What's the best remedy for poison ivy?

[Karista]

My oldest son was scratching the heck out of his leg and complaining about all of his "bug bites". Turns out, he has a wicked case of poison ivy - ugh! He's been using Benadryl gel but says that it makes him itch worse. Anyone have a tried and true remedy that will help this clear up?

 

[Scarlett & Rhett]

Calomine lotion. Alcohol will help clear it up, but your son will scream his head off if you put it on him, especially if he's been scratching the infected areas.

 

[peg2001]

Here's some information from Keep Kids Healthy:

Quickly wash any areas of your skin that has come into contact with poison ivy. You have about ten minutes to remove the oil before a reaction will develop. Also wash any clothing that has come into contact with the plants to prevent spreading the oil and scrub under your child's fingernails.

For mild reactions, you can use calamine lotion, hydrocortizone cream, an oral antihistamine, oatmeal baths and cool soaks.

More severe reactions will require evaluation by your doctor, who can prescribe an oral steroid or a stronger topical steroid cream. Oral steroids will need to be taken and slowly tapered over two weeks to prevent recurrence of the reaction.

Good luck.
Peggy

 

[MerryPoppins]

Be careful that he doesn't end up with an infection. When DD had chickenpox last winter, she ended up in the hospital for 9 days with an infection.

A steroid is your best bet. They reverse it the fastest.

Over-the-counter remedies don't work as fast or give as much relief. DS is very allergic to poison ivy. Our pharmacist suggested putting Technu (I think that is how you spell it) liquid soap on the area that itches. DON'T wash the soap off as directed on the bottle, but leave it on the rash. This seems to give him more relief than any other OTC meds and we have probably tried most of them.

 

[believe]

I am not sure how safe this is but I used diluted bleach to dry up my ivy last year. I had a severe case of it and this is the only thing that helped me.

 

[LindaR]

Maybe he'd like to soak in a bath full of Aveeno. The oatmeal is so soothing. I used it 3 times a day when my dd had chickenpox. I would pat her dry and then apply calamine lotion.

 

[JESW]

Your poor DS! I can feel for him!

I get it real bad and I end up having to go to the dr. for it. The last time I got a shot pf predisone (sp?) and then some pills to take. That really helped a lot as otc stuff didn't help me much.

Any chance you're going to the ocean soon? I foound that going in the salty water helped a lot to tho I'm not sure why.


Good luck!

Jill

 

[Wendy]

Well, I now have my 3rd case of poison ivy in a month, and I find hyrocortisone cream works best. The Benedryl doesn't seem to help nearly as much. Get the strongest percentage of hydrocotisone cream you can find and put it on 3 or 4 times a day. If it still doesn't help, he may need to go to the doctor for steroids. I've had to do that too on occasion.

I really should stop hiking and digging through poison ivy patches, but geocaches are calling!

 

[MerryPoppins]

Note: DS had had good luck using an ivyblock before he goes hiking or works outdoors. I don't remember the name, but just thought I'd throw out the idea. It's easier to keep from getting it than it is to make it feel better.