How do I deal with the itching from poison ivy?
How can you get rid of the itching from poson ivy? First of all, a word of warning – try everything you can to avoid getting it in the first place! Once you get poison ivy rash, there's not a great deal you can do to get rid of it – you basically have to put up with it and try to find something to bring relief from the symptoms until it goes away. It's worth taking a bit of time to read about poison ivy, look at pictures to familiarize yourself with what it looks like, and to just be as vigilant as you can when you're out and about.
Even if you do accidentally come into contact with poison ivy, you still have a better chance of avoiding its unpleasant effects if you are able to spot the plant and realize what has happened. Although it's likely that your contact with poison ivy will have transferred some of the harmful urushiol oil on to your skin, there are some ways of getting it off before it can soak in and do any damage. Don't touch the affected area – instead, use a specially designed solution or just some ordinary rubbing alcohol to cleanse the skin, which should hopefully loosen the oil and remove it from your skin. After that, you should wash thoroughly, and take care to handle your clothing carefully to when you're removing it to wash it – it may have been contaminated by urushiol, and could easily pass it back on to your skin.
But if all your efforts have failed,
or if you simply didn't notice that nasty poison ivy plant at the time, and
you have broken out in a rash as a result, then you need to find a remedy
that will help to alleviate the symptoms of poison ivy rash. You'll most
likely have a patchy red rash on various parts of your skin, with raised
bumps and blisters which can weep fluid. Many people experience a burning
sensation because of the irritation to the skin. The most common and
intensive reaction, however, is the itching.
There are a number of ways to deal with this. You should try not to scratch, as this will only irritate your skin even more, and possibly make it quite painful. Topical medicines are your best option, as these provide a welcome cooling sensation when applied to the skin, thus reducing the maddening itching. Calamine lotion is a popular treatment, as are tea tree oil and aloe vera in their various forms. Apply your lotion, cream, or gel to the affected areas and leave them to dry – some will even help to dry up the rash and/or prevent it from spreading, while others will simply cool and soothe the irritated skin. A hot shower can work wonders, too, as it reduces the sensation in the nerves closest to the skin's surface. There are also lots of natural remedies available, including plants that often grown right beside poison oak – jewelweed is the most well known example of these, and it can bring relief from itching if split open and rubbed on the rash.
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