Ice Water
★★★★★
After 2 or 3 days the poison Ivy was gone. Thank you so much for sharing this.
Ice Water
★★★★★
The relief is immediate and lasts for two to ten hours (depending upon how severe your poison ivy reaction is). Repeat as many times the first day as needed. The second day you won't need many.
By the third day you are almost home. WHY does it work? Heat is a catalyst for ALL biological reactions. Heat speeds up biological reactions. Heat is required for all biological reactions including poison ivy. When you put your hand/arm in ice water (approx. 33 deg F), the ice draws the HEAT out of the area with poison ivy. Essentially, shutting the poison ivy reaction down and giving your skin time to heal. HOW I do it: Just say I have a poison ivy outbreak on my forearm. I take a large ice chest. Fill it with water up to about 4 inches from the top. Then put in a full bag of ice. Maybe two bags. S
wish the ice around with your hand. If all the ice melts, then you should add another bag. When ready, I just submerge my entire forearm into the ice water. I like to leave my arm in the ice water for at least a full minute. Two full minutes is better. I had a friend who once had poison ivy on almost all areas of his body. He took quick baths in the bath tub in ice water. It worked and in 3 days he was done. That's it. Works 100% of the time. William Note that heat is a catalyst for chemical, bacterial, and biological reactions.
(TX)
02/28/2019
★★★★★
Thank you for the ice water suggestion! I've tried many things for poison ivy and this is now my absolute favorite. Nothing else has stopped the itch immediately. THANK YOU! Side note; no way would I be able to stand ice water for two minutes. So that probably should vary person to person. For me somewhere around 45 seconds to a minute was good enough to keep the itch at bay for a few hours. And the swelling went down and has stayed down.
Ionic Zinc
★★★★★
This past July I got it again though in 66 years I've only had it twice. Looking for relief, I remembered zinc in pill form clears up my granddaughter's eczema. I had a bottle of ionic zinc and knowing it is good for skin I decided to see if it would offer some relief from the blistering and itch. Ionic zinc is a liquid. Mine came in a blue bottle with a dropper. I put a bit on every tingle, pimple and start of an outbreak.
I immediately had what felt like an electrical charge or tiny pin pricks. It was a bit overwhelming at first and I wondered if it was a very smart idea but the sensation eased and in a short time blisters appeared. Poison ivy takes days to blister and you aren't on your way to healing until your skin is a full blown mess. What got me to apply the ionic zinc again that evening was the fact that once I applied the zinc the itching stopped.
I applied it morning and night, a small amount. It is like water with a bit of oil, you need to shake the bottle and pump the dropper so you have the mixed ionic zinc in the dropper. I don't know the science behind it but I know it worked. If you've had poison ivy you know how long it takes to surface, blister, weep and finally start to go away. The ionic zinc got rid of all of it within a week, full cycle, start to finish. It surfaced, dried up and went away with no itch.
The only side effect I experienced was that the skin on my arms, after the poison ivy healed, was wrinkly and very dry.
I probably could have been more careful applying the zinc only to the poison ivy, maybe have used a q-tip. I put coconut oil on the dry patches and used a soft skin brush when I bathed. After a few days my skin was back to normal. Ionic zinc worked for me. Last year it took me three weeks to just get feeling ok with the poison ivy starting to clear.
I'm hoping this might help someone else get relief. Take care and stay smart.
Jewelweed
★★★★★
Jewelweed
★★★★★
At the end of the day, I strained out the plant material and took the remaining orange jewelweed tea and froze it in ice cube trays. These ice cubes are now in the freezer, ready for the next need. Cold is usually soothing for poison ivy, anyway.
Most herbalists agree that jewelweed should NOT be used internally.
~Mama to Many~
Jewelweed
★★★★★
Jewelweed
★★★★★
EC: Jewel Weed (aka Touch-Me-Not) often grows near poison ivy and is easy to locate. Good photos here.
(Washington, Dc, Usa)
12/06/2010
★★★★★
I picked up a Jewelweed tincture at my local health food store too. I'd had a poison ivy rash that wouldn't go away for over 2 weeks. The Jewelweed tincture cleared it up in 3 days. Now I'm never without a bottle of it in my house. I've tried it on mosquito bites and it's *great* on eczema too.
Jewelweed
★★★★★
(Washington, Pa. 15301)
06/10/2013
(Middle, Tennessee, Usa)
06/10/2013
If you can't get Jewel Weed, try some of the other things on the poison ivy page here at Earth Clinic... some really good ideas there that are easily available.
