Heya mama's!!!
I posted earlier in the week about the poison ivy I got into last friday! I got a ton of responses and tried almost everything! I have even been on steroids for 4 days now. I quit using hydrocortisone cream as through research online I found that somehow it can cause a completely seperate reaction with the poison ivy! It flared up again terribly a couple days ago, that is when I figured that out! I started using tea tree oil after cleansing with alcohol and that too seemed to help...but then last night after my shower, I put the tea tree oil on again and a couple hours later I was screaming in pain and running to the bathroom to wash it off...I have gone to doing nothing but using alcohol on it several times a day and still taking my claritin. At night I take benadryl to help me sleep.
The itching continues to be completely insane and DAILY I am coming up with MORE patches of poison ivy! I am so careful in the shower, when treating it I use separate cotton balls for each patch, I wash my hands with soap and water...I am just at a loss as to what else to do!!!!
Is this normal? How long will this continue to go on??? I don't know how much more I can stand it...I have spent a fortune on OTC stuff natural and medicated to try to get some relief and NOTHING!!! It just seems to be getting worse....the original patches are indeed drying up, but they are still insanely itching...and more and more keeps showing up...could something else be going on that continues to aggravate things?! I do have fibromyalgia and a generally crappy immune system...could this be the problem??? If anyone has any advice or more suggestions I will gladly listen...I have a feeling I am going to end up back in the ER with this stuff again...I just can't handle it anymore and my hubby is leaving for OK for a week on monday...I can't be getting sick while he is gone...
Once again...thanks in advance for your support ladies...it is greatly appreciated!!!
hugs
H.
Hey ladies!!! Thought I would post an update! I wanted to wait a couple days this time to make SURE I was indeed on the mend and it seems I am! I never went back tot he dr as we have more than our share of dr bills now with my hubby's back, but I think I probably got it into my bloodstream since I got into it at the same time that I had the accident with the weedeater...my entire ankle was tore open and made a perfect entrance wound for this stuff to get into my system. It honestly is the only way it makes any sense as to why it kept flaring up!!! It still itches, but it is down to a dull roar instead of the insane itch!! I still have little pimple like spots coming up on my ankles, legs, and the opposite arm where the original patch showed...but they don't really itch....
I was asked if indeed it was poison ivy and well, that is what they told me at the ER!!! In the end the only way I got any relief was doubling my benadryl at night, continuing to take the claritin during the day...and when it got really bad I had found 91% alcohol at walmart (normal alcohol is 70%)...I would put that on there and stand in front of the fan to dry it..LOL...it would literally be the ONLY relief I got all day!!!
So I guess in the end, I am finally on the mend!!! I haven't had to use the alcohol in a couple days now...
thanks for all your help and patience when I was throwing my fits!! I am such a baby when it comes to itching...LOL :) I can stand the worst pain in the world..but I cannot stand to itch...
hugs
H.
If you looked up solutions for poison ivy on the web you probably saw this one. But I'm here to tell you in 3 days it was over and gone. So you might want to try hemorrhoid cream. It controlled the itching and 3 days later there were no more outbreaks and most of the redness was gone.
My husband took holistic drops under his tongue and it helped him. But his never keeps breaking out like mine does. For what it is worth you might try these.
H.,
Don't use tea tree oil...that will be painful. I don't recommend it. Even washing your body with pure tea tree soap burns w/out having poison ivy. With sores like that, it is a HORRIBLE idea...
I didn't see you list that you tried a hot tub yet. I know it may be hard to find one, but maybe you can find a pool or hot tub at a YMCA or other health club...or find a friend that has one? That really would be the best way to help you. I feel for you....good luck!
H.,
You may want to consider going back to ER to get a shot, poison ivy is VERY hard to get rid of for some people, and it sounds like you have tried a LOT of different things on your already irritated skin which could indeed be making it worse, and also you may be allergic to one of them you have been using. I have sensitive skin myself, and have had this a couple of times, and I would recommend you go back to ER and get some relief before your husband leaves town on Monday. The meds they give you might make you sleep but at least you might feel better by the time he leaves. I feel for ya.......and wish you the best. Take care.
