13 Days to go and I'm covered in Poison Sumac!!!!

[FigmentChick]

Hello! I am hoping this is all cleared up by the time we're ready to leave.

I just needed somewhere to vent. I wanted to make my yard look nice, so I weeded.. I have VERY fair and sensitive skin; I know what poison plants look like; I swear I didn't see one!!! Now my lower arms look horrible (thank goodness I was wearing gloves) and my calves are no better. I am an itching, b***ching mess!!!!

I went to the doctor today because it has only been getting worse since Monday. He gave me some petroleum jelly type ointment and some pills. Let's hope this stuff works.

TTYL, FigmentChick

****Thanks for letting me vent!!!

 

[goopysolelady]

Oh ... do I feel for you! I'm 58 years old and got poison ivy for the first time in my life last June. Trying to make MY back yard look nice too ... only I was trimming brush along my fence line. After 5 days I, too, went to my doctor. She gave me a prescription for Clobetasol Cream 0.05%; no shot or pills just this cream. It's wonderful! Dried those suckers up in no time. Still took about a month for the rash to leave entirely but the itching was gone almost immediately! Just a thought in case the pills don't work!

 

[Miss M.K.J.]

Oh my goodness I know how you feel!! I get poison ivy every year either from my dogs or maybe just by looking at it I generally go to the dermatologist and he will give me a shot of prednisone and about a weeks worth of the pills to take. I usually will clear up in about a week or so. I have had to go back for a second time though because the first visit didn't do the trick. I hope you get better soon as I know that it is miserable for you.

 

[FigmentChick]

Hey, all...thanks for the kinds words. When I went to the doc on Friday he did give me a shot (I'm assuming it was a steroid....too itchy to care!). I also have the weeks worth of prednisone to take and some ointment that is akin to petroleum jelly. It seems to be working okay, but it looks like I will have some scarring....and I didn't even itch! I'm just so fair and sensitive it spread like wildfire. All I can do now is wait it out. I'm sitting in 80 degree weather wearing long sleeves and jeans! UGH!!! Oh well...could be worse....this could have been something that prevented me from my vacation, not just being a little uncomfortable.

Thanks again and I hope everyone had a great weekend!

 

[smcabee]

Sorry to hear that. I woke up 9/14 with the flu and we leave the 19th. While im not itching i feel like i been hit by a train. Come on Tamiflu.

 

[Missytara]

I feel for you - I had just moved into a new house, only to discover the carpeting was full of fleas. I got bitten on my ankles rather severely.

The next day, I went out in the backyard to cut down this severely overgrown shrub, while standing ankle deep in it trying to cut it up for the trash.

That night, I noticed in the bathtub that the "flea bites" looked a bit worse. I figured I would call the doctor in the morning. Unfortunately, not before shaving my legs in hot water.

I awoke in the middle of the night to see it spreading up my legs - it was poison ivy that was on my ankles (that I mistook for the original flea bites) and it spread because the hot bath had opened up my pores and the razor spread it up my legs. The next morning, it was on my arms, because I had laid my arms on my side as I slept.

By the next morning, I was sitting in the emergency room - and felt like I had been run over - flu-like symptoms, everything. They gave me a heavy dose of steriods (with ten more days worth) and told me to stay home for a week.

I had to wear shorts and a short sleeve shirt for weeks to let everything heal. It was several months before it finally cleared up. You would be surprised that as bad as I looked, I don't have any scarring at all; and I too have very sensitive skin.

God bless my mother. A few weeks after I got it, we had our annual shopping trip to Williamsburg - and she shook her finger at anyone who would stare at me. A few people asked her if I had been burned in an accident... and she said, no, my daughter is just an overzealous gardener! We laugh about it now, but at the time it was horribly painful.....

Here's sending good vibes to you today!