Poison Ivy

[DaveA]

Have you all noticed it being harsher this year? I've had one DCK have it over the summer, DD had it earlier, and I've been dealing with it for about a week now. Previously when I've had it it's lasted for maybe a couple days. Luckily it's kept mostly to my legs, so besides a few large bandaids I could cover it just by wearing pants instead of shorts. Each case has ended up at the doctors, something that I've never had to do before for me or DD. OTC stuff isn't working. The DCK never came with it, but DCM said it was brutal. I'm a First Aid instructor and DW's a nurse, and I still ended up in Express Care last night for cellulitis. Ended up on topical and oral steroids and antibiotics.

Have you had problems with it this year in your area/ DCKs? Does it seem to be worse than before?

[Cat Herder]

"Have you had problems with it this year in your area/ DCKs? Does it seem to be worse than before?"

No. I can't remember having ever had it, here. Maybe your reaction is from multiple exposures. Exaggerated allergic response. Once a person has had an exposure or an allergic reaction (is sensitized), even a very limited exposure to a very small amount of allergen can trigger a severe reaction.

Sounds like roundup needs to be your new best friend. Hope you feel better soon.

[sleepinghart]

Funny you should say- My son had it a few days ago but it cleared up in a couple of days and was easily treated with itch lotion & benadryl(knock on wood). This was the first time I've ever had to deal with poison ivy in my life !

[Blackcat31]

Sounds like roundup needs to be your new best friend. Hope you feel better soon.

or a goat!? :: I've heard it's pretty popular....


Hire a grazer

http://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2015/04/06/397879410/go-ahead-little-goat-eat-some-poison-ivy-it-wont-hurt-a-bit

"While goats will quickly gobble up poison ivy, he said, they don't eat the roots, which allows the plants to grow back. Using goats over an extended period, however, will eventually starve the plant of the energy it needs to survive", Larry Cihanek, of Rhinebeck, N.Y. said .Jul 23, 2013

[Second Home]

It has been growing like crazy here . I have gotten it 3 times this summer .

[Mike]

I don't remember ever being exposed to it, so I asked my mother and she said I did once as a kid. I don't remember much from my childhood.

[Controlled Chaos]

I definitely vote goat

[LysesKids]

It has been growing like crazy here . I have gotten it 3 times this summer .

Look to see if there is a Jewelweed plant nearby; natures natural remedy... just take a jewelweed leave & bruise it to release oils & rub all over where you got poison ivy

I make handcrafted soap out of jewelweed for this very reason - I can just run inside & shower with the remedy . Jewelweed has been hard to find in many places over the past few years, but it usually grows in the vicinity of the poison ivy

[DaveA]

Sounds like roundup needs to be your new best friend. Hope you feel better soon.

I was spraying a part of the property that never grew up till that tree feel a few months ago. Before that it never did because between the tree, fence, and the field it got almost no sun. I was wondering because the Doc and Pharmacist both commented on how bad the number and severity of infections was this year. Guess my area's just blessed.

or a goat!? :: I've heard it's pretty popular....

NO way in heck. They are too much like sheep, which I hate with a passion. Do not give my daughter ideas. The birds are enough thank you very much

Look to see if there is a Jewelweed plant nearby; natures natural remedy... just take a jewelweed leave & bruise it to release oils & rub all over where you got poison ivy

I make handcrafted soap out of jewelweed for this very reason - I can just run inside & shower with the remedy . Jewelweed has been hard to find in many places over the past few years, but it usually grows in the vicinity of the poison ivy

A woman I used to work with makes that soap. I'll have to message her and get some. Thanks

[e.j.]

Maybe your reaction is from multiple exposures. Exaggerated allergic response. Once a person has had an exposure or an allergic reaction (is sensitized), even a very limited exposure to a very small amount of allergen can trigger a severe reaction.

This makes sense. When my dd was in 3rd grade, she and her classmates went "ponding" during the school day. Apparently, they had a discussion about poison ivy and long story short, my dd assumed she wasn't allergic to it since she had never experienced any symptoms. To prove it, found some and rubbed it all over herself. By the time she got home that afternoon, there was no doubt in her mind that she was allergic to poison ivy! She recovered but that fall, she must have gotten into it again and ended up with a much more severe reaction than even the first time. She went to bed feeling itchy but woke up the next morning so swollen, I wouldn't have recognized her if I didn't know it was my dd standing in front of me. Flash forward to this year (22 yrs old now). She stepped in some when she got out of her boyfriend's car but didn't realize it right away. By the time she realized she had been exposed to it, she ended up with some very itchy, very sore looking legs and a few other spots she had touched before she knew she had the oil on her hands. None of the creams/pain relievers were touching the pain/itch. A night or two later, she couldn't take it any more and went to urgent care and was put on antibiotics because she was developing an infection.

In answer to the original question, my dh is very anal about spraying for poison ivy around the yard because he tends to get it bad, too. I've never noticed any in the play area I have for the dc kids but this year, I noticed several plants popping up in various spots around the play yard. It definitely seemed as though there was more of it and while she didn't get swollen this time, my dd was definitely in more discomfort than she had been in the past.

[Alwaysgreener]

Yep as I and dh prepare the backyard to open my day care, I had a run in with some. At first I thought it was a bug bite. Then my dh had some spots on his face, he went to the doctor and found he had the shingles.
A few days later mine was worse, so I went and found out it was Posion ivy. We searched the yard but could not find the plant, so we must of pulled and burnt it (it is not good to burn). Which means dh must of had contact with it too and never broke out. Now dh is vilagent and sprays all the plants he finds.