[imateach]

Anyone have a great cure? I have it and have tried everything I can find.........this is miserable!

[crayolamom]

Oh Lord, I had it and finally got rid of it about two weeks ago..., miserable, you're not kidding!!!!!! I have tried just about everything and nothing works on me, I'm interested to see if anyone has a cure.

[AngelsMama]

speaking as a person who is highly allergic...if you have tried everything and are still miserable (the miserableness lasts 2-4 weeks btw) then call your doctor. There is a shot you can get or a pill pack....or if it is bad enough both. If you're not that bad...say like one spot or just a particular area then keep it cool. Cool baths in aveeno work well and so does cold cloths applied directly for the itch. If it is on your face or near private areas then make sure you call the doctor asap.

[missylaw]

Oh wow what timing, my husband has had a HORRIBLE case of it for about 3 weeks now. He had one eye swollen shut, the other close to being closed (he was watching the kids that day, I begged him NOT TO DRIVE). It was head to toe on him. He tried everything over the counter...Calamine lotion..funny seeing him all pink it was worthless for him. He finally gave in and went to the urgent care...He had it ALL OVER HIS BODY, and I mean ALL OVER. I wouldn't allow him near me and I told him DO NOT PICK UP MAYA I don't care if you can't spread it that way I wasn't taking a chance. Anyway, at urgent care he got a good shot of steroids along with oral Prednisone to be taken as a tapering dose over 7 days(he gets so irritable on steroids I couldn''t wait for it to be over). The also had him buy Zanfel it's OTC to wash/shower with..he said that worked great. He followed a shower up with covering with Cortisone anti-itch. It improved greatly after 2 days after the shot and we thought he was on his way,but it flared up again and one week later he went to our family M.D. who gave another shot of steroid. Oh the urgent care gave him Hydroxyzine HCL tablets to take every 6 hours for itching but he said they didn't seem to help much. Ok, after all that, my suggestion is if it has been going on for over a week I would go see your M.D. for a nice shot of steroids to stop the inflammation. Oh, I have to add he had it so bad around his waist and with the warm weather he ended up with poision ivy and a yeast infection all the way around his waist exactly where the top of his pants sit I assume from being warm and moist (sweaty) with the pants and leather belt every day. He was a MESS.
I hope you find relief soon. Oh there is also Ivy Rest out there. WE used it on out 11 y/o and he had some relief with it
Missy

[Devora]

I once had a horrible case of poison ivy. Even with taking steroids I was still miserable and actually missed 3 days of work it was so bad. (I had it head to toe!!)

Here's the one thing that brought relief for about 45-60 minutes at a time: Fels-Naptha laundry soap. It's an old fashioned bar soap. You might find it at a hardware store. (Mine had been a gift from my husband's grandma once upon a time that she ordered from a catalog.) Take the bar and a wet cotton ball. Rub the cotton ball on the soap and then dab it on the welts. Don't rub the soap directly on you or you'll put it on very heavy and that might cause its own irritation. This was the only thing that worked for me. After an hour I would have to re-dab.

[CaddoRose]

I've had poison Ivy several times in the past few years and Zanfel worked well for me. It is a product that removes the urushiol from your skin. As long as the oil from the poison ivy remains in your skin, it will itch and not heal. This stuff brings the oil to the surface were it can be washed away. Otherwise I use Calamine lotion to help with the itch.

[ourdreamcametru]

I'm so sorry you have this you can go to the doctor and get a shot. I have a funny story for you, maybe it will bring a little humor to your situation. When my oldest son was 12 we were at VBS and he came to the class DH and I were teaching complaining and wanted DH to come in the bathroom with him. DH came back to the class to tell me he was leaving to take him to the doctor because he had poison ivy and his testicals were swollen HUGE!!!!! Come to find out, DS and his friends had been playing in the woods behind our house and had been straddling a log and had gotten the poison ivy all on the inside of his legs ( it was summer time and he had on shorts!)

[imateach]

Thanks you all for the suggestions. I have already tried the Zanfel and it really did not seem to give much relief. I think I may just have to go and get a shot. I am a PE teacher and being in our hot gym every day with this is not helping. I have actually found the best relief with Desitin......I told you I have tried everything! I did read on the internet tonight about using toothpaste, so I am also going to give that a try.

Ourdreamcametru, your poor son!!! He must have been miserable.

[coatess1]

A few years ago my DH had it for about a month...I searched the internet and found a great home remedy.

Go to your spice cabinet

Make a paste from cream of tartar and water, spread over the affected area and let dry...it is a little messy. As it dries it will turn back to a powder and flake off. By morning you will be much improved

I have used it on several friends over the last few years and it has worked every time!

Hope it helps.

[imateach]

Just looked, and the one thing I don't have is Cream of Tartar. I will stop on my way to work tomorrow. Thanks!!!

[angel_bayou]

My parran has a horribel case right now too!! I went to visit him and his eyes were swollen almost shut too! He got it from cutting a tree out of his son's trailer, so talk about luck huh? Anyway he also went to the doctor for a shot because it was on his face but he also take elderberry (I think this is how to spell it) leaves and places it under his clothes and he swears it works!!

[JoshGuat]

Try some anti-histamines. Poison ivy is the pits!! I don't think anything really works. Keep putting the calamine on

[joanr]

I used Teatree oil and Lavender essential oil mixture, I also used aquaphor and eucerine lotions twice a day. I made sure to shower morning and night too. It did not cure it but it did help minimize the itching. I tried alergy medicine (clariton), calamine lotion and hydrocotizone creme but that did nothing for me. The last thing I was about to try was oral benedryl but it cleared up.

I believe my dog got into some type of itch weed and when I pet her it transferred to me. I had it for about 4 weeks and yes MISERABLE is an understatement.

I hope it goes away soon for you. You have my sympathy.
-Joan

[spragup]

I had it really bad too and nothing much seemed to help other than going to the doctor and getting a couple of rounds of shots...they said when you get it bad it actually gets in your blood stream...so even after it was gone, if I got really hot it would pop back out where I had it before...I did this on and off for about a year...it was horrible...
Pat

[gabriella_heart]

My husband gets it really bad at least once a year. You should shower using dish soap. It pulls the oils out of your skin. Before he heard of the dish soap idea, he would actually use bleach in the shower to dry it out. Both of them worked, although the dish soap idea sounds a lot better to me!
Good Luck!