# Poison ivy exposure.... help..



## MIoutdoorsjunkie (Oct 11, 2006)

OK.. I am absolutely miserable. I moved my treestand the other day and the tree that I decided to move to was covered with woody vines about the size of my wrist. I thought nothing of tearing them off of the tree. It has been 5 days now and I have poison ivy... really, really bad!! I went to the doctors yesterday and he gave me a steroid cream, Predisone (sp) and Artrax (sp). I am not seeing results from the meds as of yet and the itching is soooooo bad that I cant sit still. I have the rash on my forearms, hands, neck, cheeks and I hate to say it "downstairs" if you know what I mean. Talk about an uncomfortable feeling!!! if anyone has a remedy for the itching or to help the itching please reply. I am feeling terrible, in a very bad mood, and just sick and tired of itching... I took the day off work because I cant seem to focus on anything other than the itching.. slept for only 2 hours last night!! arrrrggghhh~

Please help.

Thanks
Jeff


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## Jumpshootin' (Jul 6, 2000)

I used to get it very bad. But haven't since moving to northern Michigan some 15 years ago. I feel for ya. It always used to start on my inner forearms. It took a few times to figure out why. After running the Beagles I would pick them up and tuck them under my arms to load them into the truck. They had the oils on their coat. I started wearing a long sleeve shirt.
There is a seven day oral steroid regiment for treatment that I have had before. Relief came in the first day. In that time though there was no working, driving, operating machinery, etc....
Good luck.
Oh yea, keep your finger out of your eyes, nose, & mouth. You don't want to get it in there! If nessisary wear socks over your hands at night to reduce the spread.


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## booker81 (Dec 4, 2005)

Just take what the doc gave ya, and use it like he said to. At the rate you got it, he's already given you the full arsenal - taking something over the counter could not be a good idea.

No more playing with vines - if they are "hairy" stay away from it!!!

Wash ALL of the clothing and bedding and ANYTHING you touched after touching the vines...truck, steering wheel, seat, house, everything. The oil from the ivy can stay for a long time and keep re-infecting for years.

If you get everything cleaned up, the rash you have should clear up in a week. Sorry


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## Backwoods-Savage (Aug 28, 2005)

Leaves of three, let them be.


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## Slick fishing (Sep 25, 2002)

Hey there outdoorjunkie my wife got it a month ago doing a landscape project and she is on here 2nd seven day oral steroid regiment and now it's finally starting to clear, I could not get over that it would take so long to clear up best of luck.. Cya Slick


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## twohats (Oct 1, 2004)

Bennydrill works very well for the iching and helps to dry it out.It will make you very tiered so its great for relief when your sleeping.


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## live2bowhunt (Dec 22, 2004)

I also get it extremely bad. Whenever I get it, I go to the doctor and he gives me a shot, usually after the shot it takes about 2 days to start clearing and then is gone within a week. Also, wash your boot laces, the oils can stay on there a long time. Now, anytime I set a stand, all I where rubber gloves.


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## roger23 (Jan 14, 2001)

I also get a shot from the Doctor tried every thing else they all work in time .but the shot works the fastest..for me any way


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## Mark-n-Fish (Dec 21, 2004)

I unfortunately have had a lot of personal experience with poison ivy. There is a drying agent called domeboro over the counter that dries the blisters quicker. This will promote the healing. There is also a treatment called Zanfel over the counter in a silver box. It is expensive, but it will help the itching. You will not spread the rash from the blister fluid. Unfortunatly it could take 6 weeks for the symptoms to disappear. Make sure you wash hands and fingernails with rubbing alcohol and then dish soap and cold water. It *WILL* spread from the oil that came directly from the plant called urushihol. (Not sure of the spelling). Remeber it is an oil and you have to remove it as one. Anything you think you touched that may have come in contact with the oil has to be treated this way, (steering wheel, tools, shoes, ANYTHING), or further outbreaks even years later are possible. There are many good websites out there detailing studies, remedies, symptoms and such. If it keeps getting worse see your doctor again. If it gets in your throat it can impair your breathing. Good luck. I understand what you are going through.

Mark


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## MIoutdoorsjunkie (Oct 11, 2006)

thanks for all the replies.. This stuff is WICKED.. that is all I can say.. I also forgot to mention that I got a shot at the doctors yesterday so hopefully that will help. as of now the itching is not as bad but I am not looking very good. Arms are covered, both sides of my neck onto my cheeks and then the worst part.... my genitiles!! Terrible, terrible, terrible is all I can say. I think I can handle everything else - arms, hands and even neck and face but the stuff downstairs is "disturbing" at best!! I guess moral of the story is that I have to pay better attention to the vines/plants that I come in contact with. Funny thing is that I am 31 yrs old and have been into every outdoor activity over the years - hunting, fishing, backpacking and even worked on a landscaping crew for several years.... never have I had poison ivy... I must have come in contact with it before but have never ever noticed a rash of any sort... this sucks!! 

Thanks again
Jeff


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## sullyxlh (Oct 28, 2004)

Naphtha soap,usually found at the hardware.


