poison oak treatment?

gastro · Feb 21, 2005

Once you've got it, some relief can be found by getting in the shower and progressively making the water hotter and hotter. It will itch unbearably as the heat releases the histamines, but after they're out, it will stop itching 'til they replenish - 4-5 hours.

There are homeopathic remedies (Oral-Ivy is the one I've used with success) whereby you ingest poison ivy extract (urishiol) orally over a period of time and build up a tolerance.

and

Schwinn pwns Mongoose.

Orvan · Feb 21, 2005

fine grit sandpaper and the green isopropyl rubbing alcohol -it's more medicinal than the clear transparent ones.

I think the schwinn has a throwback reverse rear wheel axle path so I'd go with the mongoose.

Technu worked for me but I'm not that allergic to p.o. to begin with.

Brian HCM#1 · Feb 21, 2005

gastrocnemius said:
Once you've got it, some relief can be found by getting in the shower and progressively making the water hotter and hotter. It will itch unbearably as the heat releases the histamines, but after they're out, it will stop itching 'til they replenish - 4-5 hours.

Thats what I do and it does relieve it for quite a while.

-BB- · Feb 21, 2005

Have you tried smearing Oatmeal on it?
It will pull out the oils and dry it up.

Put some on, let it sit for about 20-30 minutes.

tmx · Feb 21, 2005

i heard the hot water thing made it worse too, but i've never had poison ivy, so can't confirm. maybe check some homeopathic and md/nursing sites for more facts on the fix.

sorry you're in such discomfort dillsner, but if you were in nyc this never would have happened. btw, happy anniversary to you and smivereens.

edit: the wet oatmeal sound very familar. go with that one....and be sure to take pictures for us.

sorry...re: the bike: if you rode it would matter.

shock · Feb 21, 2005

keep using the Technu, and really scrub it in with your fingernails. I'm EXTREMELY allergic, and sometimes it will take more than a week to get it to start drying up.

In extreme cases (like when it's threatening to take over your body), you can go to the doctor and get a prescription for a steriod pill that you take over the course of a week. It completely kills any allergic reaction your body has (to anything!). You could go roll in the stuff while taking these pills.

But it's hard on your liver, and they don't recommend it more than once a year. It lasts about a week or two.

dump · Feb 21, 2005

I don't know about poison oak, but I used to get poison ivy really bad as a child, the best thing for it was Aveeno Oatmeal Baths once a day - kept the itching down & helped dry it up.

goodtobeIrie · Feb 21, 2005

the most important thing with poison oak is to dry it out as much as possible...don't get any lotion or oils near it...and tecnu doesn't clear up poison oak...it just gets rid of the oils from it on your body...the hot shower method is the best to relieve itching...alcohol helps dry it out, but really stings if you've itched it and broken the skin already...the sand paper thing I'm not sure about...I've read the the oil the secreted into your body will spread if you scratch the affected spots and I've also read the opposite...
One thing though is that PO oils last for years and can travel many hundreds of miles through the air...if you came home and touched stuff in your house with your riding clothes on and hadn't washed up...chances are it's all over your house....and you'll inevitably continue to get it...I've been battling with dealing with PO for years now...and tried many solutions, while some work they tend to be more of a pain in the arse than anything...tecnu wash with COLD water..(hot water will help it into your pores)...staying away from anything greasy...and not itching it brings the fastest recovery for me...

shock · Feb 21, 2005

As for the hot shower deal, I love it. I damn near scauld myself. Mainly just because it "scratches" it for me, and it hurts so much i don't think about the itching for awhile.

Sometimes I use a spray-on Benydril to help with itching and drying up, but that REALLY hurts in a hot shower, yeah, hurts sooooo good

OGRipper · Feb 21, 2005

It seems I get the rash from just looking at the plant. I haven't found much that helps once the rash develops - the key is preventing the rash once you've been exposed. Technu doesn't do anything for the rash, but it is one of the only things that works to wash off the oak oil that causes the rash. What usually happens is you get some of the oil on you or your clothes but don't know it because the rash takes 1 - 3 days to develop. By then you've rubbed the oil around, gotten it on your clothes, etc., and what would have been only a small rash spreads all over the place. I use technu after riding in woods known to have poison oak, even if I don't think I was exposed. That seems to get the oil off and keep it from spreading. Then I use Benadryl or other anti-itch lotion and just let the rash run its course. There's a product called zanfel that is about $30-40 for a tiny little tube, I used it once when I got the rash really bad. It worked pretty well but I went through like two or three tubes, so it's pricey. I've heard of some prescription treatments but don't know anything specific.

rpk1988 · Feb 21, 2005

Steriods....helped me in 2 extemely bad cases on my legs.

goodtobeIrie · Feb 21, 2005

caladryl works just as well as oatmeal...you can leave it on all day too...as long as you don't mind being pink for a few days...the gels stuff doesn't work...has to be the pink stuff that dries into a chalky like cover...

