[BETTER BUT NOT CURED]  05/26/2009: Tali from ST LOUIS, MO: "I am having Poison Ivy Rush right now and what helps me for itching is the hottest possible shower and Aloe Vera Gel from Walgreens (only for couple bucks). This Gel is also fantastic for moskito bytes, sunburns and just burns. Make sure to keep it in refrigerator. It's great for babies too."

05/27/2009: Jack from Tampa, Fl replies: "Cure: Use DMSO either liquid or gel applied externally. The DMSO seems to neutralize the oil from the Poison Ivy that causes the rash and immediately stops the itching and dries up the blisters quickly."

07/27/2009: Lori K from Roanoke, Virginia replies: "What is DMSO??? Thanks!"

EC: http://www.earthclinic.com/Supplements/DMSO.html

[YEA]  07/18/2008: David from Grapeland, Texas: "After two weeks of using calimine lotion for a severe posion ivy rash and found little to no releif, I used acv on the same rash that I had on my arms. I was reluctant thinking that it would burn but I was so desperate that I tried a topical application and I got almost instant releif from the itching. With continuous applications several times a day the rash dryed and healed. there wasn't any burning and I found it very soothing. I read somewhere that the Isralites practically lived off of vineger and garlic while in Egypt and where very healthy. David , East Texas

P.S. I just remembered that I also used acv for dissolving calcification of kidney stones. Suffering two weeks with birthing pains in my back from kidney stones I finally went to the doctor where after x-rays he determined that I did indeed have several small BB sized kidney stones . Of course he wanted to schedule me for surgery go up in me to retreive these stones in a basket type apporatise and $1500.00 later I would be ok. I told my mother and she said she removed hard water deposits from her coffee pot with vinegar. so I took a couple of table spoons of vinegar and within 30 min. to an hour the stones passed."

07/19/2008: Joyce from Joelton, Tn replies: "To David from Grapeland: Hi David, Just wanted to tell you that the toxic substance on the rhus (poison ivy) is alkaline and that ACV, being acid, will titrate it, so that you won't get the itchy rash if you use it shortly after exposure to poison ivy/oak.m Just thoroughly wipe all exposed areas off with full strength ACV. After it breaks out, the best thing I have found to stop the itching and start drying it up is a product put out by "Fruit of the Earth" called Vitamin E with Naturals (Those naturals are burdock, calendula, chamomile, comfrey, golden seal and honey). I use the yellow gel form that I find in the lotion department of our local Dollar Tree stores. Using this it is gone in 3-4 days. You might also want to look into Beelith tablets (ask the pharmacists for them, nonprescription but I have never found them out on the counter) for those kidney stone problems. They are magnesium oxide and B6 vitamins. I'll share a funny one about kidney stones with you. Early one morning I got a excited call for help for an employee in the basement who was doubled over with abdominal pain. I asked if they could bring him up of if I needed to come down and get him. They brought up immediately. After getting a few things done, including interview, I asked the fellow if he'd had any history of kidney stones. Although his reply was negative, I told him that I was sure that was going to be the cause of his pain. My fellow nurse said, "Yeah, now you know what it feels like to have a baby". Realizing from the confused look on his face, that he did not understand what she meant, I said "They equate the pain of kidney stones to that of having a baby". After mulling this over a few minutes, our patient sounding very sincere, said: "The first thing I am going to do when I get out of here is call my ex-wife and apologize". Both of his nurses cracked up with laughter."

[YEA]  04/16/2006: Devonia from Bendl, IL: "For Poison Ivy: Mix baking soda and distilled white vinegar to make a paste (will foam up), rub on infected area. It will burn but will dry up the rash in no time. reapply as needed."

[YEA]  01/05/2012: Spikey58 from Peterborough, Ontario, Canada replies: "I have used baking soda and water and made a paste. It really works I and I could imagine how effective it would be with vinegar added. The biggest thing for me anyways is the relief from the itching especially at night. I found it tolerable at least with no itch. Great advice"

[YEA]  09/02/2012: Sue from Mount Airy, Md replies: "Baking Soda and White Vinegar.... What a great blog find.

