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Here's to Your Health:  Poison Ivy  |
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HappyCat
Farmgirl at Heart
7 Posts
kim
pataskala
ohio
USA
7 Posts |
 Posted - Apr 01 2008 : 10:49:33 AM
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Poison Ivy- It's all over me! Well at least all over my left arm. Does anyone have any tips or tricks for drying it up quickly? l know it's systemic and hard to get rid of- l've got some 'stuff' from the Dr. but it's no fun and not really improving the rash. Also if anyone has any tips on killing and disposing of the evil vine without getting yourself covered in it- l'd love to hear any tips!
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KYgurlsrbest
True Blue Farmgirl
4853 Posts
Jonni
Elsmere
Kentucky
USA
4853 Posts |
Posted - Apr 01 2008 : 7:50:37 PM
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Oh, Kim...not my favorite topic...I get "itchy" just thinking about it!!! And, I'm the same as you, get it EVERYWHERE.
My best luck is with Technu lotion and wash. You can get it over the counter, and use it as both preventative and after.
I love it, I should own stock in it!!!!
Farmgirl Sister #80, thanks to a very special farmgirl from the Bluegrass..."She was built like a watch, a study in balance ... with a neck and head so refined, like a drawing by DaVinci"...
NY Newsday sportswriter Bill Nack describing filly, Ruffian.
http://www.buyhandmade.org/ |
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willowtreecreek
True Blue Farmgirl
4813 Posts
Julie
Russell
AR
USA
4813 Posts |
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4forMe
True Blue Farmgirl
166 Posts
Dawn
Easton
MD
166 Posts |
Posted - Apr 09 2008 : 2:17:16 PM
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I had it last year, during this time. Apparently while I was weeding the flower bed, I got a hold of some ivy. It was terrible, I ended up on a steriod dose pack but couldn't avoid it as I was going insane.
Since then, I found this stuff called Zanfel over the counter. It is expensive but you wash your self with it if you think you've been exposed and it is supposed to help limit the exposure. You also can use it while suffering from a breakout and it feels like an exfoliant when you rub it on the areas affected. I have some on hand just in case.
Sewing, knitting, gardening mom of 4. |
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Woodswoman
True Blue Farmgirl
512 Posts
Jennifer
Altamont
NY
USA
512 Posts |
Posted - Apr 16 2008 : 7:16:17 PM
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Hello!
I get poison ivy almost every year (one memorable time on my face). I've tried just about every home remedy around-jewel weed, bleach solution, baking soda, etc.
The only thing that has ever REALLY worked for me is the Technu. I get it at CVS.
Good luck!
Jennifer
Farmgirl Sister #104
"Nature brings to every time and season some beauties of its own".
-Charles Dickens |
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KYgurlsrbest
True Blue Farmgirl
4853 Posts
Jonni
Elsmere
Kentucky
USA
4853 Posts |
Posted - Apr 16 2008 : 7:43:28 PM
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Another Technu lover--amen, Jennifer. Saved me from running myself to the ER for a drug to simply knock me out :)
Farmgirl Sister #80, thanks to a very special farmgirl from the Bluegrass..."She was built like a watch, a study in balance ... with a neck and head so refined, like a drawing by DaVinci"...
NY Newsday sportswriter Bill Nack describing filly, Ruffian.
http://www.buyhandmade.org/ |
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willowtreecreek
True Blue Farmgirl
4813 Posts
Julie
Russell
AR
USA
4813 Posts |
Posted - Apr 16 2008 : 8:17:45 PM
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Technu is great if you know you touched the stuff. I am SO allergic to PI that if I come within like 5 feet of it I break out. I currently have it in my neck, arms and hips. I have it somewhere on me about 9 months out of the year! I have learned to ignore it. Not scratching is the key. Cool showers (no baths) and patting dry rather than rubbing are also important. Hot showers will cause inflamation thus increasing itches and weeping of the sores. Also be sure to wash all your clothes, bedding and anything that may have come in contact with you, the plant or the oils you may have been carrying on your skin and clothes.
Farmgirl Sister #17
Blog
www.willowtreecreek.wordpress.com
Felt and Fabric Crafts
www.willowartist.etsy.com
www.willowtreecreek.com
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Annab
True Blue Farmgirl
2900 Posts
Anna
Seagrove
NC
USA
2900 Posts |
Posted - Apr 25 2008 : 04:01:37 AM
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I got it now too.
Was plundering in the back of an old house last week and got it on the back of one hand. Couldn't see any leaves, but apparently the vines are everywhere mixed between wisteria branches
It's an insane itch
Seems to get worse at night
I reach for bleach in fits of desperation. Luckily I haven't gotten it too badly to warrant bleach. I'm not as tough as I once was. |
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SheilaC
True Blue Farmgirl
1948 Posts
Sheila
Vermont
USA
1948 Posts |
Posted - Apr 25 2008 : 6:23:53 PM
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| scratch scratch scratch. . .can you hear me scratching ( or trying not to?!) AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!! I sometimes get it from my husbands laundry. I try to make a point to wash up after I put every load in the washer, but. . .sometimes I forget. He works outside every day. I do use Fels Naphtha soap to wash when I know or suspect I've gotten into it, that seems to work okay (well, I do have it on my arm now, but I think I didn't know I was in it) My husband uses technu by the gallon (or so it seems!) |
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GaiasRose
True Blue Farmgirl
2552 Posts
Tasha-Rose
St. Paul
Minnesota
2552 Posts |
Posted - Apr 25 2008 : 7:27:08 PM
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see, I'm a jewel weed fan...it's worked here every time...I am thankfully not allergic to poison ivy but Rob and Grae and Zoe all are and it has relieved it every time!
