eatmyshorts
Ghostbuster
"Do you like-a-da Fat Boys?"
Posts: 536
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Post by eatmyshorts on Jul 12, 2006 13:50:13 GMT -5
Seriously, why does it have to exist? Now I'm all scratchy and bumpy for next next 5 days. Not to mention those ugly bubbles I might get on my hands. I hate poison ivy! grrr!
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Post by Spiderdancer on Jul 12, 2006 14:07:33 GMT -5
Ouch. Sorry.
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eatmyshorts
Ghostbuster
"Do you like-a-da Fat Boys?"
Posts: 536
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Post by eatmyshorts on Jul 12, 2006 14:28:20 GMT -5
thanks. Do anyone know if taking a shower is good or bad if you have poison ivy?
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Post by Spiderdancer on Jul 12, 2006 14:54:53 GMT -5
Here's a link to an MD's page with some simple instructions for treating it: www.drgreene.com/21_148.htmlI know this isn't the best topic for the forum, but what the heck, I'm a premed and I want to help people feel better.  |
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Post by pfrsue on Jul 12, 2006 16:19:40 GMT -5
Taking a hot shower is bad if you still have the oil on your skin. Hot water opens up the pores and lets more of the bad stuff in. Once the oil is gone, it really doesn't matter what you do, although I've heard that cold water can be soothing. I also recommend Caladryl lotion or gel. It does a little more good than Calamine lotion and works better (for me) than maximum strength cortizone cream. Nothing really cures it though except for time. The trick is not to scratch because you can cause infection.
How do I know this, do you ask? Note that I am currently sporting a right hand the size of a catcher's mitt that is absolutely covered in poison yuck.
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Post by TheOogieBoogieMan on Jul 12, 2006 16:34:15 GMT -5
although I've heard that cold water can be soothing. Yeah, cold water helps numbs the itch. Actually, that applies to anything cold, so if you have an ice pack or something, you should use it. Stay strong, you two! |
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Post by PoolMan on Jul 12, 2006 18:19:46 GMT -5
Yes, stay strong! Don't bow to the urge to scratch! That delicious, sumptuous urge to just rake your fingernails over your skin and just scrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrratch your troubles away. Don't picture getting a nice bumpy stick and running it back and forth in soothing motions. Stay away from the bark on that tree.
<going to hell>
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Post by pfrsue on Jul 12, 2006 18:34:26 GMT -5
Yes, stay strong! Don't bow to the urge to scratch! That delicious, sumptuous urge to just rake your fingernails over your skin and just scrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrratch your troubles away. Don't picture getting a nice bumpy stick and running it back and forth in soothing motions. Stay away from the bark on that tree. <going to hell> Ha. Ha. Ha. Pooly, right now I think I'd really like to shake your hand. |
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Post by duckie on Jul 12, 2006 19:31:26 GMT -5
And I'm also suffering from poison ivy... cleared out an area behind the house a week ago, and got the stuff all over my arms and legs. Uggh!
If you don't get it off in the first 30 minutes or so, then it's too late. At that point, you just need to try to use self-control and avoid scratching. What's worked for me in the past has been to find something to dry it out as much as possible. Most of the topicals contain isopropyl alcohol, and they've usually worked fine for me.
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eatmyshorts
Ghostbuster
"Do you like-a-da Fat Boys?"
Posts: 536
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Post by eatmyshorts on Jul 12, 2006 20:19:07 GMT -5
Thanks everybody. One other question, do you think sweating would spread it, or just irritate it? Because I was recently engaged in a game of x-treme streetball (extremely x-treme). I am sweating like a pig. I think I might take a cold shower and maybe it won't spread if I do that.
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Post by uptown on Jul 13, 2006 17:26:16 GMT -5
Wow all this information would have been usefull all that time I suffered with my entire legs covered in the rash. I decided I'd go for a run in the woods for a nice scenic change........never again. Then i got chaised by a squirrel....
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Post by DocD83 on Jul 17, 2006 20:23:44 GMT -5
I'm surprised at the suggestion for cooling treatment--I would have suggested very, very hot showers. When I last had poison ivy, they killed the itch for 6-8 hours and felt better than scratching. Much better. I'm thinking of opeing a seedy store with blacked out windows where you're given a poison ivy branch and a coin operated shower.
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Post by pfrsue on Jul 17, 2006 20:29:52 GMT -5
Like I said, once you've washed off whatever oil hasn't already leeched into your skin, you can go with whatever feels best. It's when you still have the oil on you that you should avoid hot water (and presumably sweating). On a personal update, the itch is gone, but I still look like I have leprosy or something on my right hand. It's very fun to horrify customers with it. Every cloud really does have a silver lining. Bwahahahaha!!! |
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Post by kylerexpop on Jul 25, 2006 12:18:37 GMT -5
wait, so we're not talking about drew barrymore, alyssa milano, or jaime pressley?
oh, well.
carry on!
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Post by Head Mutant on Jul 25, 2006 18:38:35 GMT -5
I'd gladly trade poison ivy for a hand with broken bones... I was getting out of the car the other day, and my mother accidentally slammed shut a door on my left hand, trapping it inside. The door didn't just hit it and bounce off -- it CLOSED and clicked home.
Yeesh. *waves for sympathy*
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