[Magdalen] Poison ivy question

[Jay Weigel]

I'd go with what David said, Grace.

On Mon, Sep 2, 2019 at 10:09 AM Lynn Ronkainen <houstonklr at gmail.com> wrote:

> Those soak in the tub remedies can be very helpful.
> Hope your siege is short lived Grace.
> Lynn
>
> On Sep 2, 2019, at 8:34 AM, Grace Cangialosi <gracecan at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Thanks, Marion. This all makes sense—hope this doesn’t become that dire! I
> may have to be more careful from now on. (Yes, oatmeal baths are good for
> itching!)
>
> > On Sep 2, 2019, at 9:28 AM, Marion Thompson <marionwhitevale at gmail.com>
> wrote:
> >
> > Well, all through my youth I seemed to be impervious to poison ivy
> despite
> > frequent exposure.  Then somewhere around 19 I had a small eruption maybe
> > an inch or two long.  A few years later, what started with a line of
> > blisters on my arm spread and spread *all over* until I looked like a
> > relief map.  The first week it all itched like mad.  In week two I was
> > almost suicidal with the itching, all day and certainly all night.  I
> saw a
> > doctor in St. Alban's, Vermont, near where we spent our summer weekends
> and
> > he suggested oatmeal baths.  Pre-cortisone, I guess. I survived the
> ordeal
> > (this was in the 60's).   It seems it can be systemic!  I also understand
> > that one's immunity breaks down over time and then off you go!
> Typically a
> > line of blisters would appear on my arm or leg, say, several days after
> > weekend exposure, and then there would be more.  The two-week hellish
> part
> > seemed standard for me.  Of course, wherever the sap has touched you will
> > get the reaction.  You can pick it up off your dog's hair.  Even if it is
> > burned in a bonfire, the droplets of sap can affect you.
> >
> > That was my experience.
> >
> > Marion, a pilgrim
> >
> >> On Mon, Sep 2, 2019 at 12:19 AM Grace Cangialosi <gracecan at gmail.com>
> wrote:
> >>
> >> I’ve never been very allergic to poison ivy, and over the years I’ve
> >> pulled it out with gloves, occasionally brushed against it while hiking,
> >> and only had a mild reaction—a few small, localized blisters, of that.
> >>
> >> Last weekend I was pulling large quantities of vines off the house and
> >> chimney—Virginia Creeper, grape vines, and poison ivy. I wasn’t wearing
> >> gloves and didn’t see the poison ivy at first, since the vines were all
> >> twisted together. As soon as I saw them, I went inside, scrubbed both
> arms
> >> with Tec-Nu up to my elbows, put on a pair of long leather gloves and
> >> pulled the rest of the vines, being careful not to grab any more poison
> ivy.
> >> Nothing happened for a couple of days, and then I noticed one small
> >> blister on my wrist and a group of about three on the back of my hand. I
> >> figured that was it, put something on for the itching and didn’t give it
> >> any more thought...until the next day when blisters began popping up in
> >> random places—the side of my foot, two fingers, my legs. But they are
> >> single, very small blisters, and they itch like crazy. I didn’t know
> poison
> >> ivy would produce this drawn-out reaction, and I’ve never seen this
> random,
> >> one blister at a time phenomenon. I’m wondering how long it’s going to
> keep
> >> popping up.. It’s been eight days since I was exposed, and I haven’t
> been
> >> exposed again. I’m using Ivarest to help with the itching and dry up the
> >> blisters. Is this a common reaction, and should I be worried about it?
> I’ve
> >> had horrible reactions to poison oak in the past and ended up at the
> >> doctor’s office for a round of cortisone, but this is annoying more than
> >> anything else. It almost seems as if it’s systemic at this point as
> these
> >> lesions keep popping up randomly everywhere.
> >> Thoughts? Anything more
> >> I should be doing?
> >> Thanks...
>