I am a life-long, frequent sufferer of poison ivy. Me and my young son have both had cases of poison ivy that put us in the hospital. One time, I was actually unfortunate enough to buy some contaminated firewood. You would not believe all the places airborn poison ivy oil can get to.
My son swears by bleach baths and chlorinated swimming pools. Ane I will agree that his rash does seems to dry up fairly quickly after his treatments. Usually, three days or so, rather than the two weeks my rashs usually last. However, I would never recommend dabbing straight bleach on raw skin.
Personally, my favorite treatment is ice packs. Hot baths and the hair dryer seem to stir up my nerve endings and make me itch a million times worse. Ice has the opposite effect. I also recommend taking extreme doses of Benadryl. When I have a bad case, I take two pills every two hours or when the itching returns. While a normal dose puts you to sleep, frequent doses make me very hyper.
I am sure doctors will absolutely revolt at the idea of taking so much Benadryl, but until they come up with something better, they can shut the f*** up. All their FDA approved medicines are totally useless.
Hope this helps. |