I am not a blogger, this is my first one, so try and bear with me. I got some kind of Poison Something, the doctor was not sure. Anyway I had been in my back woods clearing some brush for a new shed. I got this rash over my arms, stomach, and legs, a small but a bit within 24-48 hours (the doc tells me later it can be up to 10 days before it reacts or appears). I used some Calimine lotion, cortisone creams, oatmeal baths, and some other over colidar oatmeal remedy from over he counter stuff, but within 8 days, I knew I was in trouble. I had not slept much in 4 days. The night before I only got one hour of sleep due to the pain and itching, I wanted to rip the skin off it was so bad, but was being super consious not to scratch. I ended up getting up and putting ice packs over about 10% of my body and that gave about 50% of relief. I am a pretty tough broad, having three children natural child birth, but this was kicking my butt, and I started crying. It was over a long holiday weekend and so I went to urgent care on saturday as I knew due to the holiday I could not get help past today without going to the hospital Sunday or the Holiday and we all know how the waiting goes there. So I went to an urgent care clinic for the first time in my life. The doctor said some parts were infected and put me on antibiotics and prednosone 3 tabs 2 X a day as he said it was really bad, and I was way past any over the counter help. The doc said I was in for a rough ride for the next 24-48 hours while the prednesone started to work, as there was no creams he could give to help and I am allergic to benedryl. I got home still itching so bad I could not take it.

That is where your blog came in... Desperate, I did a search online for natural remedies and yours came up along with one other hot water as hot as I could stand it and (Black tea bath, we will get into later). I quickly procured the baking soda and venegar and got in the shower. I put the water as hot as I could and it burned and itched like crazy on my rash, still I was desperate, but I did it any way. Then I took the baking soda and vinegar and did as described mixed, rubbed on (this burned like crazy too), waited for it to dry, showered off. Then I took the plain vinegar and rubbed it all over the rash. That burned again like crazy. While going through it I thought to myself I hope this was worth it.

Guess what? The itching was almost completely gone, and I mean big gone, I was able to get 6 hours straight sleep, then got up wiped on some more vinegar and went back to bed for two more hours. When I woke in the morning, my itching was bearable for the first time in 9 days.

After getting up, I used a very hot black tea bath which after the initial 10 seconds of burning really helped, followed by the baking soda and vinegar regimine again. I can now at least feel somewhat normal and the rash is drying up and is getting lighter. Also I think the vinegar was partly responsible for the couple of infected parts starting to heal. In a nut shell, number one, don't wait so long to get started on this regimine, it may keep you from the docs office and two, if you can stand the burning, you got the only cure I could find that actually worked.

Thank God for you taking the time to post this blog. It is so appreciated. You saved me from going insane. I hope my first online post will convince someone else to help themselves."

[YEA]  05/17/2013: Patsy from Kentucky replies: "Thank you for the baking soda and vinegar advice for poison ivy... I was so desperate, buying everything OTC and no relief. Almost instantaneously, the paste worked. Thank you!!!"

[YEA]  09/27/2006: Tim from VA: "I have a case of poison ivy from mowing the yard. It is from my knees down to my ankles. I have been using anti itch ointment. I once read that the inside of banana skins is supposed to eliminate itching. I can say that the banana skins work much better than benedryl! Of course, now I'll draw fruit flies. I would be interested how banana skins work on insect bites."

