Easing The Poison Ivy or Poison Oak Itch

If you love gardening or long walks in the deep woods but your sensitive to poison ivy or poison oak what can you do. Avoiding the plant or plants is the best way but sometimes you can accidentally touch the plant with out meaning to.

And Keep In Mind That Prevention Is The Best Remedy

It is much easier to prevent poison ivy or poison oak than it is to cure it. First of you need to educate yourself so that you know exactly what poison ivy and poison oak look like. Above are some great photos of both that you can look at so that you will know exactly what both look like.

But be aware that it is the oils in poison ivy and poison oak that causes the rash. You can get the rash by touching the plants or touching something that has touched the plant. Be careful of clothing , gloves or even your dog or cat that has touched poison ivy or poison oak. Particles in the air can also give you the rash so use extreme care if you are burning poison ivy or poison oak. The very best advice I can give is leaflets of three let it be. Avoid the plants or touching them. If you must get rid of poison ivy or poison oak purchase a poison ivy or poison oak spray to spray the plants with. If you must pull the plants up or pull them down from where they were growing wear a thick long sleeve shirt , gloves and a mask.

Leaflets of Three Let Them Be.

You need to learn to recognize poison ivy or poison oak on sight and you need to teach your children and other family members to do the same. You should avoid these plants and you should teach your children to also. It's important that everyone in your family knows exactly what all three plants look like.

If You Can't Avoid Contact Protect Yourself.

You should wear long pants , a long sleeve shirt , socks and gloves if you must touch the plants. There is a product called Ivy Block that you can use to keep yourself safe from poison ivy or poison oak. It is almost 100 percent effective but you should still use caution especially if you are particularly allergic to poison ivy or poison oak. As soon as possible after any contact wash yourself off with soap and water. And you really need to do it with in 15 minutes if at all possible.

Be sure that you wash any clothing , gloves etc that come in contact with poison ivy or poison oak as soon as possible. The poison ivy or poison oak oils will stay active for a long time and if you touch something later that touched either poison ivy or poison oak you can still catch it even weeks later.

There are many over the counter products available for poison ivy rash or poison oak rash but if you have a severe rash my best advise is to go to your family doctor or the local emergency room.

The really best thing to do is avoid any and all contact with either poison ivy or poison oak and be sure to educate yourself and your children to be able to recognize the plants on sight. This is really the only way to be 100 percent sure that you don't get poison ivy or poison oak.

Learn To Recognize The Early Warning Signs Of Poison Ivy Or Poison Oak Rash.

Six to eight hours after exposure you may develop little bumps that look like insect bites. If you see this you really should go to see your doctor or go to the local emergency room and tell them you may have been exposed to either poison ivy or poison oak.

Poison Ivy especially does not respond to over the counter treatments. So if you have a poison ivy rash or suspect you do then you need to seek medical care at once.

You can take cool showers and lukewarm baths to help relieve the itch. If you add oatmeal or baking soda to the water it will help to dry up any oozing blisters. Ice compresses can also be soothing to your itching.

But keep in mind the best thing is to avoid all contact with poison ivy or poison oak. That's the best way to keep from being exposed and getting the rash.

The best way to avoid poison oak, poison ivy, or poison sumac is to wear long pants and long sleeves when you're in the woods where it is. Keep in mind that you can also get it from your cat or dog. If you know there's a chance your cat or dog could be coming in contact with poison oak, poison ivy, or poison sumac then use care about letting them rub up against you when they come in from outside.

Keep hand sanitizer handy and wash your hands, arms, or legs with it if you think there is any chance you could have come in contact with any of the three poison plants. The best way to avoid the poison three is to learn how to identify all three anytime you see them. You also need to be sure your children can identify all three.

If you think you have been exposed to poison oak, poison ivy, or poison sumac take all your clothes off including underwear and wash your clothes right away. Also be sure to wash yourself including your hair. Keep in mind that if your children or husband gets exposed to either of the three poison plants outside that you can catch it off their dirty clothes.

But if you do catch it or one of your other family members do there is hope. It used to be that you had to use calamine lotion which is the pink stuff but there is now a new product called Caladryl that is clear and it is as effective as the calamine lotion was.

Benedryl will also work great with helping to work with the effects of poison oak, poison ivy, or poison sumac.

You can apply all of the below ingredients to dry out the poison blisters that you get from the poison oak, poison ivy, or poison sumac.

1. Baking Soda.

2. Zinc Oxide.

3. Witch Hazel.

4. Oatmeal.

Take An oatmeal Bath.

You can apply the oatmeal as a wet paste or you can pour a box of old fashioned oatmeal into your bath and get some wonderful relief from the itching. But taking a bath in oatmeal can be very messy and leave your bathtub slick and messy so be careful.

Leaves Of Three Let It Be.

The most effective way to keep from getting poison oak, poison ivy, or poison sumac is to avoid any plant that has three leaves. You need to educate yourself and other members of your family with exactly what all three plants look like. You'll find pictures of all three plants above and on the video above. The only way to know what plants to avoid is to learn exactly what they look like.

If you have poison oak, poison ivy, or poison sumac growing in your yard you can go to your local farm and garden store and buy a spray to kill the plant or plants. If you must touch the plant or plants wear long sleeves and gloves and as soon as you're done wash your clothing and gloves. And then take a long soaking bath.