Poison Ivy

Hound dog

Nana's are Beautiful
UGH!

I have never in my life been allergic to poison ivy. Used to be, I could roll in the stuff without so much as a itch.

Since the backyard was overgrown, poison ivy has moved in. Last week it was my legs from pulling it........not all over just a couple of spots that nearly drove me nuts. After mowing last time and helping Nichole pull weeds by Rowdy's kennel.......I've got it on my arms....around my wrists and in the crease of my right elbow. I swear to all that is holy it's worse than the legs....especially the elbow spot because you've no idea how much you bend your elbow until it itches like mad.

Then again.......with all the endless other weeds out there......one of them could be the culprit too I suppose. I've only got around the shed to get now, thank god, and I think I'll be doing that in gloves, long sleeves and frigging jeans!

Calamine lotion is not doing a thing for it. It doesn't seem to be drying it out or heaven forbid, get rid of this non stop itching. It's spread a tad to the forearms but not much as 90 percent of the time I can resist the urge to scratch it......it doesn't mean it's not driving me insane. Sleeping is the worst. Probably because there is nothing to distract me.

I know poison ivy is a vine type plant. So......now that the yard is mowed when I go hunt it down to kill it off, any ideas on the best thing to use? I want it dead. DEAD. I can't be fighting a poison ivy rash every time I work in the yard this summer. ugh
 

donna723

Well-Known Member
If it's a vine, it sounds more like the poison oak that we have around here. It grows up in some of my flower beds and next to the house. So far it has never bothered me either but there's always a first time. When I pull it up, I try to get it by the very bottom of the vine so I don't touch any of the leaves, and then I go in the house, cover my hands and arms with soap, and scrub and scrub. And you know, if it's near the dog kennel, the dog walks through it and gets it on it's fur, then you pet the dog ... you've got it! Can you take Benadryl? That's the only thing that helped with the itching when my son used to get it.
 

Hound dog

Nana's are Beautiful
I'm allergic to benedryl. (lucky me) Trust me, you don't want to see me after a dose of benedryl.

Might be poison oak too, that was probably the vine one I saw........and that might be the one I'm reacting to. yeah.
 

donna723

Well-Known Member
If it's poison oak, the vine, it's hard to get rid of. It will grown up the sides of trees, and it tries to grow up the side of my house and can even go up under the siding if I don't get it quick enough. I pull it up by the roots but it keeps coming back in the same spots.
 

keista

New Member
The sell stuff to kill off poison ivy and oak and other nasty invasive vines/plants.

After yard work, strip immediately and shower with a good degreasing dish soap. Girl Scouts recommend the yellow bar of Fells Naptha, but I think any degreaser will do. Wash those clothes separately.

Scary thing is that you don't even have to touch the stuff to get a reaction. If it somehow gets aerated (for example you mow over it) you can get a reaction.

One year at summer cam I got a really bad case and I never came in contact with it. We determined I got it from the smoke. You see, old tent platforms were stacked in a pile and we were told we could use that wood for campfires. Turns out poison ivy was growing up through the pile. the guys wore glove processing the wood, but the poison ivy oils were already on it so when they got burned the oils got carried in the smoke. Out of about 150 at the camp, me and my friend Eddie were the only ones to get it this way.
 

AnnieO

Shooting from the Hip
Lisa, this is weird but anything with menthol - like Carmex lip balm - will help with the itch. Figured it out by accident, LOL!
 

Hound dog

Nana's are Beautiful
You can get either a wide variety of ways, sadly enough. An animal's coat (mother in law's went systemic due to this way before we figured out her dog Cleo was rolling in it everyday), airborne.....like you said via mowing and weedwhacking, and of course trying to pull it out.

I've just never reacted to either before. Bummer. I guess maybe it's the getting old thing.

Step, I'm going to try the Carmex, I've got it here somewhere because there were several times I picked the stuff up free. Lord knows not much else is helping........except safeguard soap (very drying stuff) is helping a bit......at least seems to be keeping it from spreading any further.
 

DammitJanet

Well-Known Member
There is some stuff sold at the drug store especially for the poison Ivy's/oak/sumac. We always had to keep it on hand when the boys were here because when Jamie was a boy he was highly allergic. I think its called Ivy Dry or something along those lines. That may not be the exact one but if you go to the drug store and look in that isle you will see the really good one that is expensive but you get two products....one to wash with and protect yourself and then another to take care of any infestation.
 
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