[size=1]
~*~Brightest Blessings~*~
Tasha-Rose
Farmgirl Sister #88
Blogs: http://gaiarose.wordpress.com
http://womonandsprout.wordpress.com
http://youtube.com/profile?user=GaiasRose
Homepage:
http://ForestFaeries.etsy.com
"Joyful chaos, working in tune with the seasons, telling itme by the sun, variety, change and self-direction; all this wwas replaced with a brutal, standardized work culture, the effects of which we are still suffering from today." - Tom Hodgkinson in 'How To Be Idle' |
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Annab
True Blue Farmgirl
2900 Posts
Anna
Seagrove
NC
USA
2900 Posts |
Posted - Apr 26 2008 : 03:27:50 AM
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Use cold water to wash too otherwise the resin will spread
I have seen jewelweed soap
Kinda neat
AM very famillar w/ TECNU and have been for many years
I just forget and figure I'll scratch later
OHHH the misery |
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countrygal56
True Blue Farmgirl
221 Posts
Barbara
Dickson
Tennessee
USA
221 Posts |
Posted - Jul 28 2008 : 10:35:31 PM
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No wonder my poison oak spread on me last year! I did everything wrong! I showered with my usual shower, instead cool water. I washed my clothes in warm water, instead of cold. I did find something that did help. it's called poision ivy soap. It cost $1.00 and it really helped with the itch.
Barb |
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doglady
True Blue Farmgirl
435 Posts
Tina
Howard
Ohio
USA
435 Posts |
Posted - Jul 29 2008 : 05:34:45 AM
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Hi Barb,
Where do you buy the poision ivy soap? I'm on my 4th ivy pack from the doctor this year. I can get the stuff in January off the wood! Right now I have poision sumac which is meaner than poision ivy, I think.
Tina
You can tell your dog all of your secrets and they'll never say a word!
www.kennelcreations.com |
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FroggyFarmer
Farmgirl in Training
13 Posts
Jackie
Grass Valley
ca
USA
13 Posts |
Posted - Jul 29 2008 : 3:27:52 PM
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Poison oak soap is great (and slightly textured from the herbs, which feels nice on itchy skin ;) )I usually find it at farm or hardware stores. Around here a couple of the mom & pop shops keep some on hand too. I posted a couple of suggestions in the herbal forum about things you can use to dry it out and sooth the itch.
Personally, I usually rub myself with a dry bar of soap anywhere exposed before going out in the woods. Wash off in cool water as soon as you get home and you're much less likely to get it, since the soap creates a barrier. Techu applied before a romp works in a similar way but not as effectively in my experience. Good luck to all of you itchy folk, I feel for ya!
Oh, and to get rid of it, roundup or (a more organic, but not systemic version) Burnout, which has the added bonus of making your property smell like cloves while it dries. Be sure not to burn the plant, or anyone particularly susceptible might get it in their lungs or other weird places (or so I've heard). You could always have someone whack it down with a big machine, which is what I did with a particularly large patch (what else do you do with 1/2 an acre of poison oak?!) but if you don't have the machinery yourself, that can be cost probitive. Goats work well, and feeding goats milk from poison oak eating critters is supposed to help a person build up an immunity to the "itchy oak" as a friend's kid calls it.
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Edited by - FroggyFarmer on Jul 29 2008 3:32:33 PM |
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deeredawn
True Blue Farmgirl
2306 Posts
Dawn
Cordova
TN
USA
2306 Posts |
Posted - Aug 07 2008 : 5:35:55 PM
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I DEPEND on Poison Ivy Pills from Washington Homeopathics. Its a tincture of rhus tox which is the chemical in ivy that make it itch, you take the pills (let em dissove under the tongue-no taste) and build up a natural immunity to it. Its a god-send to me!
"I figure if a girl wants to be a legend, she should go ahead and be one!"...Calamity Jane
www.harvestthymefarm.com
Sister #279 (big grin!) |
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simplyflowers
True Blue Farmgirl
489 Posts
Jamie
Locust Grove
Virginia
USA
489 Posts |
Posted - Aug 14 2008 : 09:14:58 AM
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I read this and had a little giggle...I'M SORRY FOR THE FOLKS WHO GOT THE POISON!!!!
I was so allergic to the stuff as a child that all I had to do was just get with in 10 foot of it and that &%$# was on me!!!! I would NEVER know it until the next morning though. I would always develop it over night. I would wake the next morning and look like the marshmallow man.....for real!!! I would SWELL ALL OVER...oh it was horrid!!
"Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work." -- Thomas Edison |
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deeredawn
True Blue Farmgirl
2306 Posts
Dawn
Cordova
TN
USA
2306 Posts |
Posted - Aug 14 2008 : 5:33:33 PM
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I also think that Burts Bees make a poison ivy soap...gracious! ya'll are makin me itch!
Dawn M. Sista #279 (big grin!)
www.harvestthymefarm.com
"I figure if a girl wants to be a legend, she should go ahead and be one!"...Calamity Jane |
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marblecreek
Farmgirl in Training
10 Posts
Vickie
Nicholasville
KY
USA
10 Posts |
Posted - Aug 19 2008 : 06:38:17 AM
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I have never gotten posion oak before until this year, just got it over the weekend. I put some dry Cream of Tarter over the ivy and this calmed it down pretty good. It is getting better but I have been ignoring it and hope it will leave soon.
Vickie |
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Here's to Your Health: Poison Ivy |
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Poison Ivy
