Causes, Signs And Treatment Of Poison Ivy

There is a very common plant that will cause an immediate skin rash when it touches your skin. It is called poison ivy, it looks like a weed and is normally found either growing close to the ground or as an intertwining vine which grows up tree branches and trunks. It grows to a height of about 30 to 36 inches.

This plant contains urushiol which is oil. The oil attaches to the skin when it makes contact with it. Since it seems that most people are allergic to this plant, as soon as you make contact with it, you will get a red, itchy rash.

The oil will make contact with your skin by you touching the plant. If you touch any clothing or shoes that have touched the plant, it will affect you. Any gardening tools that have come into contact with the plant which has oil on it will also have an effect. Sometimes pets will retain the oil on their body hair and this can affect you. You can also be affected if you burn the plant as the oil which comes out of the plant will be carried within the smoke.

An eruption will appear within 48 hours after your skin has been in contact with the plant’s oil, but there are instances when this takes a few days to show up. If you transfer the oil to other parts of your body through touching your skin, the rash may well become bigger and spread over a larger area of your body. The rash and the blisters are not infectious as the plant oil will already have been taken in to your skin or it will have been washed off the skin. Scratching the eruption may cause infection if there is any dirt under your fingernails and this will cause sores to form. The blisters will begin drying up within a few days and then the eruption should start to go away. This time period is dependent on the severity of the allergy.

As soon as you think you may have come into contact with poison ivy, use cold water to clean the area. The use of cold compresses and taking cool baths will have an impact on the relief of the itchiness of the areas that are affected. The oil is quite potent and will be active for a long period of time and therefore wash everything that has come into contact with it. This includes sports gear, tents, shoes, tools and all the clothes you had with you.

Non prescription antihistamines are very effective as a treatment. Calamine will also relieve some of the symptoms. Cortisone treatments can also be used and the creams are a very good treatment for the rash and itchiness. Bathing with oatmeal will also assist with the condition.

You should seek medical advice if you have a high fever. Do the same if the rash is covering very large sections of the body. If the rash appears on your genitals or in your eyes or mouth, you should seek medical assistance.

If pus starts oozing from the blisters which were caused by the poison ivy rash, medical assistance should be sought immediately. You should also consider a visit to your doctor if the rash takes a very long time to disappear.

Are you in need of a poison ivy cure? You should look and learn about poison ivy spray before you do anything else. We have a blog designed especially for those individuals who want to know about poison ivy.