trailblazer
Well-Known Member
so i was hiking the other day and now i have an outbreak poison oak. do any of you know the best quickest way to get rid of it?
poison oak/ivy
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jordanpace
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get you some caladryl to dry it up
or just scratch it until you completely remove the poison ivy along with a lot of your skin
or just scratch it until you completely remove the poison ivy along with a lot of your skin
ThreeRatBastards
Well-Known Member
Poison Ivy creates an oil called urushiol, this oil bonds with the skin and causes the rash. Once it is bonded there isn't much in the way of over the counter solutions, other than to just wait it out.
Info here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urushiol-induced_contact_dermatitis
Info here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urushiol-induced_contact_dermatitis
Brillo + bleach.
The best thing to do is not get it. I keep a bottle of Tecnu laying around for any forays into the woods or weeding the gardens. I simply follow the directions on the bottle and the outbreaks are minimal at worst.
The best thing to do is not get it. I keep a bottle of Tecnu laying around for any forays into the woods or weeding the gardens. I simply follow the directions on the bottle and the outbreaks are minimal at worst.
trailblazer
Well-Known Member
i have it in the worst two spots....
i dont think i would want to scratch my skin off.
i dont think i would want to scratch my skin off.
netjunk1e
Well-Known Member
http://www.zanfel.com/help/
No joke, it works. It is expensive, but it works. They have it at Rite-Aids if you have any of those by you.
I have used it many times, and most of the time it is better after one treatment, just follow the directions to a T.
No joke, it works. It is expensive, but it works. They have it at Rite-Aids if you have any of those by you.
I have used it many times, and most of the time it is better after one treatment, just follow the directions to a T.
Houblon
Well-Known Member
Hot saltwater baths and apply caladryl as your drying off.
llazy_llama
Well-Known Member
Best way: calamine lotion, available from any drug store.
Quickest way: sever the infected body part.
Happy to help.
Quickest way: sever the infected body part.
Happy to help.
maida7
Well-Known Member
what's this got to do with beer?
Do not scratch, that just creates more damage. Wash regularly with poison ivy specific soap. Benedryl gel works great to stop the itching. It will go away in 10-14 days. So unless your covered head to toe, just wait it out.
Do not scratch, that just creates more damage. Wash regularly with poison ivy specific soap. Benedryl gel works great to stop the itching. It will go away in 10-14 days. So unless your covered head to toe, just wait it out.
llazy_llama
Well-Known Member
Good point, this really should be in general chit chat, not beer discussion. I missed that the first time through.
netjunk1e
Well-Known Member
I think it was more of a I have poison oak and it sucks and I want help now kinda post.
Really look at Zanfel though.
Really look at Zanfel though.
broadbill
Well-Known Member
Keep in mind that if its been a few days after exposure, this stuff doesn't work. Zanfel works by removing the urushiol from the skin so it is no longer irritating it. 2-3 days post-contact you have probably washed all of the urushiol off the skin.
Urushiol causes contact dermititis so after 2-3 days the symptoms of poison ivy (itching, redness, etc) are from your body's immune response. Anti-histamines (e.g. benedryl) is the way to go. If it gets really bad, get yourself to the Dr. and have them prescribe steroids to suppress the histamine response.
Let's just say I've had my fair share of run-ins with this stuff....
caladryl is about all you can do. And stay out of water as much as possible. Water just helps it spread.
COLObrewer
Well-Known Member
You're gonna need an ocean, ah,
Of Calamine lotion,
You'll be scratchin like a hound,
The minute you start to mess around, . . . . . . . . .
Of Calamine lotion,
You'll be scratchin like a hound,
The minute you start to mess around, . . . . . . . . .
netjunk1e
Well-Known Member
Um...no. Urushiol bonds to the skin, it does not wash off with conventional soap. Zanfel will make it go away, even after it has been a week or longer.
trailblazer
Well-Known Member
sorry for posting it in the wrong spot.
if youve had the shot in the azz cheeck then you get it like i do. i just want to get rid of it. Ive got some tecnu benedril and calamine but i still will probably have to wait 2 weeks for it to go away. what ever, ill just drink a beer and forget it for now.
if youve had the shot in the azz cheeck then you get it like i do. i just want to get rid of it. Ive got some tecnu benedril and calamine but i still will probably have to wait 2 weeks for it to go away. what ever, ill just drink a beer and forget it for now.
netjunk1e
Well-Known Member
Go buy zanfel....cant say it enough times.
Grimster
Well-Known Member
I can read about poison oak/ivy in a book and I break out, I'm just that susceptible and I second (third? fourth?) the Zanfel recommendation (you can get store brand versions of it at most places).
It usually takes me 3 applications, get a shower, in the shower apply it to the affected areas as described, rinse, get out.
PAT dry, don't rub!!
I usually get a shower the very second I see the little telltale bumps and rash, then again in the evening before bed, then again in the morning first thing, usually by lunch or dinner the next day I'm mostly dried up.
I've used this stuff at least half a dozen times in the last couple years, I get into poison ivy at least a couple times a year.
broadbill
Well-Known Member
Um...yes. Urushiol is a hydrophobic molecule and it sticks to skin causing contact dermatitis. Soap is a detergent and is able to disrupt the hydrophobic attraction of Urushiol with your skin, thereby removing it. You are correct that conventional soap may not fully remove all urushiol in one washing, but over 2-3 repeated washings it will. You just need to add enough detergent to remove that highly hydrophobic molecule from skin.
