Why is it that the end of vacation is always a harbinger of disaster? There I was, enjoying time off, having a lovely holiday, when — bam! — somewhere between here and my best friend’s house in Indiana, I picked up an epic case of poison ivy. It’s on my hands, and, worse, on my face, so not only do I feel crummy and tired (who can sleep with all this itching?), I look particularly lovely as well. Anyone got a good home remedy? I’ve been taking Benadryl, but it makes me too loopy to work ….
Responses to “I’m baaack … and itching.”
January 3rd, 2007 at 6:49 pm
My sympathies. I got poison ivy on the corner of my eyelid this fall and the skin is only now starting to be smooth enough for me to wear eye makeup.
I don’t have a remedy other than distractions and analgesics, but I would like to comment on the clorox. When I was looking for remedies online, many people strongly warned against the clorox, which can burn and cause infections. One woman ended up with clorox-related injuries far worse than the original poison ivy.
January 5th, 2007 at 2:16 pm
Poison ivy update: Well, I’ve finally broken down and started a course of steroids. So far, so good, though I’m still pretty itchy. The good news is that it seems to have stopped spreading. I’m worried about all of the steroid mania stories I’m now hearing, but I think this will probably do the trick!
January 3rd, 2007 at 1:20 pm
I am very allergic to poison ivy and oak. My doctor told me to bathe in luke warm water and clorox. Use only white towels and wash rags. Don’t get it in your eyes. It will not hurt your hair (even if colored.) Don’t rinse. Just soak for as long as you can then towel dry. Put about 1 cup to a tub of water. The places that are broken out will look dark red and may itch between baths. If you can use a topical cream like benadryl between it may help. I’ve even dabbed clorox on directly.