08/08/2008: Joyce from Joelton, Tn replies: "Hello Rosie, with all due respect to the medical field and Wikipedia, I disagree that it can't spread from the fluid in the blisters. Anyone who has ever had a good case of it will probably side with us. When you haven't been outside or petted the pets who have, and the stuff is still spreading a week or more later, it has to be from the rhus in the blisters that got inside the skin to cause the blisters to begin with. I also remember a roofer say that after initially breaking out with poison ivy one night, that after working on a roof throughout the next day and sweating up a storm, he found the poson ivy was gone after that. So apparently you can sweat it out, the same way it entered the skin to begin with. Now for the best thing I have found for this infernal itchy poison ivy, if you have a Dollar Tree or Deal's store go look in the hand lotion, shampoo section for a product put out by Fruit of the Earth called E or Vitamin E with Naturals. It comes in several different ones, but the yellow gel one is the one that I find stops the infernal itching and starts drying it up after the third time of applying it. You can probably find it in health food stores but probably not as cheap as at the above stores. It makes no claims at being anything other than a lotion or gel, but boy do I love this stuff. Just put it on the rash and reapply each time it starts itching again. The naturals in it are like chamomile, comfrey, burdock, etc. If you recognize the plant and know when you have come in contact with it, that's even better. If you go in, wash off, then get good old Apple Cider Vinegar & wet a wash cloth in it and thoroughly wipe everywhere that you think touched it. The acid of the vinegar titrates the alkali of the rhus and you don't break out (I think you probably have to do this within an hour or two of exposure though)."

EC: Joyce, to prove the point that poison ivy can't spread from the liquid, in June a very confident friend (whom I thought had to be suffering from temporary madness) scratched open some of the new poison ivy blisters on my arm and rubbed the liquid all over his arm. I was certain he would get a rash, but Nay, he never did. Nor did my poison ivy spread and I am terribly allergic to the plant!
Deirdre

08/08/2008: Rosie from Ewing, Illinois replies: "I am going thru chemo. On my good days, I like to work outside. Got a good case of poison ivy/oak. Will try the natural remedies. The inside of a banana skin, the fels napta soap, the lemon peel. But I think the hot water would open up pores and cause the infection to spread."

EC: From Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poison_ivy

"The oozing fluids released by itching blisters do not spread the poison. The appearance of a spreading rash indicates that some areas received more of the poison and reacted sooner than other areas. The blisters and oozing result from blood vessels that develop gaps and leak fluid through the skin; if the skin is cooled, the vessels constrict and leak less..."

08/08/2008: Joyce from Joelton, Tn replies: "Hi Deirdre, There are some people who do not break out when they contact it. Could your friend be one of them. My daughter used to be. One day while working in the yard, we found poison ivy climbing a pear tree. My son who was less reactive than I, and I, were trying to figure out how to get it off the tree without the miserable itchy rash developing. My daughter walked up and listened for a few minutes, then saying "I don't know what you'all are scared of" reached over and pulled the poison ivy off the tree, broke it off at the ground and walked away. She proceeded to break out with the miserable blisters the next day - her first time ever to react to it. I am so sensitive to it that I almost break out just by looking at it. But I have also had a couple of severe bouts of it. The last one in my upper 20's. One eye was swollen completely shut, the other one I could barely crack open enough to see straight ahead, and my poor nose was swollen so that it was pushed toward the worst eye side of my face. At that point I went to the ER and was given Prednisone injection, tablets and pills. About the only relief I found was lying on the bed with a fan blowing over me, and I darned sure did not go outside to get in any more of it. A week later the darned stuff was still spreading over parts of my body that hadn't had any rash on it initially. I have talked to many others who said they had the same problem with it. Are you sure this friend wasn't naturally immune to it? However I still considered myself lucky because I remember our teacher standing someone up in front of our class and asking if we knew who she was. None of us recognized the kid who looked like a total body scab. It was our class mate who had been out of school a couple of weeks already and was on her way home from visiting her doctor again. Ending with a little humor here, a co-worker (about 30 years ago) told me about escorting her sister to her church's country toilet. When her sister found no toilet paper she requested her to bring her some leaves. She didn't know the leaves she gave her was poison ivy leaves. She said her poor sister couldn't walk for 6 weeks afterward. I'll bet her sister didn't find any humor in her distress."