Also, I have a teenage son who has had severe poison ivy many times over the years. He has had to take steroids for it numerous times. However, this summer he has been exposed a few times and has only had mild cases. Perhaps it is because he is super careful, but I think some other things have factored in as well. A few years ago he had bad asthma. Over time we were able to get him off all prescription and over the counter drugs and inhalers. We found for him that if he took Nettle Leaf powder capsules (3-4 capsules 2-3 times a day) and a Quercetin Capsule twice a day, he no longer had trouble with asthma! If allergy symptoms increased a bit (this always set off his asthma, as did any sickness) he would take a few extra quercetin and nettles capsules.) He took this daily for a year or more. I think it actually helped to heal him. Now he just takes it as needed. But since Nettles can be used for skin rashes, I always have him take some if he has been exposed to poison ivy or if he has a little bit. All that to say, taking nettles capsules or drinking Nettle tea (at least a quart or two over a day) may help a lot, too and it is very safe.
Hope you find relief soon!
(Orlando, Fl)
06/11/2013
★★★★★
Externally applied DMSO will cure your rash.
Jewelweed
★★★★★
Jewelweed
★★★★★
Jewelweed
★★★★★
L-lysine, Vitamin C, Aspirin
★★★★★
One of my adults sons had a cold. I was giving him the following, twice a day:
2 capsules (total 800mg) L-lysine
2 tablets (700mg) aspirin
1 tablet (1000 mg) Vitamin C
After a few days he told me - "Whatever you were giving me for my cold really helped my poison ivy. I had some on my fingers and it was getting bad, but now it is almost dried up." (I didn't even know he had poison ivy! )
I recalled that L-lysine is sometimes used for cold sores. Something about it must be helpful when skin needs healing. Vitamin C is also helpful for skin issues. I don't know if the aspirin had any benefit at all to the poison ivy, but didn't want to neglect it, in case it did.
~Mama to Many~
Lemon Joy
★★★★★
Lye Soap
★★★★★
In the early 60's my daughter who was about 7 got poison ivy. I took her to the doctor. Got shot and instructions. It got worse, between her toes, fingers, everywhere!! A little old lady in Nebraska told me to get some P&G Soap. You could buy it then. People used it for washing clothes. Bought some and it cleared up her poison ivy. They no longer market it, so when I find it at a flea market or craft shop I buy lots and give as gifts. Please believe me, this really works. Keep it in the bath or shower and see how it really destroys the oil that comes from the blisters.
Mama's Herbal Tea
★★★★★
For the child who had poison ivy all over his arms and legs, I also gave him several tea baths. I would make a gallon of strong herbal tea and add it to his bathwater. He would soak for about 30 minutes a couple of times a day. (This was not convenient to him but he was pretty miserable and therefore willing. In fact, in spite of diligent home treatment internally and externally, he ended up needing prednisone. We continued the spray even when he was on prednisone.)
Recipe for Herbal Spray for Poison Ivy
- 1 Tablespoon dry comfrey leaves
- 1 Tablespoon dry plantain leaves
- 1 cup boiling water
Put dry leaves into a mason jar. Add boiling water. Let steep for 30 minutes. Strain leaves out of tea. Store in a spray bottle in the refrigerator. Make a fresh batch of tea each day.
Recipe for Herbal Tea Bath for Poison Ivy
- 1/2 cup dry comfrey leaves
- 1/2 cup dry plantain leaves
- 1 gallon boiling water
Bring 1 gallon of water to boil. Remove from heat. Add dry leaves. Cover. Steep 30 minutes to 2 hours. Strain out leaves. Add to a tub of water. If water is very hot, be careful not to let very hot water hit the skin of the child in the tub, if he is in there already. :)
One morning my three year old woke up and said, "I want a comfrey bath!!! " He had poison ivy and had seen his brother have many "comfrey baths." He wasn't feeling too patient, so I put him in the tub with warm water and a cup of baking soda (which I find helpful for itching and nearly everything! ) I put 1/2 cup comfrey leaves into an old sock and tied it off, like a giant tea bag. I put it into his bath water (since I didn't really have time to make the bath tea on the stove because he wanted his bath NOW.) Periodically I would squeeze the sock to release the comfrey tea. By the end of his bath, the water was tea colored! It worked quite well. And he felt a good bit better and was in a much better mood.
~Mama to Many~
