This is only the second time in my life I have contracted this dreaded ailment. I'm lucky, I guess. Don seems to get it every summer.
His worst case was the summer we got married. We bought two Siberian Huskies when we returned from our honeymoon. In order to keep Alex and Nicholas in the yard, Don put up a fence about 30 feet into the woods behind our house. He had a raging case of Poison Ivy for about a month. Not much fun for young newlyweds!
I've been researching how to get rid of Poison Ivy since I really don't want to take it with me on our bike trip. New sores seem to be popping up daily, and the itch wakes me up every morning around 2:00. The only weapon I've been using so far has been 1% hydrocortisone cream. Today I bought some Calamine lotion and antihistamine pills.
The internet is a great resource for finding cures. I'd like to share just a few of the suggestions people made for curing the poison ivy itch:
tea tree oil
goat's milk
Clorox bleach
Vagisil cream
mint julep facial mask
SOS brillo pad
baking soda
rubbing alcohol
witch hazel
mint mouthwash
toothpaste mixed with salt
apple cider vinegar mixed with Dawn green dish soap
stalk of rhubarb
Tabasco sauce
Since no one can agree on a solution, I think I will just stick with my Up & Up generic hydrocortisone cream! It's got to work just as well as some of these crazy ideas.
SOS brillo pad? Oh my goodness!! Calamine is the way to go! You can trust me...I'm not crazy. Right? Right? LOL
ReplyDeleteWe get poison ivy every year - of course by accident. When working in heavy scrub I usually end my day with a fels naptha shower. In fact, the fels napha soap is a summer standard in the bathroom. Also benedryl will aid in the itching. Good luck. Pat
ReplyDeleteI love using witch hazel whenever I get bug bites or cuts. It always reduces the itchiness of my bug bites and helps the swelling. I also use it on my face as a toner at night. You should try it on your poison ivy - it might help!
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