Blog #3
In today’s blog I will be guiding you through healing poison ivy, that nasty (b)itch ! Please note that if you’re allergy to poison ivy is life threatening don’t even bother trying any of this just GO TO THE HOSPITAL !! Please and thank you.
I love being out in nature, but I HATE poison ivy. The itch of eczema has NOTHING on a poison ivy itch AND poison ivy can NOT be scratched or else you’ll burst the blister, release the oils and you’ll spread the reaction and break out into more blisters. You also don’t want any of the oil under your nails, it’s really a never ending story if not treated properly.
First and foremost try be able to spot a poison ivy plant ( I will post a picture below of a helpful guide I found online), but also know that you CAN still get a reaction without coming in physical contact with the plant itself – but minimizing the odds is never a bad idea. If you know you’ll be somewhere where poison ivy can make an appearance, try wearing long pants and if possible a long sleeve shirt as well. I know it’s a little hard to do on the hotter days and no always super fashionable, but I guess you got to choose the lesser of two evils.
What to do when you’re pretty sure you came in contact with a poison ivy plant or something that carried poison ivy oil on it: Try wash whatever body part you think came in contact with ivy as quickly after contact as possible !
What to do if immediate washing wasn’t enough and 24-48 hours later, more blisters show up:
Ok, this is going to suck – poison ivy sucks, but you gotta do what you gotta to make Batman proud.
In today’s blog I will be guiding you through healing poison ivy, that nasty (b)itch ! Please note that if you’re allergy to poison ivy is life threatening don’t even bother trying any of this just GO TO THE HOSPITAL !! Please and thank you.
I love being out in nature, but I HATE poison ivy. The itch of eczema has NOTHING on a poison ivy itch AND poison ivy can NOT be scratched or else you’ll burst the blister, release the oils and you’ll spread the reaction and break out into more blisters. You also don’t want any of the oil under your nails, it’s really a never ending story if not treated properly.
First and foremost try be able to spot a poison ivy plant ( I will post a picture below of a helpful guide I found online), but also know that you CAN still get a reaction without coming in physical contact with the plant itself – but minimizing the odds is never a bad idea. If you know you’ll be somewhere where poison ivy can make an appearance, try wearing long pants and if possible a long sleeve shirt as well. I know it’s a little hard to do on the hotter days and no always super fashionable, but I guess you got to choose the lesser of two evils.
What to do when you’re pretty sure you came in contact with a poison ivy plant or something that carried poison ivy oil on it: Try wash whatever body part you think came in contact with ivy as quickly after contact as possible !
What to do if immediate washing wasn’t enough and 24-48 hours later, more blisters show up:
Ok, this is going to suck – poison ivy sucks, but you gotta do what you gotta to make Batman proud.
- For as long as there are signs of Ivy BLISTERS on your skin shower in COLD or max LUKEWARM water, no if’s, and’s or but’s. If I can do it, so can you.
- When showering, forget about Dove or fancy pants body soaps/body washes. Wash with Hertel and ONLY Hertel. Why Hertel you ask ? Because it’s great at breaking through oils. Oil is in those blister and let me tell you, you want to DRY those bad boys up as soon as possible.
- Patt yourself dry, DO NOT RUB your skin. (Always for the same logic or not wanting to break the blister)
- Let skin air dry for a good 20-30 minutes after, to make sure there is no humidity left on the skin.
What to do after your skin has been dried: - Gently apply a coat of cortisone cream over your ivy patches. Cortisone will help relieve a little bit of the itch and redness if any. Basically to soothe the skin.
- Place a cotton gauze over where cortisone has been applied.
- Wrap the area with cotton wrap.
- Hold all that down with cotton dressing wrap.
Important notes/things to remember: - ALWAYS use cotton to wrap cortisones areas. You want to be sure the skin can still breathe.
- Do NOT use expired ointment, it will only spread the “ivy oil” in your blister. Trust me on this one. #Oops ?
- Wearing shin guards for a soccer game in the heat WILL spread your Ivy.. #DoubleOops
- Always remember a poison ivy reaction can take up to 24-48 hours to appear. You can never be too safe.
- Do not wax/shave any body parts until you are poison Ivy free.
- Avoid scratching your eyes, your fingers may contain ivy oil.
- Do NOT cream your skin at any point while there are still blisters. Keep it strictly to cortisone. Once again, If I can do it, so can you. Suck it up soldier. Look at it this way, you’ll appreciate your body/face creams even more after this experience.
Below is a picture of my Poison Ivy survival kit:
Below is a useful "How to identify poison ivy" picture I found online: