Poison Ivy
Natural Remedies

9 Natural Poison Ivy Remedies

DMSO

7 User Reviews
5 star (5) 
  71%
1 star (2) 
  29%

Posted by Jack (Tampa, Fl) on 05/27/2009
★★★★★

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.

Replied by Jill C.
(Huntsville, AL)
07/25/2021
★☆☆☆☆

I just got a spot of Poison Ivy on my forearm and it's driving me crazy itching! I have tried the DMSO and it's doing nothing. I tried the baking soda and vinegar, nothing. Guess I"ll try the fels naptha next..... UGH~!

Cindy
(Illinois, USA)
07/26/2021
422 posts

That's one of the things about DMSO. ClO2 and ozone both destroy toxins but DMSO doesn't. BUT, it will open all of the pathways to get it out of your system quicker. That said, I can't find much info on colloidal silver's effect on toxins. I've seen some remarks made about venom, which is a toxin, as opposed to living microbes, and that it has helped in the instances referenced but...I just can't find much on the topic.

I DID find a connection between venom, colloidal silver and lipids though. So, maybe that's how toxins get handled, if that's a part of their repertoire - an effect on lipids which may be what makes toxins toxic in the first place...I don't know. But it's interesting so I expect my explorations will take me down that path...

Anyway, I've only had poison ivy once, years ago, and the only thing that helped was its homeopathic remedy, Rhus-Tox.


DMSO
Posted by Jay (Altoona, Fla) on 06/02/2008
★★★★★

I found that DMSO was also excellent for curing Poison Oak and Ivy. I imagine a combo of DMSO and H202 would dry it up in very short order.With DMSO the drying up of the blisters starts immediately as does the cessation of itching. As a child my rashes would be so bad that I would have to get shots to dry it up. Calamine Lotion, oatmeal baths, etc were all ineffective and did little more than offer a small degree of temporary relief.


DMSO
Posted by Jay (Altoona, Florida) on 05/22/2008
★★★★★

For Poison Ivy or Oak I found DMSO to be my life saver.Simply apply to the rash and cover with a bandage. Itching stops immediately and rash is gone in a couple of days.


DMSO
Posted by George (Altoona, USA) on 05/12/2008
★★★★★

Poison Ivy cure DMSO applied to the rash and covered with a gauze bandage stopped the itching immediately and the rash dried up in less than a week.

Replied by Joyce
(Joelton, TN)
05/13/2008
495 posts

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.

Replied by Tom
(Austin, TX)
06/30/2008

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.

Replied by Melissa Hicks
(Cadet, Missouri)
10/04/2008

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.

Replied by Robert Henry
(Ten Mile, Tn)
10/05/2008

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.

Replied by Justice
(Texas)
06/19/2020

DMSO will cause the garlic smell and taste withOUT any garlic being applied with DMSO. It's very common, and most people who use DMSO will notice this very quickly. So we'll people who come around them if they're using at long-term.

However, you must be careful with DMSO, as it does act as a carrier and a crosses the blood-brain barrier.

Anyting small enough to be carried into the body using DMSO as a carrier, can cross the blood-brain barrier and cause severe damage or even death. There are no documented cases of this happening, but it can happen.

When using DMSO nothing should come in contact with that area for 2 hours prior in 2 hours after application. Unless it is something that you are intending to cross the blood-brain barrier and be carried into the body using the DMSO.

Please be extremely well-versed, well educated, in what you are doing, if you are going to use DMSO as a carrier for anything else. Research credible scientific resources, and don't try whatever you read on the internet.

Replied by Orh
(Ten Mile , Tn)
06/20/2020

JUSTICE,,,,,,,,,,, WOW, where are you coming from? I have messed with DMSO SINCE 1966 when I worked with the supervisor of CZ's Plant in Bogalusa, La plant. I have also read Dr Jacob's book. So where does your knowledge come from? I use DMSO daily. I put a liniment on my hips and coat that with DMSO to get it deep into my body. I want pain relief. I think you are one of those folks that I suggested that they read for about 2 years before they start posting. I think you fit the novice category that I described. Maybe not. Think you need to take your own advice and not listen to yourself.

