Poison Ivy Remedy

If you get into poison ivy while playing outside or doing yard work, the best poison ivy cure and treatment is to catch it before it actually becomes a rash. If you can get the urushiol oil, which is the oil in poison ivy, poison oak, and similar plants that causes an itchy red rash, off your skin within about ten minutes, you may not end up with a rash at all. Here are the steps you need to take to prevent a poison ivy rash from forming at all:

1. Wipe off the affected areas with rubbing alcohol. If you aren’t sure where your skin touched the poison ivy, just rub down all your exposed skin. Go up under your clothing a bit, as well, since the oil may have gotten spread to the skin just under the hem of your shorts or the sleeve of your shirt.

2. Cleanse the area with plain water first. Soap can actually pick up the urushiol oil and cause it to spread, so poison ivy treatment needs to begin with a warm water bath. If you think large areas of your skin have been exposed, you may want to just jump in the shower and stand under running water only for a while.

3. Take a shower with soap and water now. After most of the oil is off because of the alcohol and plain water, you will want to use soap. Lather up well with your favorite body wash or soap. Anything that gives you some suds should be just fine.

4. Wearing gloves, wipe down all the hard surfaces of shoes, garden tools, toys, and such that may have been exposed to the poison ivy, as well. You’ll obviously want to wash any clothing that was exposed in hot water and laundry detergent as soon as possible. Be sure to also handle the laundry carefully with gloved hands until it comes out of the washing machine, at which point you can treat it like any other article of clothing.

Unfortunately, this type of poison ivy cure will only work if you catch the exposure within about ten minutes. If you’re going to be away from home and in the woods for a while, consider taking a kit for cure for poison ivy that includes rubbing alcohol towelettes, a bottle of water, and some soap. If only small areas are exposed to the plant’s leaves, you can do this routine on your own in the middle of nowhere.