Here are two natural remedies I saw on another thread that the ladies said really worked:
1> Plantain (the fruit, they sell it at Walmart even)
Just bruise it and rip it a bit.
Rub it on the poison as much as you want as often as you want.
2> jewelweed. (also known as "touch me not" ) Crush the stalk, flowers and on leaves and put on poison ivy and oak.
http://altnature.com/jewelweed.htm
http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=5132415
Of course, in your case, it sounds like what the other ladies said about it being in your bloodstream or you are allergic to it. But these remedies are supposed to be effective for "normal" situations! Hope you get better soon!
My husband gets poison ivy very severely and the only thing that helps is the medicine the doctor gives him (a steroid shot, steroid pills, and anti-itching pills). If it is bad like yours,, it is in your lymph/blood system and is spreading on its own, internally, not externally. He is told to NOT take a warm or hot bath or shower!!! Heat of any kind will further activate your system to increase itching. You must keep your skin as cool/cold as possible and prevent perspiring. Warmth makes it spread more too within your own body.
Hello... I responded to you last week... and I just wanted to let you know that I felt the same way. It was my first time and it literally too over 2 1/2 weeks before I got some relief. I still have a few itchy spots but it is not nearly what it was before. I completed the first steriod pack and 3 days later it had spread and come back 10 times worse than what I originally had... I called my doctor and he called me in another steriod pack. I took all of the first day pills (6) at once... I was deparate to get rid of it! It appears that the second pack did the trick... you can still see the red patches in some places but most of the itch is gone. So all the advice I can give is to hang in there. I don't really know what else you can do for poison ivy except for the steroid and all the topical things. It will get better! :-)
Sorry that I didn't answer you sooner. I never had a problem with poison ivy until I mowed it one year. All the home cures and 10 day packs did not work. I finally went into the local clinic and ask for a REAL cure. $42.00 and a shot later, I stopped itching within hours and it was dried up within two days.
God Bless and I hope this helps.
It does sound like you breathed in some of the plant's noxious oil and it's gotten into your bloodstream. You need to seek medical attention immediately. Prescription meds will be your best solution. Hopefully you will get a steroid shot and a shot of Benadryl to get things under control, then you can take follow up meds to clear it up completely.
Go to the Doctor! It sounds like you are highly contageous, and from what my Doctor was telling me it can effect your breathing if you have a severe case. Why mess with it, what the Doctor prescribes you will clear it up in a week or less.
I tried the OTC stuff and nothing worked for me. I finally went to the Doctor and he cleared it up in a week.
C.
Have you tried the Aveeno Bath or taking a bath with baking soda? That may soothe you. Also I always recommend Ivarest. It has some benadryl and calamine lotion in it.
My husband is allergic to it and when he gets it, we must go to the ER. They usually give a shot and some pills (not sure what they are) and it goes away in a few days. I, in turn, wash EVERYTHING in the house and clorox everything that can be cloroxed. This includes washing all pets, and anything he has touched or has touched him.
Best wishes, I know it is terrible.
Susan
once i got poison ivy & it was terrible & kept coming back. & when i went to the dr. he said that i had breathed in so much of it it was in my blood system. they had to put me on steroids & i was almost in the hospital! it lasted for almost a month! so i would go to the dr. before it gets worse!
I am also very allergic to poison ivy. This is going to sound strange but I promise it works...Go swimming. The chlorine will dry up the poison ivy super fast. I hope your poison ivy gets better soon - I know you must be completely miserable.
I feel so bad for you!!! My husband had poison ivy 3 times in the past 2 months and each time the ONLY thing that got rid of it was steroids. I agree that you should go to the hospital and get a shot of steroids and then continue whatever the doctor tells you to. The last time he had it he went to the doctor and got the shot and then got put on a weeks worth of pills and it cleared up in about 3-4 days. Also he used this medicated scrub that you scrub on the sores for about 15 secs and that helped with the puss coming out of it!!! He also was taking Zyrtec that helped alot better than just the benadryl. My mom has fybromyalgia and that is hard enough by itself and you have posion ivy I really feel for you!!! Good luck on getting rid of that horrible stuff!!!!
~C.