Justice, if you are confident in what you say, then take me on. Put your logic out on EC for all to see. Make an ass out of me. I can handle it.

====ORH====


Egg Whites

1 User Review
5 star (1) 
  100%

Posted by KT (Usa) on 07/12/2017
★★★★★

I am using egg white as an experiment on some poison ivy I either neglected to scrub off with adequate water after pulling some up a couple sprigs by the root or the oil on husband's clothes rubbed off on my hand and arm as I turned his clothes inside out before washing.

I am so impressed with the results I have seen over the last couple of days I thought I'd report this. I was preparing breakfast and some areas where the poison came in contact with my skin began to itch. After I broke the eggs I smeared some of the egg white from inside the shell on those areas and let it dry. I was amazed at the results. The itching stopped and the areas seemed to start drying up.

If you eat eggs everyday, keep the ones you are going to eat the next day in a glass jar/bowl so egg white is always available to reapply.

Any feedback would be welcomed.

KT


Fels Naptha and DMSO

1 User Review
5 star (1) 
  100%

Posted by Mama To Many (Tennessee) on 06/20/2016
★★★★★

For over a decade I have been experimenting with different remedies for poison ivy. I have had successes, failures, and a lot of theories. Well, I have a new theory with some interesting support for it. I am in the "early stages" of learning about it as I see it. I have not yet tested it on a severe case of poison ivy so the jury is out. But I will share my thoughts and maybe they will be helpful to you and maybe you will have some more ideas or experiences to share with me.

My son, who does lawn care, had a bad case of poison on his leg. I did my usual comfort measures, at least as much as I could given how infrequently he was home and able to actually treat his leg. He mentioned that a lady I know has kids who get poison ivy badly (I didn't know this) and she had some good remedies. So I checked with her. She has used some things I have not tried. One of them is an OTC product called Zanfel. Goodness, that stuff was $35 for a one ounce tube at the drug store. I bought it anyway because I would pay quite a pretty penny for a great poison ivy cure; all the while, hoping I can figure out the secret to its sucess and make it myself cheaper.

It didn't take my son one day to get into some more poison ivy at work. (On his arm.) It wasn't severe at all; he knows what it feels like at all stages. It was just itchy, no blisters yet. We followed the Zanfel directions, which included rubbing the product on the poison ivy for at least 3 minutes and then rinsing. So we did that. It did seem to bring relief to the itching.

So I started to research the product. It certainly gets a lot of praise. It claims to break down the urushiol, the oil that is causing the reaction. A few people seemed to have reactions to the product, at least one severe, from what I could read online. As best I can understand, the product is made up of soaps, detergents, solvents, what have you, to break down the oil. I was also reading some about the success of Fels Naptha soap for poison ivy. Another soap. I feel safer using Fels Naptha than the Zanfel and had some on hand. So next I had my son use Fels Naptha on his poison ivy, being sure to clean the area with the soap for 3 minutes.

About this time, I got to thinking about some things that Robert Henry has said. He has talked about DMSO being a solvent. Then I remembered that he had reported a cure using DMSO for poison ivy. Hmm...

So after my son washed with Fels Naptha, I put DMSO on the poison ivy. The next day he reported that the poison ivy was definitely improved, though he would have expected it to be worse. There was an area that we had missed with the DMSO that was worse than the other parts.

I kept reading. Somewhere I read that you have to wash off the poison ivy oil from your skin within 15 minutes of contact to prevent the reaction, because after that the oil will bind to the skin.

I am finally getting to my theory (you all have been patient to get this far! ) So maybe certain soaps (Fels Naptha) certain products (Zanfel) and certain chemicals (DMSO) are breaking the oil down into its components that are no longer the ururhiol that keep the reaction going. Maybe the reactions get so bad because you really have not deal with the urushiol, even when you think have.

Since I have been thinking this way about poison ivy, I have had opportunity to test it a little bit. Another son had had poison ivy on his neck for a few days and it was getting worse. (He hadn't bothered to tell me about it yet.) I had him wash the neck in the shower to the count of 100 with Fels Naptha soap. I then used DMSO on it a couple of times. This child does get poison ivy badly that can last weeks. That poison ivy is almost gone. He had a couple of small bubbles of poison ivy a couple of days ago on his toes. I had him wash a couple of times with the Fels Naptha. I meant to use the DMSO but we didn't. The bubbles are now gone on his toes.

I am pretty hopeful that this "solvent" theory is the solution to our decade plus of poison ivy. I think I have been doing a lot of symptom treating over the years without getting to the root of the problem. I will keep you posted. And let me know if you try DMSO or Fels Naptha for poison ivy. I would love to hear your ideas about this as well.

~Mama to Many~

Replied by Saundra
(Michigan)
06/22/2016

I tried a baking soda with vinegar( it will foam up) mixed to a thick paste which is used as a scrub to remove the oil. It was markedly improved the next day and began to dry up.


Fels-Naphtha

1 User Review
5 star (1) 
  100%

Posted by Rebecca (Massachusetts ) on 01/09/2020
★★★★★

The laundry soap bar, called Fels Naptha...hands down, the best cure for poison ivy. Wet the spot and soap it, let dry...don't rinse! It will dry out immediately!


Fels-Naptha

6 User Reviews
5 star (6) 
  100%

Posted by Wendi (Conroe, Texas) on 06/03/2008
★★★★★

Poison Ivy remedy: Fels-Naptha!! It can be bought at Kroger in the laundry detergent section. It looks like a bar of soap but is actually used for removing stains on clothing. Half the battle is the itching that can last for weeks. I wet the end of the bar and rubbed it on the areas. Within 1 minute it quit itching and I was itch free for more than 5 hours. That's 3 hours longer than with any thing I've tried before, including otc drugs for poison ivy. Within 3 days the blisters were dried up and healing. I suppose you could shower with it but I only had a few areas. When the itching becomes unbearable you'll just about try anything once. As for me, I'll be using the Fels-Naptha Bar!!!!

Replied by Debbie
(Buffalo, Ny)
10/05/2008
★★★★★

FELS-NAPTHA soap is amazing to counter the poison ivy aftermath! As with the other recommendations, I lathered up with the soap and ran my arms under the hottest water I could tolerate (don't burn yourself!!)and low and behold NO itching for several hours!! This method works GREAT!!!

Replied by Janice
(Ionia, MI)
05/09/2009
★★★★★

I have had posion ivy already this year. After reading all the remedies and trying several of them, I have found that Fels-naptha has worked the best. The important thing is to dry up the blisters. Having the poision ivy on my hands, face, stomach and legs, I was willing to try everything. I used the hottest water that I could stand,and lathered the soap for several minutes on the blisters, several times a day. It really does relieve the itching after a few minutes, although it will drive you nuts while you do it. I also used a blow dryer and Ivy Dry. I am now on my way to recovery.

Replied by Debbie
(Syracuse, New York)
07/01/2009
★★★★★

Fels-Naptha helped tremendously with my poison ivy. I would wet the bar of soap and my arm and start scrubbing the affected area with the fels-naptha and cold water, rinse and repeat again. Then I would pat it dry with a paper towel and apply the hand sanitizer gel. I would do this 4 times daily and it gave me great relief. It dried up within a week and did not spread.

Replied by Beth
(Brighton, Mi, Usa)
06/08/2011
★★★★★

It's summer again and Poison Ivy is in full swing! Fels-Naptha worked for me - thanks to all of you for your posts!

EC:

Replied by Amy
(Western, North Carolina)
08/14/2012
★★★★★

OMGoodness!!!! I tried everything to get rid of poison ivy on my leg but no matter what I tried, it just kept itching and spreading. I had a bar of Fels Naptha waiting to be grated into homemade laundry detergent so I took it and rubbed it all over my leg. Actually, first I scrubbed the poison ivy area with a soft scrubbing brush, rinsed my leg for several minutes with as hot of water as I could stand, then applied the Fels Naptha. I left it on for a couple of minutes, washed it away with warm water and then doused my leg with the coldest water from the tap. NO MORE ITCHING!!! I repeated this method once a day and by the 3rd day there was a remarkable visible improvement. It is now about the 7th day and my leg is nearly completely healed!! Thank you for this remedy!!!

