What Should I Do When I Come In Contact With Poison Ivy?
What Should I Do When I Come In Contact With Poison Ivy?
If you suspect that you have come in contact with poison ivy, immediately wash your hands and other parts of your body contaminated with the urishol oil. You may use plain soap and water at first and follow with a citrus Skin Exfoliator or Scrub to remove the urushiol from your pores. Urushiol binds to the skin anytime between five minutes up to two hours so if this is done quickly, you may be spared from the rash.
It is advisable to use cold water, if possible very cold water if you can tolerate it since cold can cause vasoconstriction while hot or warm water can cause vasodilation, meaning your pores open and that is very dangerous for urushiol would be absorbed. Scrubing with a Citrus Skin Exfoliator
If you came in contact with poison ivy, do the following:
After contact with poison ivy, showering is recommended than using the tub so that the washed off urushiols would just go down the drain, than in the tub which could spread the oil and contaminate the other unaffected areas of the body. You may have an oatmeal bath since it provides relief from itching. After showering, be sure to clean the bathroom thoroughly to prevent contaminating others and as well as putting yourself to harm again. When cleaning you should use gloves and avoid splashing water.
Avoid scratching the area that came in contact with poison ivy. If there’s a break in your skin, urushiol may enter there and that would be very dangerous since it would be absorbed in your bloodstream and systemic reactions or anaphylactic reaction will occur. And, due to scratching, infection may occur too since the dirt in your hands contains a lot of bacteria and it will enter your skin.
Wash everything that you used when you went out to the field in order to remove urushiol. These include your clothes, shoes, the equipments used and of course your pet if ever you brought one. Never forget to use gloves when washing them and avoid splashing of water.
Apply cold compress to areas that feels itchy. Cold compress can relax and provides temporary relief from itchiness.
Apply Allstop Poison Ivy Gel to prevent any bacterial infection, heal the blisters and relieve the itch quickly.
If you do not have Allstop Poison Ivy Gel at home, you may use ice cold whole milk as a compress. Not skim milk. The reason is that the fat in the milk is the one which helps dry the rashes and soothes the itch.
Take antihistamines to be relieved from itching but put into mind some antihistamines make you drowsy. If you need to be alert, there are no drowse antihistamines available such as Claritin.
Another option is to apply milk of magnesia to areas that came in contact with poison ivy.
When Should I Seek Medical Care If I Come In Contact With Poison Ivy?
When Should I Seek Medical Care If I Come In Contact With Poison IVy?
Poison ivy is a very dangerous plant that causes harm to human beings by an allergic reaction. This
plant contains the oil called urushiol which is very irritating to the skin and can cause a severe
reaction that could require medical attention.
The extent of the Poison ivy reaction depends on how good or bad your immune system is and it is
different with every person. Some may not have the rash right away; it will take them a number of
exposures first before having it. But some people react to it right away. And each individual’s body
reaction varies. Others may just have a slight rash; a valid reason for this is that it could be the
amount of urushiol that touched the skin is only small. The severity of the reaction depends on your
immune system; the better or stronger your immune system, the stronger the reaction. This is almost
unbelievable. If you have a strong immune system, you will have a severe reaction in most cases.
But others may have the poison ivy rash scattered throughout the body is primarily because a large
amount of urushiol touched it and also, possibly the person got the urushiol from clothing or from pets
which came in contact with it. This means the urishol oil touched several areas of your body from your
fingernails, from clothing or even from your pets fur. It is important to wash all your clothes and
your tools or camping gear as soon as possible so that you do not recontaminate yourself. The reaction on your skin most often does NOT require medical attention.
The times when the urishol oil DOES require medical attention is when a person goes into an anaphylactic shock. It is a severe and sometimes fatal systemic hypersensitivity reaction. This condition may occur within seconds from the time of exposure to urushiol and is commonly marked by respiratory distress and vascular collapse. The more quickly any systemic atopic reaction occurs in the individual after exposure, the more severe the associated shock is likely to be.
Another time when a person would require medical attention is when urushiol is inhaled (resulting from the burning of poison ivy) enters the systemic circulation and triggers an incomplete humoral response that allows the allergen to combine with IgE and cause the release of histamine. Also entering into the reaction are IgG and IgM, which cause the release of complement fractions, further stimulating histamine action.
Be watchful for signs that indicate a person needs medical care. The first symptoms for anaphylactic
shock are intense anxiety, weakness, sweating, and shortness of breath. Other symptoms may include hypotension, arrhythmia, respiratory congestion, laryngeal edema, nausea and diarrhea.
Additional signs that you should look out for and may signal you that it’s time to head to the hospital are when the rash reached the eyes already, including the mouth and genitals; when the blisters are oozing with pus which may be a sign that there is infection, and when you try to palpate it it’s tender to touch and feels warm and the wound appears red ; the person has a fever greater than 37.8 degrees Celsius possibly due to the infection and, when the rash is not getting any better within a few weeks.
What Are Some Common Remedies For Poison Ivy?
What Are Some Common Remedies For Poison Ivy?
There are a lot of remedies for poison ivy are sold in the market today. One example is caladryl lotion. It is a
trademark for a topical, fixed-combination drug containing a protectant (calamine) and an antihistaminic.
Its generic name is calamine diphenhydramine. It is used to relieve itching associated
with skin conditions such as poison ivy rash. To be applied three to four times a day. Avoid applying
caladryl lotion to blistered or raw areas of the skin. Use cautiously in people with known allergy to
aspirin or diphenhydramine, and for children below 2 years of age.
Another more popular remedies for poison ivy is the Zanfel Poison Ivy Wash. They are topical remedies for poison ivy. It is known to effectively remove urushiol from the skin after washing. It also relieves the person from pain
and itching. Zanfel could be used anytime after the exposure to poison ivy. It is safe to apply to any
part of the body including the face and the genitals. It is also safe to use in children and pregnant or
lactating women. It could be used in conjunction with steroid treatments.
Ivy Dry Cream is a topical medication that is used in treating skin rashes and relieves itching caused
by poison ivy. Its generic name is benzyl alcohol and zinc acetate. Benzyl alcohol acts as an antiseptic
that eliminates bacteria and prevents it from growing back. Zinc acetate on the other hand is an
astringent that helps shrink and dries the rashes. Ivy Dry Cream is contraindicated to people with
allergy to benzyl alcohol and zinc acetate topical. Use cautiously in pregnant women as well as
breastfeeding mothers including children younger than two years of age. Consult the doctor first before using. Ivy Dry Cream is to be applied one to three times per day. Consult your doctor if condition does not improve within seven days. Store this in a cool dry place.
Tecnu Extreme Medicated Posion Ivy Scrub provides fast relief from itching and pain. This medicated scrub helps dry the oozing and removes urushiol from the body thereby speeding up the healing process. It can be used within hours of exposure from poison ivy. This can be used also in people affected with
poison oak and sumac.
Best remedies for poison ivy
Allstop Citrus Scrub contains pellets which helps in relieving itch and irritation but most of all removes the urishol oil from your pores and skin. You follow with the Allstop Poison Ivy Gel which contains antimicrobials which serves a skin antiseptic. It stops the itch, kills bacteria, stops and
heals infection and is one of the best remedies for poison ivy.
