Poison ivy has URUSHIOL. It is an oil that is secreted from the leaves, vines, stems and roots. Should it contact your skin, it forms a bond which causes a severe allergic reaction. The itch is nearly unbearable. Ask me how I know!
(I think I read that poison ivy is in every state except Alaska and Hawaii.)
There are a few little rhymes that might be helpful to remember.
"Leaves of three, let it be".
"Longer middle stem, don't touch them".
(The top leaf tends to stick up a bit from the other two.)
"Hairy Vine, no friend of mine".
(The plant will also be like a vine and the vines are "hairy". Even if the vine looks dead...do not touch it! And don't burn it either, the fumes will send you to the emergency room.)
Sometimes if you are very sensitive, poison ivy can last up to a month. Since I am about at three weeks myself, perhaps I might be in that category.
I ended up going to the doctor and have been on steroids. Unfortunately, I have had a bit of a time with these drugs and sometimes feel shaky, dizzy, woozy, and that is the best of it! Mostly, I feel as if someone has taken me and knocked me against a brick wall. Hey, but at least I am not itching! (Gotta look on the bright side!)
Okay, now if you you ever get something like this...try something that I used, an oatmeal bath!
I think it would be nice for you even if you don't have horrible itchy spots all over you! This is what I did...I took a brown coffee filter bag, filled it with about a third cup of OATMEAL. I tied it at the top tightly with a rubber band and then placed it gently into a very hot bath. (I actually used two of these bags!) Let it "steep" just like a teabag. Let the water cool enough for you to immerse your body into the oatmeal water. (I took the oatmeal bag and rubbed it gently on my poison ivy spots.)
There, it left my skin very soft! Wouldn't it be funny if all the fancy spas did the same exact thing and then quickly remove all traces of their oatmeal/coffee filter bags and place the small candles into the water and then charge you the big bucks? That could be!
Here is one plant that cannot hurt you! It is the coreopsis! We love it.
Hope I can get back into the swing of things soon! I think I need some music...
The tune is the tune for Surrender sung by Elvis. Very pretty. Hope you stop itching soon.
ReplyDeleteOh yes, you know I know that too! In fact, I once did a post about it. Love Elvis!
DeleteI hope you'll be off the medication soon; I hate taking things that do stuff to me I can not control.
ReplyDeleteThe oatmeal bath sounds wonderful!
It has been a bit rough, I am not lying. You should try the oatmeal bath, it is nice.
DeleteI'd need a bathtub first - I only have a shower :-)
DeleteHer hee...next time you are at a hotel with a tub, take along a bag of oatmeal! You will thank me. Unless hotel staff arrests you for bags of funny stuff!😊
DeleteHi Kay - poison ivy sounds awful ... we have similar things here ... but extremely nasty. I'm glad it's easing - and the oatmeal solution sounds a good one. Take care - and those coreopsis are beautiful ... cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteWe have more flowers too! Richard is A great gardener. I get to enjoy them. 😊
DeleteOatmeal! Is there nothing it can't do? I hope you're all cleared up soon!
ReplyDeleteDebra, Forgot to say...the oatmeal is from Canada! Thank you!!
DeletePoison ivy is the pits, i have to get on the steroids if i get near it, too. Hope you heal up fast!
ReplyDeleteThe steroids have really been terrible. I read you can have severe reaction if you are woman over 60. Wow, might as well as say if you woman who lives flowers and walks! Thanks for your wishes.
DeleteOh dear, I'm so sorry you are suffering through this! So far (knock on wood)I've not had the "pleasure" of a direct encounter with poison ivy or poison oak. I'm sure if I did I'd be one of those who take a month to get over it. I hope you are back to normal very soon.
ReplyDeleteDo you know this is my first encounter also! I hope it is my last. Try that oatmeal bath, it leaves your skin very soft.
DeleteOh poor you, Kay! I've never gotten into poison ivy, but you have my complete sympathy. I've been itching and scratching since I started reading your post. Three weeks and miserable meds! My skin was very sensitive when I was a baby and small girl. My mother used to give me oatmeal baths. Oatmeal works! Feel 100% soon!
ReplyDeleteThank you Louise! And can you believe it, I woke up itching this morning! You try not to but I was asleep! 😴 Did You see my comment to Debra above? My oatmeal is from Canada so great stuff!!👍 Thanks very much for your good wishes. Hope all is good in Colorado. xx
DeleteSo sorry your poison ivy is lasting so long! I know you will be avoiding it in the future! I hope it is gone now! Your oatmeal sounds inspired.
ReplyDeleteI only wish I knew how I got it! I always try to be careful but maybe at looking at pretty plants in my yard, I might have overlooked those leaves of three. Try the oatmeal bath and let me know!