[YEA]  02/12/2006: A Soaring Hawk : "Shred the inner bark of an oak tree (handful), bring water to a boil, remove from heat, add the bark, cover & let simmer til cool. Apply as often a possible with a cotton ball. In a couple days it will be gone. Store in the refrigerator. Always ask the tree for permission, thank the tree & cover the tree wood with tar."

10/04/2008: Melissa Hicks from Cadet, Missouri replies: "The reason this might work is because in the process it turns into DMSO. For those of you who don't know, DMSO is derived from wood pulp!"

06/26/2010: Scott from Asheville, Nc replies: "It works because oak bark is high in tannins. No DMSO is produced by making a tea from bark."

[YEA]  07/26/2009: Soyjim from East Alton, Illinois: "At various times in my life I have suffered with severe poison ivy outbreaks. Usually once or twice a year for a number of years then I would have no problems for a few years. in the past I originally almost always had to go to a doctor and beg for prednisone. often the doctors would not give me any until the rash spread extensively. Even with the prescription steroids I would have to shower often with poison ivy washes and use over the counter topical medicines then after about a month I would be ok but sometimes it would return even when I was very careful not to get reexposed. Because the steroid pills were so hard to get I found that I could get rid of the poison ivy if I took an Ibuprofen pill about every 4 hours until the poison ivy was gone. usually I could taper off after about 3 weeks and only take Ibuprofen when itching was severe. without some kind of Anti-inflamatory drug the poison ivy would just spread and itch unbearably. Even with the ibuprofen I would have to use washes and topical treatments to get rid of the rash. The ibuprofen treated rashes seemed not as likely to return in the current year as when I used steroid pills.

About five years ago I read a recommendation that eating honey might keep one from getting poison Ivy. since that time I have started putting spoon of honey in one of my morning cups of coffee occasionally doing it more often in the likely high out break seasons - spring to mid summer. Although once in the past I did get poison ivy in winter. My own thinking on the subject led me to take some bee pollen pills that I got at ___ drug store. These can be over done. When I first stared taking them daily, after a couple of weeks I broke out with a poison ivy type rash all over my body but it went away in a few hours. I encountered a second occurence of this rash when I took the pills daily after a few lay off days. Now I take them occasionally during poison ivy season. Maybe once a week at the start then cut back to one or two more pills over the next few months. This year I only took a couple in the spring and have eaten honey occasionally. I don't know if this has helped me but in the last five years I have not had any severe poison ivy outbreaks. I remember a couple of times having a few itchy bumps on my fingers that went away in a few days. I do not know what they were but when I got them I sure worried that they were poison ivy."

07/29/2009: Soyjim from East Alton, Illinois replies: "I was hoping that someone would have some responded to my first post. Most people that don't get poison Ivy are not going to read about it. The theory that I have read is if you eat a lot of honey you don't get poison ivy. I am not going to test this by intentionally exposing myself to poison ivy cause I think I still get poison ivy but it is not the systemic kind that spreads uncontrollably. I think I am more or less in the state that I had in the seventies when the poison ivy immunity vials were available. They made it possible for me to get rid of poison Ivy without doing something every two hour to relieve the unbearable itching. That is how I found the ibuprofen relief.

Usually ibuprofen will give me two hours of itching reduction. then most any topical treatment will give me another two hours of relief. At which time I can take another Ibuprofen without exceeding the recommend daily dosage of Ibuprofen. The ibuprofen, washes, and topicals prevent the inflammation from erupting and damaging the skin which then lengthens the recovery time beyond a month. I am confident enough in this ibuprofen relief that I would recommend any one that is exposed to poison ivy take ibuprofen if severe itching and inflammation start. The problem with ibuprofen is no doctor will give prednisone if they don't see evidence of suffering (Inflamation).

I thought that the way to generate some responses might be to ask a few people that are are suffering from a severe poison ivy reaction post whether they eat much honey regularly. I really think that there is something about Honey and Bee pollen that if ingested at adequate levels significantly reduces the severity of Poison Ivy outbreaks.

