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Here's to Your Health:  Poison Ivy  |
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StarMeadow
True Blue Farmgirl
940 Posts
T
MI
940 Posts |
 Posted - May 18 2009 : 4:08:09 PM
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I haven't had poison ivy in EVER so long. One little trip to the back of the property and I'm covered in it!! Mostly on my face and neck!!! I think it was on the chair I was in. My son tried to create a little "nook" for seating in the shady part of the property and cleared it all out for me. He put a couple little chairs back there and the picnic table. He walked me out with my eyes closed for the "surprise"...A day later...here I am! My right eye is swollen so that it looks like I've been "popped one"... Around my throat it looks like someone tried to strangle me!! And itch!!! At work today I hid in my office and tried not to scratch. Tonight it's me and the oral benydryl and a big bottle o-Calamine!!!! How long do you think I should wait before calling the doc? |
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Sara317
Farmgirl in Training
22 Posts
Sara
Munroe Falls
Ohio
22 Posts |
Posted - May 18 2009 : 4:40:34 PM
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| Don't mess with your eyes...call the doc. In the meantime, dry Ivy-Dry...i's a spray and does give relief. |
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Woodswoman
True Blue Farmgirl
512 Posts
Jennifer
Altamont
NY
USA
512 Posts |
Posted - May 18 2009 : 6:05:31 PM
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I have good luck with something called Technu.
However, I agree-don't mess around if it is on your face and affecting your eyes-get to the doctor.
I had it on my face once, and the dr. put me on steroids for a week. I'm not a fan of steroids or unneccessary meds, but in this case it was worth it.
Jennifer
Farmgirl Sister #104
"Nature brings to every time and season some beauties of its own".
-Charles Dickens |
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melanie47601
True Blue Farmgirl
1949 Posts
Melanie
Boonville
IN
USA
1949 Posts |
Posted - May 18 2009 : 6:12:15 PM
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I agree with the gals, go to the doc. My dd gets poison ivy every year. Sometimes it's so bad she has to get steroids to clear it up. Hope you feel better real soon. :)
Melanie
Blog~ http://wheelsarealwaysturning.blogspot.com/ |
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mellaisbella
True Blue Farmgirl
1862 Posts
melanie
living on Anne of Green
Gables land
Canada
1862 Posts |
Posted - May 19 2009 : 06:16:13 AM
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Yes...get it looked at for sure!!
"we must be the change we wish to see in the world"
farmgal #150 |
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Miss Bee Haven
True Blue Farmgirl
4331 Posts
Janice
Louisville/Irvington
Kentucky
USA
4331 Posts |
Posted - May 19 2009 : 12:43:34 PM
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Steroids will clear it up in a big hurry. Usually a weeks worth of 'step down' dose will do it. Just make sure you take it all. Earlier in the spring, I had a bad case and a nurse practitioner gave me a 21 day dose. She insisted that it takes 21 days to completely rid the body of poison ivy. That was the first time I ever heard that.
Farmgirl Sister #50
"If you think you've got it nailed down, then what's all that around it?"
'Br.Dave Gardner' |
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StarMeadow
True Blue Farmgirl
940 Posts
T
MI
940 Posts |
Posted - May 21 2009 : 2:35:26 PM
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| I have steroids at home and have been taking them. (Sometimes I dose myself...doc says OK...for an arthritis flare) Now it seems to be ramping up and I've gotten it in MORE places!! Yikes. I'm one itchy little farmgirl! I'm about ready to fill my tub with ivy dry and soak! And, I'm getting headaches every day from having to keep my long hair up all the time to keep it off my neck. Those wispy little hairs tickling that PI are driving me CRAZY!!!! The stuff around my eye is better...thank goodness but my neck looks like I've been burned...feels a lot like that too with it being so raw. I certainly wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy. |
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Miss Bee Haven
True Blue Farmgirl
4331 Posts
Janice
Louisville/Irvington
Kentucky
USA
4331 Posts |
Posted - May 21 2009 : 7:32:19 PM
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I've taken little strips of Benedryl for the itching and they work. It's a little strip that dissolves on your tongue. It works pretty fast. It's over the counter. Got it in Walgreen's. I'm so sorry for your misery. I've been there, done that too.