DeletePoison ivy is absolutely not fun. In addition to don't burn it - don't run over it with the lawnmower. Once upon a time my husband did that and it was UGLY!
ReplyDeleteYour poor husband, the rash is bad and the itching is so terrible it is hard to describe. I was glad to find that oatmeal baths help so wanted to share it here.
DeleteI'm really sad to hear about your poison ivy attack, and I do hope you're back to normal and out and about soon. I think we must be very lucky not to have it here, I hope nobody ever introduces it! I know oatmeal is very soothing as it is often used on face wraps, etc. and I am glad you found something to help. I have always found that itching is helped with Campho Phenique, I got it once in the USA and found it so effective on mosquito that I bought some by mail order before I went to a very buggy place a few months ago!!!! I guess that mosquito bites are completely different from poison ivy though but just thought I would mention it in case you had not thought of it.
ReplyDeleteIf I ever get to meet with you in London, I will bring you some Campho Phenique! Hadn't thought of that for the poison ivy so thank you. It is really the severe reaction to the steroid drug that is bothering me now. Finding it a bit hard to get thru my day.Never experienced anything like it, I will be just fine and suddenly, I am not. And it hits so hard, you don't know it's coming and it feels so overwhelming. Hopefully the effects will wear off soon. Hopefully.
DeleteJust curious to know if the itching is all over your body or just around the skin area that was 'touched'?
ReplyDeleteI haven't come across anything that's affected me like that in the time we've lived here in Australia (over 46 yrs) but remember stinging nettles from my childhood in England. There the antidote was to look for a Dock leaf to rub on the little blisters. Is there a plant like that can be used for the poison ivy problem?
BTW oatmeal baths work great for sunburn as well!
Well, the itching started on my right arm and left thumb. The week went past and then, around my waist. After that, completely around my neck. Then, both legs. When I woke up one morning and saw spots on my face, I went to the doctor. She said it was a bad case. Duh!!😊 I read you could use aloe on the spots but I read that after the worst of the itching was over! I try to avoid the sun, my skin is super pale and I freckle and burn like crazy!
DeleteJust shows you how everyone is different. When I was on steroids, for breathing problems, I raced up hills and felt great. We are very lucky here as we do not have many poisonous plants, to touch/irritate the skin and only one semi poisonous snake.
ReplyDeleteYou have reminded me, when we watch a TV show from Britain, they will have folks sitting beside a river, calmly enjoying a meal whilst sitting in a cloth. That amazes me! Here in Georgia, you would be eaten alive by ants and mosquitoes, besides worrying about snakes! One of my childhood memories, being told, "Don't go in there, it's snaky!". Steroids ... I have had to take them before but the reaction this time has been so terrible. Will tell my doctor I don't think I want to do that med again.
DeleteOuch, that sounds grim! I hope you are feeling better now. We are lucky in Blighty to have little to harm us, although deer ticks are an increasing problem. I dress protectively but even so got one on my leg and the follow-up treatment made my skin super sensitive to the sun. I went very red and blotchy!
ReplyDeleteCome to think of it, I had to be out in the sun while I had it so badly, and that sun must not have been good! Your garden is beautiful, if I lived there you would never get me out of it. 😊
DeleteMy Nana's name was Ivy...and she wan't poison! :)
ReplyDeleteThat is a lovely name, but a girl would have been teased with that name here, what with all our poison ivy. You know what kids are like.
ReplyDeleteI have never seen poison ivy here in Hawaii or anywhere else.
ReplyDeleteNo, I read that you don't have it in Hawaii. No wonder they call it Paradise!😊
DeleteOh my goodness the poison ivy sounds awful, so pleased it is easing a little, interesting about the oatmeal solution.
ReplyDeleteI have to say the coreopsis look beautiful, such a nice colour.
Do please take care
All the best Jan
That coreopsis is in a pot and we put it in the garage in the winter. It comes back every year and it is a welcome sight. I am so sick from the medication still, I hope this will wear off soon. Thanks very much for your well wishes!
DeleteI do hope that you are getting better by the day. It's not a plant I've ever come across - thank heaven.
ReplyDeleteThanks very much for the well wishes. I felt so bad at work today, I nearly went home but I am American and have to work no matter what! Crazy medication, I wonder if it might have been defective, or just too strong for an old lady like me.
DeleteI have a friend we went camping with when we lived on the mainland. Apparently he must have touched some poison ivy with his hands and then had to ummmm... pee behind a tree or something. Ummm... I leave it to your imagination the awful time he had after that.
ReplyDeleteYes, I read that is very common for boys and men, it is in their hands, they don't realize it and when they stand behind a tree to pee, that is a very bad thing, they find out later. After this poison ivy, I read everything I could find about it! Thanks for your comment, by the way. I think this your first visit to me, so thanks! Never met a Kay I didn't like!😊
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