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## Hunter333 (Jan 19, 2000)

Do a search in Soundoff, I remember a many reply thread in there some time ago. There were some old school remedies that I remember: bleach to dry out skin, scrub with salt to dry out skin, and some other PAINFUL sounding remedies. I have lived with getting it my whole life and it sucks!


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## roger23 (Jan 14, 2001)

sullyxlh said:


> Naphtha soap,usually found at the hardware.


they 

I did not know they still made it I used it when I was a kid ,,I guess I will start looking


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## roger23 (Jan 14, 2001)

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## Banditto (Jun 9, 2000)

atarax is like benedryl X5 so don't bother with any other antihistimines. That stuff is hardcore strong. Prednisone is what you need and thats what the doctor gave ya, but you said creme? The doctor didn't give you prednisone pills too? I would call him and have him call in a script for the pills. 

Ya those vines are bad news. Poison ivy doesn't affect me, but I am afraid of it starting to affect me (they say you build up a negative tolerance so every exposure is one closer to getting it bad). I put up a stand in an oak tree 5 years ago and on walking out I noticed it is smack dab in the middle of 4 acres of poison ivy. I never went back and retrieved that stand... it's still sitting there and someday when its really cold I will venture back with a sledge hammer and saw because its undoubtedly grown into the tree by now.


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## MIoutdoorsjunkie (Oct 11, 2006)

Banditto.. 

yeah I got the Prednisone (sp) pills too. I think they are 10mg and I am supposed to take them 3 times per day. Same with the Atarax (sp)... then I have a precription for Cephalexin 500mg because the one of the scrapes on my arm (from the vine) is infected. I am in rough shape man!! Oh i also have a steriod cream called Betamethasone Dipropionate. The thing is that I have been on this stuff, with the booster shot yesterday morning and I seem like I am getting worse and not better! I hate this!!


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## Banditto (Jun 9, 2000)

Ya generally you take 30mg for a couple days, then 20mg for a couple days, then 10mg for... maybe 4 days total. Reason I know this is I was poisoned! this year:SHOCKED: It was pretty bad. I was hospitalized a couple days and had to do a couple weeks on prednisone/atarax. Prednisone hardens your liver and has serious complications with a lot of your organs. It is a godsend for some but has an evil undertone. You don't want to take it if you don't have to. 

Posion ivy oils as stated above are present on your skin until you wash them away. So the point is you may still have it on you doing more and more damage. 

Whatever you were wearing will have oil on it, you need to wash that stuff out. After you wash it, run an empty load with some bleach to make sure it doesn't get on the next load. 

Good luck


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## axisgear (Jan 24, 2007)

Don't forget that the sap in the barren vines is still very potent! Even in the dead of winter that plant is bad news to some folks! I would caution that you become well aware of what poison ivy looks like without it's "leaves of three". If you see a gray vine that clings to the side of a tree with many tiny rootlets.....STAY AWAY! It may be relatively harmless Virginia creeper,but don't take a chance. Your next exposure could be fatal,seriously!

Not trying to scare you,just being honest.

If you burn wood that has poison ivy attached to it you can be exposed to the irritant oils,also.Just some helpful advice for the hyper allergic.


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## MIoutdoorsjunkie (Oct 11, 2006)

axisgear,

Yeah.. I guess that was my "tragic flaw"... The vine was exactly as you described it. Climbing up the side of a tree, woody, thick as my wrist, and almost furry appearing with small hairs that cling to the tree.. My advice for anyone that comes into contact with this stuff and is reading this post. DONT MESS WITH OVER THE COUNTER MEDS OR HOME REMIDIES!! Some of them help but for fery, very short periods. If you know it is poison ivy and you are itching like Heck, get into to the Doctor and get on some strong meds.. I think I went to the Doctor a bit too late because this stuff is still speading and I am having sleepless nights interspersed with Aveeno Oatmeal baths... I am MISERABLE. Taking another day off of work due to being very, very uncomfortable. 


Again, 
Thanks for all the responses. It is good to know that people out there have experienced the same thing and try to help. 

Thanks.
Jeff


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## Spartaned (Jan 24, 2006)

I am very allergic to poison ivy and had it over my entire body on several occasions as a kid. I've suffered from it in every season of the year, including January (from cutting vines) and in March (planting trees and exposed to ivy roots). I still get it or am exposed to it from time to time so I'm always watching for it. It grows as shrubs as well as vines in some places, and I've been in shrubby poison ivy undergrowth that was at least 8 feet tall, where I was walking underneath it. You'll find that situation on islands in the Upper Mississippi River. I've also gotten into poison sumac in swamps in SW Michigan (nasty rash) and I've seen poison oak out in California. I know all about this stuff and the best thing I've ever used and continue to use is a product called Tecnu. It's a lotion that comes in a bottle or in individual packets. If you apply it within hours of exposure you'll never get a rash. If the rash has already started, you rub this lotion on as per the directions, and it will alleviate itching for hours and dry the rash up after a few days. It's the best stuff I've ever used and I carry packets of it in my truck in case I contact the weed. Here is a web site with more info. Good luck! I know how you feel....http://www.teclabsinc.com/products.cfm?id=2F5604C8-9D05-4675-56129F6D83DF2417


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