Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Need Advice: Poison Oak

My brother in Arkansas is so allergic to Poison Ivy/Oak that he almost died from it twice.

His only solution is Zinc Oxide ointment and clean gauze wrapped around each "wound." The Z.O. is a certain prescription from his doc.

Good luck.

L.W.

Go get the shot! It eats me alive but I start feeling better before even getting home from getting the shot

I look at it (and ivy) from a distance and it jumps out at me. If I get too much coverage, I have to resort to a doctor-prescribed dose pack of prednisone (7-6-5-4-3-2-1 pills a day). It clears it up better than anything else. Benadryl will help with the itching.

I've not tried this stuff, but those I know that have says it works. Problem is catching it in stock...

http://www.bujiproducts.com/

Good Lord that must have sucked....

50% bleach and 50% water applied to the affected area with a sponge.

Or,..if there's a swimming pool nearby, you can just go soak on the clorinated water until your skin gets clammy and they will relieve a lot of it.

If not too bad, rubbing it with underarm type deodorant will help dry it up. Sounds weird but know from experience that it works.

Cortisone shot will dry it up in 24-48 hours and it will stop the itch within a few hours

The chlorox (sp) sure helps the itch but might leave a burn of it's own. For me, that was better than the itch. Be careful.

Oh, the steriod shot didn't knock mine out like it seems to for most folks..

Prescription for topically applied triamcinolone cream. Otherwise, find Tecnu gel (OTC) and wear long-sleeve T-shirts for a week until it dries. Take tepid baths of baking soda and pray a lot. Doctor probably would advise Prednisone shot +++

As others have mentioned, go to the Dr. if possible.


I've had poison ivy & oak a handful of times in my life pretty bad. None of the over counter things have ever really helped me.

Watch the benydryl during the day, stuff makes me pretty sleepy

I wonder.
Back in Jr. High a kid announced he was immune to the stuff and proceeded to rub a bit on his arm. Didn't see him for a week.

I accidentally discovered that years ago, and have never heard anyone else mention it. It sure worked for me.

Haven't read the whole post, but use COLD WATER!!!

Warm water will open the pores and help the oil get in.

Water, as hot as I could stand is the only thing that works for me. While the water is warming the skin I can feel every nerve ending in my body reacting. Weird feeling but effective.

Life long sufferer, go get the steroid shot, NOTHING else comes as close to fast relief. Pregnizone? The stuff is a miracle for those of us who get bad cases.

I used to use straight laundry bleach on it. That did not help at all. (Didn't hurt either.)

I got it BAD earlier this year all over. Clear Caladryl is the SH*T. Takes the itching away and heals quickly.

I would get it a couple times each summer when I was a kid (1945-56)

My mom would make a smooth lather with Fels-Naptha soap/cool water and gently bathe the infected area about every two hours. Immediate relief and gone in a day.

Worked for me. Worked for my sister. Worked for my dad. Others? I don't know. I believe it was a common remedy among the mountain folks.

Jim

I had two very bad rounds of poison ivy when I was a kid. *bad* cases,...swelled my eyes together.

It was the first plant I learned to recognize. I'm downright clairvoyant about spotting it and even recognizing the type of terrain it prefers. I can feel its presence even before I see it.

As for a remedy,...if you get a bad case of it, getting a shot makes it gone in about 48 hours.

I've not gotten it, but I avoid it like the plague.

Funny we were just talking about this at work today. One of the guys has a case. Got a another guy talking about an old coworker that got into it running underground phone fiber while he went to take a leak.

Before he got he rash, his wife called him demanding who he'd been with as she'd gotten, as she had "something"... He then started breaking out. Both knew that they'd not been screwing around, so the other had to be lying. Apparently took a while to sort it all out.