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Oct
14
How To Treat Poison Ivy
Filed Under Skin Diseases
Poison ivy is an itchy, annoying skin condition that occurs when your skin comes into contact with the sap found in branches and leaves. What is toxic is the toxicodendrol. If you are allergic, you break out into a rash somewhere between 12 hours to 3 days after contact. You get red blisters, which is itchy making your liable to keep scratching at the affected parts. There are different types of poison ivy throughout the world. In the family of poison ivy is also poison sumac and poison oak. Poison ivy plants are normally found around the base of trees and bushes. They can also hide in brush and weeds.
Fortunately, blisters caused are not infectious and do not spread to other parts of the body. It is only the part of your body that came into contact with the sap that will get affected. You may want to be aware that some of the things that may have lingering traces of the poison ivy sap are pet fur, gardening equipment, shoelaces, and even furniture.
To prevent yourself getting reinfected with poison ivy, consider retracing your steps so that you can determine where you came into contact with the sap. Consider cleaning everything that the poison ivy has made contact with. You may still get a rash but it will be less severe. Wash your clothes with detergent. For surfaces like gardening tools, you may have to wash them down with soap. Pets that have rolled in it will need a bath.
You will need to find ways to reduce the itch because if you scratch and break the skin, you could be opening yourself to a bacterial infection. Because the rash may be oozing, you will want to apply some lotion like a calamine lotion which serves to not only soothe the itching but also dry up the weeping rash. Soaking in a warm tub filled with oatmeal or baking soda bath can also help reduce the itch. A short course of antibiotic cream may also be recommended by your doctor in the case of a developing bacterial infection.
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