Farmgirl Sister #50
"If you think you've got it nailed down, then what's all that around it?"
'Br.Dave Gardner' |
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StarMeadow
True Blue Farmgirl
940 Posts
T
MI
940 Posts |
Posted - May 22 2009 : 6:49:26 PM
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| OK...somehow this stuff is spreading! It's now all over my arm in big stripes! And my belly...and the backs of my legs! My face is somehow getting worse as well. I bought this stuff over the counter (35$) to wash with that is supposed to bind with the oil and get rid of it. We'll see. Now I've gone and "waited" myself right into the Memorial Day weekend as far as the doc is concerned. Those steroids kicked in and not in a good way. I had popcorn at the movie, a Whopper, two burger shots, and just finished a bowl of rice krispies. I think I could probably lift a car! It's me and a bottle of Benedryl at bedtime..... |
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vintagediva1
True Blue Farmgirl
1251 Posts
Michele
Brighton
Michigan
USA
1251 Posts |
Posted - May 23 2009 : 1:33:25 PM
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Theresa, My DH was highly susceptible to poison Ivy and swore by Fels Naphtha Soap. Just wet the bar and rub it all over the rash.
Good luck.
Michele
www.2vintagedivas.etsy.com
Love that good ole vintage junk |
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StarMeadow
True Blue Farmgirl
940 Posts
T
MI
940 Posts |
Posted - May 24 2009 : 08:14:15 AM
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| Using that too. Swiped it out of the laundry..he he he... That's what we used "back-in-the-day" when I was a Girl Scout. There were bars of that stuff in every bath house in camp! I think every counselor kept a bar in her tent as well!!! :-) |
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NikkiBeaumont
True Blue Farmgirl
473 Posts
473 Posts |
Posted - May 24 2009 : 12:12:43 PM
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Oh, no, StarMeadow! I read just the other day that Lye Soap helped with poison ivy. I have had it in my eye before and that is not fun! Hope it clears up soon for you.
Farmgirl Sister #554 |
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Betty J.
True Blue Farmgirl
1403 Posts
Betty
Pasco
WA
USA
1403 Posts |
Posted - May 24 2009 : 12:28:12 PM
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I can remember when we lived in Piqua, OH there were day lillies beside the road. I picked and picked and pushed my face into them without knowing that the poison ivy was growing all through the patch. My fater, in his infinite wisdom, used merthiolate with acetyl salycylic acid (aspirin) on the blisters. What a sight I was. Long story short, I got over it and never picked a day lily again. Now I think I would use Benadryl and Calamine lotion.
Betty in Pasco |
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corporatefarmgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
389 Posts
Tamara
Pikeville
TN
USA
389 Posts |
Posted - May 27 2009 : 10:17:36 AM
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the dr will probably give a steriod shot since you have some in your eye... wow i remember having that stuff BAD.. here are a couple of other things to try.
1. lye soap does seem to help
2. old fasioned oatmeal bath
3. you can make a paste of ground oatmeal and water. this seems to help dry it up some too
4. if you can find any jewelweed this stuff works wonder
so sorry for the itchy, irritating stuff you have... Be sure to wash clothing and bed clothes. you can actually get this or spread it if it is on clothing
live well,
Tamara
www.thegoodearthfarm.com
"We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children" http://thegoodearthfarm.blogspot.com follow me!
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Patsy
True Blue Farmgirl
592 Posts
Illinois
USA
592 Posts |
Posted - May 27 2009 : 10:29:25 AM
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Since it is in your eye, you need to see the doctor. Otherwise, we always use bleach water. 1/2 bleach and 1/2 water. It stops the itch and dries it right up. Just dab it on the blistered places.
Patsy
I think that if a mortal ever heard the voice of God, it would be in a garden at the cool of the day. (F. Moore)
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Edited by - Patsy on May 27 2009 10:31:24 AM |
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LisaTwo
True Blue Farmgirl
127 Posts
Lisa
Hampden
Maine
USA
127 Posts |
Posted - May 27 2009 : 10:31:23 AM
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No advice other than what has been offered, but I am so very sorry. I got it last year from my goats and I swear that the government could use poison ivy as some sort of chemical warfare. I had it so bad, mothers would pull their children away from me in the grocery store. Awful stuff. I did the steroid~Ivy Dry thing and it eventually cleared up but I was left with red staining for the rest of the summer, I looked like a burn victim. Awful stuff.