Zanfel is nothing more than a fancy detergent and some abrasive agent...it just does a better job in one washing as repeated washings with conventional soap. However, you would probably have similar results with a stronger soap (e.g. go-jo or lava soap), for a fraction of the price.
All of this is moot after a week however. By this point, the exposure to urushiol has caused contact dermatitis and a histamine/allergic response with usually takes 10-14 days to resolve. Zanfel does remove the urushiol after a week (if there is any left) but its not going to help the symptoms (itching, redness, swelling) at that point.
broadbill
Well-Known Member
Urushiol is a hydrophobic (translation: hydrophobic = "water hating") molecule and its unlikely to be spread around by water. Maybe oil-wrestling however.
Oh yeah, and its a myth that you can "catch" poison ivy from someone else. Short of transferring urushiol (e.g. it gets on your kids pant leg and you get it on you when you throw the pants into the wash), the oozing from poison ivy isn't contagious. That oozing is an allergic reaction to the urushiol.
OMJ
Well-Known Member
go to the doctor and get a prednizone script. Worst tasting pills ever but it clears up poison in a hurry
broadbill
Well-Known Member
Yes, exposure to urushiol will make you more sensitive to subsequent exposures. Urushiol causes an allergic response and once you are sensitized watch out.
People with severe allergies know this all to well. Its not the first time you ever eat nuts that you find out you are allergic to them; its the second time you have them that you end up in the emergency room!
broadbill
Well-Known Member
...and in my experience (n=1) it didn't work for shizz. waste of $40. your results may vary.
springer
Well-Known Member
can't help ya never had it and I have been exposed to it often.
FireNightFly
Well-Known Member
http://www.poisonivycure.net/
My roomie gets it pretty bad, has to take the pill from the doc if he gets it. Im immune to all forms of Ivy. =) I could roll around in a bail of it and not get it ... he could just be downwind and prob get it, lol.
My roomie gets it pretty bad, has to take the pill from the doc if he gets it. Im immune to all forms of Ivy. =) I could roll around in a bail of it and not get it ... he could just be downwind and prob get it, lol.
dataz722
Well-Known Member
I like my solution best. Just don't be allergic to it. 
I have litterally rolled in a patch of poison oak over a $10 bet.
I have litterally rolled in a patch of poison oak over a $10 bet.
twst1up
Well-Known Member
i have a friend that swears if you apply clear nail polish over the affected area it will get rid of the rash...tried it and i call BS. Best thing you can do is try and dry out the rash, but your skin will take a toll. I've tried it all, bleach, rhuliGel (SP?), ivarest. I try and be sooooo careful when i suspect/expect exposure. And it's true...it gets worse every time i get it.
One thing that eases the suffering: HOT water....as hot as you can stand it...its almost org4asmic how good that feels....something about releasing histamines, or at least that's what i was told.
No, the rash is not contagious.
IMO, if we're gonna outlaw plants, poison ivy should be highly illegal...it'd make more sense to have the cops try and irradicate this evil weed then, oh let's say marijuana. My 2 cents
One thing that eases the suffering: HOT water....as hot as you can stand it...its almost org4asmic how good that feels....something about releasing histamines, or at least that's what i was told.
No, the rash is not contagious.
IMO, if we're gonna outlaw plants, poison ivy should be highly illegal...it'd make more sense to have the cops try and irradicate this evil weed then, oh let's say marijuana. My 2 cents
trailblazer
Well-Known Member
Ive been takin hot showers and cleaning myself with nothin but bar soap and its slowly starting to go away. i have it on my face though so its realy anoying and im a little swollen so i look weird as fk.
Dwain
Well-Known Member
I've mentioned this somewhere else on the board. I have a friend, and he is highly allergic to poison oak/ivy etc. He installs/repairs AC units, so he normally gets it on his wrists/hands, when it starts to ooze, he sprays brake parts cleaner from Oreilly's on it. Dries it up almost immediately. Now, I can imagine all of the good stuff that's getting into his blood stream, but it works for him.
scottthorn
Well-Known Member
This is completely accurate. The hottest water you can stand provides great temporary relief from the itching. I found this trick most useful when I'd wake up in the middle of the night wanting to scratch at it, but didn't want to apply calamine lotion that would get all over the sheets when I went back to bed.
I never got poison ivy as a kid. My brother and I would hike though the woods and he'd get it everywhere while I had nothing. My luck ran out about 10 years ago... I'm totally susceptible to it now.
Jim Karr
Well-Known Member
The very first time the swelling and bubbling show up on your skin, jump into the shower. Turn the water on as hot as you can tolerate, and start scratching all the bumps open, so the urushiol and the watery results start to wash away in the hot water. Usually, the irritation will be gone within 8 to 12 hours.
Dwain
Well-Known Member
My understanding is that eventually, if you are exposed enough, everyone would break out in the rash. It's like you only have so much resistance, and once that's gone, you get the rash. I know a guy that got it into his bloodstream via some cuts on his arm during yardwork. He had to be hospitalized and it even caused him some respritory problems. Like I said, I'm not sure about the first part, but the guy that was hospitalized is a good friend of mine.
Houblon
Well-Known Member
I got it bad once as a kid and that was the only time, now I can roll naked in the stuff without any problems.
If your every working in the yard and get exposed just wash some gas over the area asap to remove the plant oils from the skin. Standard practice for the lawn biz workers.
I use rubbing alcohol to clean the affected area. The stinging helps combat the itch also. In the future remember "leaves of three let it be".
