Poison Ivy
The one downside to my week off is that I picked up a bad case of poison ivy. I’ve been afflicted with a serious allergy to the stuff since childhood and yet I still don’t think twice about going into the woods to chase down an errant throw with Josh. I am paying the price at night this week.
Comments (Archived):
Fred,I’m going to do you a HUGE favor right now.Run, don’t walk, to your nearest pharmacy, and purchase a tube of “Zanfel”.(Or better yet, click here: http://www.amazon.com/Zanfe…This stuff is amazing.My wife is a doctor, and got a free sample at a medical conference– I tried it on a case of “PI” last Fall. Relief was immediate, and healing time drastically reduced.You will thank me…
alright . .this looks like a staged infomercial now, but I was going to say the same thing about Zanfel. I went to the drug store, asked for advice on what to get for poison ivy. The pharmacist effectively asked me “how much are you willing to pay” – for a minute I felt like I was at a car dealer. I told him I just wanted the best I could buy. He handed me a 2 oz tube of Zanfel. I was shocked when it run up for about $40. But, damn . .it worked. It’s like using a liquid sandpaper on your skin, but it works.
What? No pictures on flickr?
Oh, yeah, we got to see some pics on Flickr.
Try Ivy Stat – takes the oils out of you skin. It works almost instantaneously
I once had a wicked case on my face so bad one of my eyes was closed.and had to give a speech the next day. I went to the doctor and got a cortizone shot and was able to SHAVE the next day. Miracle drug that cortizone.
Fred,Another “miracle worker” is called “All Stop.” Both my wife and I suffer from pretty severe poison ivy allergies, and this really does the trick. It also is great for very itchy bug bites, etc. Available at http://www.dermatechrx.com/…Good luck!
Fred,If you have the luxury of working from home for a few days, I would recommend a couple of old school/home remedies:Oatmeal: You can add this to a bath, or make a paste to apply directly. I often add witch hazel, aloe vera gel (the topical kind, not stuff you drink), or vinegar. Witch hazel, aloe vera and vinegar are astringent, so it will sting quite a bit. An oatmeal bath is really soothing, you can buy Aveeno oatmeal bath: http://aveeno.com/productDe… at most drug stores and amazon. Aveeno also has an entire product line of anti-itch products: http://aveeno.com/segmentAc… .1) You can also make your own oatmeal bath additive: just grind oatmeal in a food processor add to cool bath water. No need to use fancy oatmeal either — Quaker Oats will do just fine :)2) To make a paste to apply: grind oatmeal as above add aloe vera gel (available at most health food stores and Trader Joe’s), witch hazel, or vinegar. Keep the paste refrigerated.Baking soda: work great in the bath or as a paste.Vinegar and/or witch hazel & water: I keep it chilled in a spritz bottle.I also use a heavy moisturizer once the blisters have begun to dry (or after the oatmeal bath), and I wear cotton or (washable) silk clothing, no wool or acrylics next to the skin.Hope this helps! and feel better soon.
I hope that one of these recommedations works for you. PI makes make me as miserable as all get out and each time I get it the doctor tells me that there are only the marginally effective symptom relief measures out there and you’re basically stuck waiting out the ten day/two week period of recovery.I have long since learned that chasing a golf ball into the woods is not worth the potential of a PI dose, even if it’s a coveted Titleist Pro V1 I sliced OB.
I feel your pain Fred. I suffer from the same problem. Prescribed steroid treatment is the only thing I have found to alleviate the pain. Good luck.Zach
that’s what i went with at the suggestion of my dermatologist
fred, i’ve had it real bad before — screw all the home remedies, just go get predinose and be done with it. i got the westchester variety, which was harsh!
Bleach. Open up all the little blisters so your oozing, then apply bleach.Hurts like hell, but the shit dries up in a couple hours.I speak from experience.
@jacksonI didn’t mention bleach as a home remedy because of the *extreme* pain factor. Bleach was the favorite approach for both of my grandmothers, followed by the oatmeal baths listed above. I advise bleach when no other options are available — and I speak from experience as well :)It’s important to note that bleach should never be used if poison ivy/oak/sumac has spread to any mucus membranes (eyes, nose mouth) and any “private parts”.Let me just say that getting “romantic” in the woods can have some very serious repercussions. :-DP.S. when I attempted to reply directly to Jackson’s post (by clicking on reply) I received an “Error 403 Forbidden” message, indicating that I was attempting a cross-site scripting (XSS) exploitation from disqus; that message rates a FAIL in my book. I’m using Camino v. 1.5