Drink lots of water and go to the doctor!
Smiles,
Lisa
http://pinkporches.blogspot.com/
*And you know when the truth is told-- you can get what you want--or you can just get old.* (Billy Joel) |
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StarMeadow
True Blue Farmgirl
940 Posts
T
MI
940 Posts |
Posted - May 29 2009 : 09:34:37 AM
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Good news!!! Well sort of. After a week of trying to deal with it myself, no sleep, lots of pain, I finally broke and went in to the doc. I swear...I feel like kissing that Physican's asst. 60mg of prednisone and I'm already feeling better. I have 5 more days of that too! I actually got 5 whole hours of sleep last night!!!!! Woot!!!! I'm feeling like a new woman... OK, I'm still using the benedry topical, and OK, so I got my 5 hours with a sleep aid...Tylenol PM... but then, shoot!!! At this point it's all about better living through chemistry!!!! I'm still itchy of course but the raging rad welts have tamed somewhat and it's no longer the I-think-my-skin-will-peel-off constant electric-like stinging... Whew. Never again will I wait!!!! Thanks to everyone for your support and listening to my whining!
Lisa...you are soooooooo right about the whole government weapon thing! I mean why spend billions on man-made chemicals right??? After days of no sleep, pain, itching, welty draining, oh...and more pain... of course the answer to all that is steroids and then we'd just have hungry, strong but fat, irritated enemies.... I'm ready to eat a cow after just a few doses!!!! |
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PineConeAcres
Farmgirl in Training
31 Posts
USA
31 Posts |
Posted - May 29 2009 : 09:55:12 AM
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| I wonder if Comfrey oil would help with it.... comfrey is a contact healer and it also helps with pain. Be interesting to try it out if my family or me ever gets poison ivy. I have it around at all times because it works so well with relieving pain and healing the skin. |
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Choctaw Farm Gal
Farmgirl in Training
46 Posts
Nancy
Oklahoma
46 Posts |
Posted - May 29 2009 : 10:22:22 AM
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| We've always lived where poison ivy thrives, and I've never found anything that worked to heal a break-out as well as Jewel Weed for my family. When my boys were young, I showed them the plant & where it grew in the woods near poison ivy so they could rub it on themselves if they got into p.i. without knowing until they began to itch. Making a strong, large batch of jewel weed tea to fill a wash pan to douse the brew all over arms, legs, face, neck, hair with a saturated wash cloth works wonders. You can gather the plant and dry it to have on hand, as you would any cooking herb from the garden. In Western PA where we lived for a brief time, Jewel Weed grew in the undisturbed woods nearly everywhere poison ivy grew,(the genius of Mother Nature)! You can order Jewel Weed from a good organic herb supplier. For centuries, Native American moms have made a simple tea of Jewel Weed for the family to drink about once a month to increase the body's resistance to react so violently to an unexpected poison ivy exposure. Of course now, taking an herb tea for medicinal purposes should be with the advice of your doctor or herbalist, due to prescription medications folks may be using, or other sensitive health concerns. Topically, whether you smash Jewel Weed on your skin (flowers, leaves or stem) or rinse an outbreak with a tea of the plant, it is very gentle, and not oily or messy. In my experience with my own family, Jewel Weed acts so quickly you can watch it repair your skin's outbreak in real time, which is very soothing for a child experiencing stress or panic from the itching pain. |
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Bear5
True Blue Farmgirl
13055 Posts
Louisiana/Texas
USA
13055 Posts |
Posted - Jun 09 2009 : 10:50:00 AM
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When I get poison ivy, I cut my Aloe vera and rub it all over. Helps me.
Marly
"It's only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth- and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up- that we will begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had." Elisabeth Kurler-Ross |
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Here's to Your Health: Poison Ivy |
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Poison Ivy