It has been 5 years since I have had any severe poison Ivy outbreaks. This year my vigilance and practices have lessened. I need some kind of reinforcement that the honey and bee pollen I do take are the reason I am not getting Poison Ivy. It is no real hardship to use honey and occasionally bee pollen but my motivation is noticeably dropping. If these things do help I would like for others that suffer severe poison ivy outbreaks share them. "

[YEA]  04/04/2010: Sally from London, Ontario replies: "To soyjim,

Well do I have news for you!! You may have just answered my question - My husband and four children all went into the woods and were exposed to poison ivy. All of them but 1 now have an outbreak, and I couldn't figure out why this one didn't get it. Well... I think now I know... This child eats lots of RAW HONEY every day! She loves it, she eats it right out of the jar, and she doesn't have an outbreak like the rest of them. It baffled me until I read your post. That has to be it. But I do think the KIND of honey will make a big difference. She eats honey that is taken straight from the hive to the jar with honey comb in it and propolis as well as some raw bee pollen in it. It has been said to be miraculous with curing allergies.

I also used this same honey to cure chicken pox before they ever popped open - they just shrunk in a few days.

Very interesting!!"

[YEA]  10/19/2007: RJ from Nashua, New England, USA: "I was reading about Poison Ivy control for gardens using Clove Oil from:'

http://www.biconet.com/lawn/poisonivydefoliant.html.

Getting Poison Oak and Poison Ivy - no fun for kids of any age. Try an at home treatment of Poison Ivy (or Poison Oak) by:

Making a paste of a food grade clay and saline solution.

Set up your Witch Hazel paper towels and cotton balls with clove oil near you. Open trash can lid and start washing machine on heavy soil cycle.

Put on Kitchen dishwashing gloves that you can dispose of after treatment.

With gloves on, apply paste over the affected area. Let dry.

Wipe off dried paste with a paper towel, moistened with Witch Hazel. Let area dry. (Vinegar stings more.)

Apply Clove Oil. Cover with a gauze bandage and bandage tape to protect area with Clove Oil application.

Soak plant oil affected clothes in sink, with lots of Vinegar and soapy water. Rinse, and launder.

Throw away paper towels and cotton balls.

Throw away disposable Kitchen Dishwashing Gloves.

Sometimes, kids like a big production, so when you want to do that, recycle some plastic shopping bags and use some gauze tape. Tape bags around the area w/Poison Ivy or Poison Oak - so that only the affected area shows. Then do treatment. Doing that also prevents any of the plant oils from transferring to unaffected skin during treatment. After treatment, with gloves on, remove bags. Throw away shopping bags, then remove disposable gloves, and then throw them away, as they have the plant oils on them."

[YEA]  11/13/2009: Kim from Olsburg, Ks, USA: "Prevent Poison Ivy

I suffered something awful when they stopped giving the prevention shots for poison ivy at the doctors office. I am so susceptible to it that I'd swear I can get it by looking at it through binoculars! If I broke out in the spring it would stay with me through October. No exaggerating. I finally met a lady whose grandma told her to add a teaspoon of cream of tartar to water and drink it in the early spring (it's awful bitter!). My family has been doing this for years, now, and it really does work! If we're going to be out around poison ivy, or oak in the fall we take another dose just to be safe."

[YEA]  12/25/2012: Leticia from Houston, Texas: "I love this website and often come here for advice. I had found that diatomaceous earth helps soothe bug bites because it draws out the poison, but I had not found anything for it under curing poison ivy.

My son lives in a woody area and has a severe reaction to poison ivy. I usually have to take him to the doctor for a course of steroids, but since his infection happened right before Christmas, my only option was to go wait in an ER which he did not want to do. While I was in my pantry searching for my ACV, I came across my diatomaceous earth and a light went off inside in my brain.