Replied by Timh
(Louisville, Ky, Usa)
08/15/2012
2063 posts

At first sight of poison ivy (redness & itching) a wet-cloth w/ added isopropyl alcohol (also a solvent like naptha) will also produce good results, in my own experience at least. Get those toxins neutralized asap or it's all uphill from there.


Fresh Aloe Vera

2 User Reviews
5 star (2) 
  100%

Posted by Anna (Philadelphia, PA) on 09/12/2008
★★★★★

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!

Replied by Keira W
(Placerville, CA)
11/25/2008
★★★★★

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!


Fresh Rhubarb Juice

1 User Review
5 star (1) 
  100%

Posted by John B (Longueuil, Quebec, Canada) on 06/26/2010
★★★★★

The best REMEDY against poison ivy: comestible RHUBARB JUICE.

I grew up in a place where the second plant to trees was poison ivy. You peel off the peel from the stem of rhubarb and crush the juice out of the stem and rub it in to the infected area ... for ten (10) seconds to twenty (20) seconds you will be able to climb a brick wall ... then the itch stops ... three (3) hours after it starts to heal ... the next day, it is all gone.

This is a lost remedy that was replaced with pharmaceutical calamine lotion. For those who have poison ivy ... try it ...I guaranty the cure.
John B.


Garlic

2 User Reviews
5 star (2) 
  100%

Posted by Molly (Austin, Tx) on 07/24/2008
★★★★★

I'm very sensitive to poison ivy and many other plants, and get rashes alot, that burn and itch, and usually require medical treatment, however lately I've used Garlic..just a thin slice of one clove, and rub it all over the itchy part, the sting goes away right away!!!

Replied by Lauren From Memphis
(Memphis, Tn)
09/03/2011
★★★★★

I have used garlic several times to treat poison ivy, and it is hands down the best treatment. I have used both the clove and powder (garlic powder not garlic salt), but find that I prefer the powder for it's ease of use. Both will stop the itching and dry the blisters.

When I use the powder, I make a paste that I water down to create a sticky film. I wet the affected area, sprinkle the garlic powder over it and rub it around. Once the paste starts to develop, I wet my fingers as needed to help dissolve most of the garlic. You don't want to wash it off, but if you do, you can always sprinkle on more powder. Once most of the powder is dissolved and has become tacky, I let the film dry and it becomes like a second skin. If some of the powder cakes up, you can rub it off after it dries. Sometimes I will purposely cake the wet powder over a weeping blister to help it dry up. This second skin will stay on for hours, even over night, drying and protecting the rash. Wash it off and reapply as necessary. I have found that this will dry up mild blisters within a day, and severe rashes within 3 to 5 days. Garlic is awesome!

There is no burning, it really stops the itching, and I don't need to use anything else. This is much better than the bleach my mother used as a kid, and much less toxic!


Golden Seal Root Extract

1 User Review
5 star (1) 
  100%

Posted by Aubrey (York, PA) on 08/13/2006
★★★★★

Ever since I was a young girl I have been highly allergic to Poison Ivy. I have done everything from steroids to applying straight bleach as well as baking soda and water to the affected areas. Someone recommended Golden Seal Root Extract (you can pick up a vial at the natural food stores). You can drink it in water to help cure the inside of your bloodstream. But the most effective thing is to apply the extract to a tissue and dab it on the spots of poison ivy 3-5 times a day. It always got rid of it within 2 days for me. AMAZING.


Goldenseal

1 User Review
5 star (1) 
  100%

Posted by Mama to Many (Tennessee, US) on 03/28/2015
★★★★★

One of my sons had poison ivy on his forearm this week. It was painful (his poison ivy manifests with pain and not itch) and was beginning to ooze. He had been ignoring it and after a poor night sleep was wanting to be more aggressive in treating it.