The Kadvang · Feb 21, 2005

shock said:
keep using the Technu, and really scrub it in with your fingernails. I'm EXTREMELY allergic, and sometimes it will take more than a week to get it to start drying up.

In extreme cases (like when it's threatening to take over your body), you can go to the doctor and get a prescription for a steriod pill that you take over the course of a week. It completely kills any allergic reaction your body has (to anything!). You could go roll in the stuff while taking these pills.

But it's hard on your liver, and they don't recommend it more than once a year. It lasts about a week or two.

Those steroids work like a charm. After I broke my wrist, I had PO really, really bad under my cast and all over my other arm and chest- the steroids cleared it up in literally hours.

goodtobeIrie · Feb 21, 2005

rpk1988 said:
Steriods....helped me in 2 extemely bad cases on my legs.

took the steroids once for a case of oak literally covering 99% of my body...it didn't help the oak and it made me feel like S**T for about 3 months afterwards...I think I got a cortisone shot with the oral steroids too...IMO not a good route to go since it seems to cause more damage than help...

rpk1988 · Feb 21, 2005

I had some type of Poison around my knee, and it swelled so bad it was 4 times the size of my other knee. It was crazy, it hurt to bend my knee. When you go to bed at night, you never know where you will have it the next day. I still have white spots on my skin where the poison was over and my body like tanned around it. haha. It sucked greatly.

goodtobeIrie · Feb 21, 2005

OGRipper said:
It seems I get the rash from just looking at the plant.

That because you pretty much can....the oils can travel through the air...and a long ways too...

tonyhawk · Feb 21, 2005

OGRipper said:
There's a product called zanfel that is about $30-40 for a tiny little tube, I used it once when I got the rash really bad. It worked pretty well but I went through like two or three tubes, so it's pricey. I've heard of some prescription treatments but don't know anything specific.

I had real good luck with this stuff too: www.zanfel.com

Last year I got poison ivy all over both legs from knee to ankle. I had it for about a week and it showed no signs of getting better, so I gave up and shelled out the $$ for zanfel. I scrubbed the affected areas 3 or 4 times the first day, then maybe twice the second and that was about all it took. I had welts and scarring for a couple weeks, but no itch anymore.

Toshi · Feb 21, 2005

the poison oak response doesn't really involve histamines. different kind of allergic response, ya know. not to say that the hot shower approach doesn't work.

profro · Feb 21, 2005

Use Technu to remove the oils.

Get in the shower and scratch until the sores are red and oozing, take beach and apply it with a cotton swab to open sores. Burns like nothing else, but the crap is killed on contact, along with much of your skin. However it scabs within the day and all is over.

No seriously I've done it more than once.

OGRipper · Feb 21, 2005

Dude, pour bleach into open irritated wounds? I do that before every gnarly run...

W4S · Feb 21, 2005

I have the worst reaction to the Oak ever known to man. I have found a method that works for me and takes about the same amount of time to clear up the oak as Zanfel, but costs about 1/5 as much.

Shower using the hottest water I can stand, use Dishwashing soap (it traps the oils that are released by the hot water) and a medium stiff scrub brush. I scrub the affected area for about 2 minutes or until the itching has stopped. Rinse with COLD water until all the soap is gone and your skin gets goosebumps, then pat dry the area with a disposable towel, and apply a hydrocortisone cream to the area. This usually last about 6-8 hours until the itching starts again. Most important is to let the area dry out as much as possible and wash anything that might have the Oak oils on it. reinfecting yourself just as your recovering is overrated.

Duzitall · Feb 21, 2005

A friend of mine was hospitalized after giving himself the bleach treatment. It got into his bloodstream. Very sick.

My wife and one of my daughters and I all three recently got into the fresh crop of poison oak we have growing here in not so sunny CA.

