Oogh, sorry to hear that. My husband and I have been nursing an awful mystery case of poison ivy these past two weeks. (we honestly can't think of how we got it). I have been doing some reading about it, and have gotten a few tips:
-Alcohol is what you should wash with when you first find out you have been exposed. Change cotton balls often, wipe in a circle inwardly as not to spread, and cover a wide area. THEN wash with soap. The idea is to remove the oils from your skin before it has been absorbed. Using soap first may serve to spread the irritating oil around. Clip and wash under your fingernails with alcohol first and then soap, it lodges there and that's how you get the rash in lines.
-Wash your clothing in hot water with plenty of detergent. If you brought a backpack with you, wash that, too.
-Take an oral antihistamine if you can tolerate it, like Benadryl. Topical benadryl is available, too, but we found that it doesn't help much.
-Putting colloidal oatmeal on the rash helps a lot! Go to the drug store and look for Aveeno bath, it's little packets of oatmeal powder. Dermatologists recommend it, and it's very soothing.
-Clean the affected area often, a few times a day, with soap and lots and lots of water, to get rid of the serum and other junk that accumulates. That wil help cut down on the intense itching. You may feel that it's spreading, but that's probably not the case, the irritting oil has been absorbed into your skin, and it usually takes some time for the rash to appear.
-If it gets terribly weepy, you should probably wrap the affected area with a clean gauze and Nexcare wrap. That will also prevent you from scratching it, and outta sight, outta mind. It will heal, it just takes what seems forever. Change the gauze a few times a day.
If you feel that it's getting out of hand, call your doctor. Sometimes, steriods are the best thing for you if it is a really bad case.
Sorry about your itchies. :jeffd:
