Damn the poison ivy!! Full speed weeding, ahead!!

[Siwsan]

Well, 3 more yard waste bags are full. Not bad. But my rash is saying 'STOP IT!!! Drink some purely medicinal Chardonnay!!!!'

Who am I to argue.

Besides, our air quality index is in the red. (181).

[piddyprints]

1. Yeah, you don't want to be out in that.

Poison ivy or not! Our air quality index is at 101 and I decided not to mulch, even though one of my flower gardens is desperate.

Sorry about your rash. I know the pain! I can bundle up from head to toe, do all the cleaning afterwards, wash all my tools and clothes, and still end up with a rash.

[Siwsan]

2. I limited myself to the front garden.

Some plants had broken off during the rains/wind and the Daffodil leaves have dried so I got a lot of those gathered and bagged.

I did go to the back garden and glare at the poison ivy. Some of it is dying but not enough to satisfy my revenge. Tomorrow I'll give it another dousing with Brush Kill. If it doesn't rain.

[iwillalwayswonderwhy]

3. Whatever you do don't burn poison ivy

My husband made that mistake once, it nearly killed him.

[Siwsan]

4. I've read articles about the dangers of doing that.

I usually hit it with the Brush Kill and a few days later just snip it off and use the snippers to put it in the bottom of a yard waste bag. Then I give what's left another spritz of Brush Kill. I've managed to get rid of it in the flower beds by the house. I have to do a MUCH better job of spotting it when I'm working around in the back lot.

[Polly Hennessey]

5. It is now time to be inside with the kitcats

and Chardonnay. 🐈?⬛🥂

[usonian]

6. I deal with poison oak with a 5 foot pole pruner. (Fiskars) and nothing else.

Been spraying it for years.

Unless you're totally into folk medicine,
• Use Tecnu to dissolve and wash away any surface oil.
• Use hydrocortisone. Nothing comes close. I tried them all.
- you can get a prescription for stronger than over-the-shelf hydrocortisone.
• If it's really bad, a doctor can prescribe Predinisone.

I am not finding pictures of my worst poison oak rash. (I must have mercifully deleted them)
Be prepared with a lot of gauze and cloth tape for when the blisters break.
It's not "contagious" at that point (some time after you get it) but messy.

YMMV, but sun does seem to bother inflamed skin.
I have pictures of poison oak "plants" some 20 feet tall. Those are easy to avoid.

[nebby70]

7. 1. wash your exposed skin with COLD water and Fels-Naphtha soap...

.. .I can look at that stuff and start getting itchy...
... yes, wash everything you were wearing separately....(I rinse twice - just saying)
... Personally, I even envelop my shoes in bags to keep any of the sap from them ...
... when (if) the rash becomes 'weepy' there's always a risk of infection
-- consider Bernadine since it's not only antibiotic but a drying agent --

go after that hateful vine early in the day and of course in the least amt of wind --

these are the helpful things I've learned in my 70+ years

best case for me has been that my newest neighbor seems to be immune to the stuff and he takes it out of the bushes for me...

good luck ---

[love_katz]

8. Forgive me for adding more advice.

I live on the West coast, so my experience was with poison oak rather than ivy, but Google says that they are equivalent and that the oil which causes the rash is the same. The only thing I found that brought relief and quickly helped heal the rash was aloe vera gel. I used gel scraped from freshly harvested leaves because I had read that fresh gel is more potent than gel from a bottle. Relief was immediate and healing was clearly visible in about 2 hours. My skin had been fire engine red and covered with weeping sores and the itching was unbearable. I tried all kinds of remedies: scrubbing with soap and water, baking soda bath and paste spread on the rash, calamine lotion. Each of those treatments helped a little, but nothing helped as much as the fresh aloe vera gel. Wishing you healing.

[Siwsan]

9. I'm jotting notes on everyone's suggestions

I have been using Aloe Vera gel. I have a big plant in my kitchen. It's nice because it dries and stays, unlike calamine that cracks and flakes off.

The BEST thing is to keep a spray bottle of vinegar at hand. The vinegar nullifies the oil from the plant. Then you just periodically spray your arms and clothes. Normally I have one but this was an impulse task, since I was already out there. Believe me, I won't forget it, again.

[love_katz]

10. I will keep the spray bottle of vinegar in mind the next time I go hiking.

Poison oak and poison ivy. Ugh! Nasty stuff!

[Donkees]

11. A Lidocaine Spray for anesthetic effect, and Domeboro Astringent Solution to dry the oozing

[Siwsan]

12. I'm going to look for the Domeboro. And, yes! Lidocaine spray. Duh! Definitely on my list.

The rash by my wrist, which was the first to appear, is doing much better. The blisters are resolving and there is less swelling.

The one by my elbow is constantly being irritated, just by my using my arm. A MOST inconvenient place for a rash. It is getting better.

I might look for some of those long plastic gloves that vets use when examining livestock. If I can slide my gardening gloves over the hand part I'll just snip it off and tuck the plastic.

[Donkees]

13. I use latex dish-washing gloves (some of the brands are longer) ...

then I 'extend' the arm coverage by slipping either a bread bag or newspaper bag 'sleeve' further up the arm and hold it in place with rubber-bands. Single use, pull them off at fingers, and into trash. The bread bags are pretty strong too.

Feel better soon