My wife was so bad she needed the steroid shot and pills. The kid and I tried all the scrubs ($40/oz) and other stuff from the drug store. Bottom line is nothing other than steriods works for more than a few hours then you gotta take another hot shower.

As it started to dry out after a week or so Vaseline Intensive Care Lotion after a hot shower was as good as anything else. Save yourself alot of money and use $4 medicated calamine lotion or go to the Dr. for the medicine.

Good luck, Chris

gastro · Feb 21, 2005

Toshi said:
the poison oak response doesn't really involve histamines. different kind of allergic response, ya know. not to say that the hot shower approach doesn't work.

I googled "poison ivy histamines" and came up with an indication that some folks think it does, and I've had docs prescribe benadryl (an anti-histamine) for the itching, although that may be coinicidental. What kind of response is it?

edit

pelling

Toshi · Feb 21, 2005

gastrocnemius said:
I googled "poison ivy histamines" and came up with an indication that some folks think it does, and I've had docs prescribe benadryl (an anti-histamine) for the itching, although that may be coinicidental. What kind of response is it?

editpelling

histamines are involved with type I hypersensitivity (released from mast cells which are coated with IgE, with the IgE being what recognizes the allergen). this response is immediate.

poison oak and ivy are delayed responses, type IV hypersensitivity. this doesn't involve IgE, mast cells (or histamine since that's in the granules of the mast cells). instead it involves T cells, where type I through III involve B cells.

here's a bit of fun reading

http://edcenter.med.cornell.edu/CUMC_PathNotes/Immunopathology/Immuno_02.html

gastro · Feb 21, 2005

Toshi said:
here's a bit of fun reading http://edcenter.med.cornell.edu/CUMC_PathNotes/Immunopathology/Immuno_02.html

Whee, that was great! :blah:

Thanks for the edification. :thumb:

dexter · Feb 21, 2005

this is gods way of saying move back to colorado

Toshi · Feb 21, 2005

gastrocnemius said:
Whee, that was great!

Thanks for the edification.

yeah, that's about how exciting most of med school is :dead:

(except for anatomy)

Orvan · Feb 21, 2005

I know yer readin kammprahension iz quite as adjustable as a marzocchi exr fork so I thought I'd illustrate a better way to cleanse your p.o. problem...

I hate rain...and non dial up friendly websites!

dirtyamerican · Feb 21, 2005

I don't have time to read all posts here but if someone hasn't mentioned it...

try scraping the poison oak area up real good and pour some water/chlorine mix on it. People keep telling me that will dry it up faster than anything. I get it every year and get pretty tired of dealing with it so this year I'll have to try the ol' remedy.

Paris · Feb 21, 2005

i used to get PI really bad, but after a few yrs of MB, my body rejects it now, don't know why. PO on the other hand kicks my a$$, swimming in salt water or chlorinated water will wipe it out, I'll bet a jacuzzi would be really good. Benadryl will kick the itching, and u can by Ivarest which contains a topical form of benadryl and has a higher concentration of calamine than the regular stuff.

I have read that only the oil from the plant can cause the rash...so as soon as you get home from riding or whatever take a hot shower, this way you wipe out the oil. Once you have the rash, my understanding is that it cannot continue to spread, only that some parts of skin become affected later giving the appearance of spreading but not really.

anyhoo good luck

Brian HCM#1 · Feb 21, 2005

©2001 said:
does the shower thing spread the oils around though? what makes it go away? patience?

what about a schwinn vs mongoose vs gt vs pacific? which is better?

It doesn't make it go away any faster, but helps relieve the itch. I forgot to mention, after using the hot water, then turn it down to cold to help lose the pours faster. It won't spead it.

Smelly · Feb 21, 2005

i just scratch the stuff. no matter how hard i try to avoid it, i have poison ivy all summer every summer. i can take stuff or try to fight it off, but i just get it again. usually the first time i get it i start taking Prednisone, and then i stop caring and just scratch away cuz scratching feels so goooooood.

Slacker · Feb 21, 2005

Smelly said:
i just scratch the stuff. no matter how hard i try to avoid it, i have poison ivy all summer every summer. i can take stuff or try to fight it off, but i just get it again. usually the first time i get it i start taking Prednisone, and then i stop caring and just scratch away cuz scratching feels so goooooood.

There's no way to keep yourself from scratching it. Now, when it spread to your gonads, masturbating has a whole new meaning :heart: :love:

poison oak treatment?

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