The original rash was just on my arms. I kept taking them, hoping the rash would subside, but it did not, but got worse. I noticed that every time I would kiss my husband (who is immune to poison oak) and he would kiss me back on the face or some other part of the body (neck, face, etc.) I would break out in a rash; if I spilled a bit of my saliva on me after I'd brush my teeth, I'd break out in a rash; if I happened to dribble my saliva (during sleep as some people do) on the pillow, my neck, scalp, and face would break out in a rash; if I sneeze or cough in my hands (to cover my mouth when people are around) I'd break out in a rash; when I went swimming and the ocean water flew in my mouth accidentally and it dribbled on my chest, I broke out in a rash. It finally dawned on me that the homeopathic remedy was the cause, not the cure because it's in my mouth!!! Poison oak/ivy tablets are sprayed with an infinitesimal amount (6x or 1 particle per 1,000,000) of urushiol (the irritant in poison oak/ivy) which supposedly isn't enough to make someone break out in a rash. Welll, it did. I'm sure I'm not the only one who is hypersensitive. It only takes one billionth of a particle of urushiol (the head of a pin to make 500 people itchy). 1/4 cup of urushiol is enough to make the whole world itchy. So why are these products even marketed? Even though I've quit taking these pills that were purported to cure me, it worsened it to the nth degree! Even if I brush my teeth and mouth with Dawn (that is potent to remove the oil of urushiol) the droplets that are in my lungs/throat re-infect my mouth again so there it stays. Urushiol can stay live on any surface from one to five years. So, I'm in misery for one to five years!!! The other irritant that is sprayed on the pills is croton oil. I have no idea how long croton oil is supposed to stay active (maybe it never expires!). So, this stuff is in my oral and respiratory system (even though it doesn't cause itching and inflammation there but on other body parts) and I can't get rid of it. Misery just because of the homeopathic "remedy." I don't have the original bottle that I had taken but discarded it after all this. I have less of a rash, only because I am very careful to not let my saliva dribble on me in the shower, or when I brush my teeth, etc. but I am still continually itchy. I know I have not been alergic to my own saliva before all this happened, but after this, so I know this is the cause.
|