I had him take a very hot shower and then made up paste of diatomaceous earth and water. I had to put it on him at least 3 times a day. I then gave him an allergy pill. By the 3rd day, it completely dissappeared with no scabbing. I had read many posts that said scrub the heads off, but I did not have to do that. Depending on how severe your infection is- 3 days is what it took for a mild infection.

I hope this remedy will bring you relief. Good luck!"

12/31/2012: Leticia from Houston, Texas replies: "I just realized that I forgot to mention that I used FOOD grade diatomaceous earth not the industrial one."

[NAY]  08/22/2012: Renee from Bergen Co., Nj: "DMSO, applied topically to my husband's poison ivy, caused the itching to increase and it looked more irritated. He tried several applications, all with the same result. It did not help it go away."

05/13/2008: Joyce from Joelton, TN replies: "Hello, glad you had good results from putting DMSO on your poison ivy rash! Being severely allergic to poison ivy and knowing that DMSO quickly passes into the body carrying anything on the surface along with it,I definitely would be afraid to try it! Supposedly the reason why DMSO is not used widely in medicine is because a little garlic & DMSO was placed on the foot, and almost instantaneously tasted by the recipient. "

06/30/2008: Tom from Austin, TX replies: "DMSO is a powerful solvent. My guess is that it works on poison ivy because it dissolves the plant oil(s) that cause the rash. It would then follow that what gets absorbed into your body would not actually be the poison ivy oil(s), but rather broken-down components."

10/04/2008: Melissa Hicks from Cadet, Missouri replies: "The information about putting garlic and then DSMO is incorrect!

05/13/2008: Joyce from Joelton, TN replies: "Hello, glad you had good results from putting DMSO on your poison ivy rash! Being severely allergic to poison ivy and knowing that DMSO quickly passes into the body carrying anything on the surface along with it,I definitely would be afraid to try it! Supposedly the reason why DMSO is not used widely in medicine is because a little garlic & DMSO was placed on the foot, and almost instantaneously tasted by the recipient."

DMSO when applied to your skin causes a garlic taste in your mouth. It didn't soak the garlic juices into the body. However DMSO does pull lots of water into the body."

10/05/2008: Robert Henry from Ten Mile, Tn replies: "In the 60's I worked for the paper company who made DMSO and supported the research. DMSO could never be used in a double blind trial because it's use caused your breath to smell of garlic. It has zero to do with garlic.

The plant was located in Bogaloosa, La. No employee in the DMSO plant ever had a cold nor the flu while working in that section. The Doctors and Big Pharma killed DMSO because it was so effective and cheap. Read Dr. Jacob's books on the subject and you will cry.

Joyce is right about the poke plant but not about DMSO."

Fels-Naptha

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Fels-Naptha Cure for Poison Ivy

You will find Fels-Naptha in the laundry detergent section of your local grocery store. Ordinarily used to treat stains, you can rub the bar of soap on affected areas of your skin together with cold water. Use this folk medicine treatment several times a day to relieve itching for hours and quickly dry up the blisters.

[YEA]  09/12/2008: Anna from Philadelphia, PA: "Poison ivy was so bad on my forearm that I honestly thought it might be a flesh-eating bacteria. I squeezed a leaf of aloe over it and the next day it was healed!"

[YEA]  11/25/2008: Keira W from Placerville, CA replies: "We live in a wooded area and no matter how often we point out the poison oak to my son he keeps getting it. He gets it so badly on his face that his eyes almost swell shut and his face swells up. Last night he said he was getting it again and sure enough his face was getting red and swollen. I came on to Earth Clinic's website because I always find great remedies. I read over the ideas and we decided to try the 3%hydrogen peroxide and freash aloe vera. I put some hydrogen peroxide on a cotton ball and gently patted it all over the poison oak (avoiding the eyes, eyebrows and hair-it will bleach hair). Then without rinsing it off we applied fresh aloe vera gel from my aloe plant. This morning I could not believe my eyes, the poison oak rash was completely gone! We have never had anything work like this. Thank You Earth Clinic!"