He was going to be working outside and didn't want to deal with poultices or salves or anything. I thought about how I used Goldenseal powder to dry out a newborn's umbilical cord. I had some homemade Goldenseal tincture that I had been making. So we put some in a small spray bottle. Because it was an alcohol (vodka) base, it did sting when it hit the broken skin, but that passed quickly. The Goldenseal worked very, very well to dry up the poison ivy! He would reapply every 2-4 hours if he was home.

At night, I used goldenseal root powder, turmeric powder and oregon grape root powder mixed to dry up the "ooze" the first night. I sprinkled it on liberally, covered with a piece of old sheet, and attached the sheet to the arm with an old sock top. In the morning, he rinsed it off and we sprayed on more Goldenseal. He had slept much better.

It took a few days for his arm to heal up, but there were times in the past when his poison ivy took weeks to heal up, so I was pleased.

Internally, I had him taking Vitamin C (1 gram a couple of times a day), nettle leaf capsules and turmeric capsules (8 of each of those a day.)

One of my little boys had a few poison ivy blisters on his foot. The skin was not broken. We tried the goldenseal tincture spray. It did not sting and even after a couple of hours he could see improvement.

Goldenseal is an expensive herb. Supposedly, Oregon Grape Root will work as well, but I haven't tired that yet. I may make some tincture up and try that and see. I am sure I will have more opportunities this summer to try it out!

~Mama to Many~


Grapefruit Seed Extract

2 User Reviews
5 star (2) 
  100%

Posted by Eh (Atlanta, Ga) on 09/04/2009
★★★★★

Grapefruit Seed Extract is also good for treatment of Poison Ivy:

Just put 10 drops of GSE in a sprayer bottle and spray on area 2-3x daily, OR, if you don't have a sprayer bottle, you can put 3 drops of GSE in 2-3 oz. of water, dip a cotton ball in it, and just pat it on the area. It works beautifully! I am severely allergic to Poision Ivy -- and have tried just about everything -- even medications that costs $10-12 for a "spray on" remedy, but nothing worked as well as this simple remedy. A 2 oz. bottle of GSE is only $10 at a health food store or on-line, and it works for many, many things -- including candida, which I cured myself of using GSE. Oh! And TRY not to scratch -- that is hard, I know, but it spreads it. Thanks!

Replied by Dee
(Philly, Pa)
09/04/2009

How exactly did you get rid of the candida using grapefruit seed extract? Thanks!!

Replied by Janice
(Coloma, Mi)
09/05/2009

I'm curious as to how you cured your candida with grapefruit seed oil. My dog has a full blown systemic yeast problem from the vet giving her too many anti-biotics (changed vets). I'm using a probiotic and feeding her raw meat but she has it in her ears, mouth and vulva area. Thanks

Replied by Esther
(GA)
05/20/2022
★★★★★

Sorry, just seeing your question. I took GSE twice daily, 10 drops in water or in an empty capsule. (IF you take in a capsule, be sure to drink a big glass of water with it.) You can also mix with water and dab on the area twice daily.


Green Tomato

1 User Review
5 star (1) 
  100%

Posted by Carolyn (Milford, Ct) on 12/26/2010
★★★★★

Green Tomato: Green (unripe) tomatoes contain a compound which perfectly neutralizes the toxin found in the poison ivy plant. It can be rubbed on the skin if you know that you recently came into contact with the plant (and thus absolutely prevent a reaction) or, if you have a full-blown case of the oozing pustules (yum), it can cure them pretty quick. Just cut green tomatoes in half and rub over the affected area. If the sores are already present, do this 3-4 times the first day and once or twice the second day. Just use freshly sliced tomatoes each time. The itching will soon stop and the sores will begin to quickly dry up. I've had people come back and hug me for this tip.

Replied by Grace
(Portland, OR)
11/14/2022

Hi Carolyn, I see this is a really old post, but in case you or someone else sees this, I'm wondering about eating green tomatoes that aren't just not yet ripe, but underdeveloped. In my enthusiasm for not wasting any of the small hard green underdeveloped tomatoes in the face of frost, I took them all inside and just made a stir fry with them. Then I started worrying--they are nightshades, after all. Do you know if it's ok to eat them in that state, and if not, is there something to counter the toxicity? Foolishly, Grace



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