gentle, organic cures for poison ivy?

[Earth_First]

anyone have any suggestions?

[xray s]

1. google to the rescue

http://poisonivy.aesir.com/view/natural.html

[Earth_First]

3. Tea tree oil, of course!

Thank you!

[Rainbowreflect]

9. Aloe with tea tree oil. It works on just about everything.

[supernova]

2. Calamine Lotion and Betadine solution

are the best ones I know of.

They both dry out the irritated skin.

My sympathies. Is it spread over a wide area?

[Earth_First]

4. It's pretty contained to a few spots on my left hand...

I'm trying to get it taken care of before it gets widespread, however on the fingers, its tough with constant rubbing and use.

[put out]

11. and now you hear from "Miss Know-It-All"

and it may be I misinterpreted what you just posted. That happens a lot.

You can't spread poison ivy from one place on your body to another, even if the blisters are weeping. That is, once you have eliminated the offending oil from your skin. You can continue to break out on skin already exposed to the oil. What you can also do is unknowingly get the oil on your clothing and shoes and furniture, and have your pets get it on their hair. Then you can contaminate your skin again and again. Another poster has it right: wash everything that may have come into contact with the poison ivy, or the oil that was on your skin.

Poor baby. I once got it under my long fingernails during a camping trip. Hygiene was not a big deal on that foray into nature. I slept in a contaminated sleeping bag, wore my jeans and boots for a few days, scratched myself...everywhere.

I was blooming with that shite in a few days. I will never forget that life lesson.

[marzipanni]

5. Contrary to the old belief

that hot water spreads poison ivy/oak on your skin, I have found this to be a great relief when itchiness keeps me awake, if its on an appendage: put area with rash under running tap, start out with cool water then let the water run warm to hot until it approaches scalding and you have to remove your hand (foot, whatever). Instant relief that lasts, and it helps dry up the rash.

Here're some more testimonies to this and other treatments-
http://parents.berkeley.edu/advice/health/poisonoak.html.

[pocoloco]

6. My Doc had me soaking my feet in a solution of

Antibacterial dish soap and hot water. Works for Bull Nettles also, but in both cases it takes several days.

[spotbird]

7. If you find one let me know

My kid came home from camp last year with a single blister on a finger that ran the length of the finger. The blister was so large that he couldn't bend the finger. He had just accepted it as his lot in life. He was also was covered with blisters everywhere (and I mean everywhere, it went from his hand to, well, you get the picture). This time it was so bad that his pediatrician called the dermatologist directly to get him in that same day since the pediatrician wasn't certain that it was posing ivy.

The dermatologist was also horrified and prescribed steroids. My son has been on steroids for posing ivy and asthma so he knows that he hates them. In fact, he chose to put up with all that misery rather than take them, the side effects are that horrible. He was 12 then so I left it up to him, with the knowledge that if he took them he'd be on antibiotics within a week.

We did use topical steroids and some Burt's Bees products but it took time to heal.

Some things I have learned along the way are to wash everything (including sheets) at least twice in hot water with lots of detergent. The sap is hard to get out and is invisible so being obsessive is a way to avoid reinfection. Hot baths with baking soda help dry it out and get the sap off. I think it is better to drain large blisters to make them heal faster, but the other side to that coin is that they itch more after they are drained.

[sbj405]

8. I had good luck w/ Burt's Bees Poison Ivy Soap

http://www1.burtsbees.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10001&storeId=10001&productId=10156&langId=-1&parent_category_rn=10001

should be able to find it at any natural food store

[Eurobabe]

10. make a poultice of Aveeno powder

slather it on, it dries the weeping and stops the itching.