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Kennedy (Topeka) on 11/07/2026:
I tried the different remedies offered, but found baking soda the least helpful, and being SO alkaline (not good PH for healing the skin, ) I think it actually did more harm than good. I moved to powdered magnesium, which at least didn't hurt like baking soda, but it didn't help. After no improvement in a week, I then remembered castor oil is used to draw out poisons (liver packs, ) so I put a 1/4 teaspoon of powdered vitamin C in some castor oil to dissolve. Within the day my hot, swollen, itchy, burning skin had improved a lot. After three days of reapplying, the scabs are beginning to fall off. Castor oil is THICK, and a good moisturizer as well, and I think it may have SMOTHERED THE RASH. I get that people want to dry out the poison ivy oil on the skin, but applying on your skin an extreme alkaline PH over and over again doesn't seem logical; although I didn't try them, I would try about any other powder ( baby powder, magnesium powder, even cornstarch) before baking soda. If you don't have vitamin C, use the castor oil anyway.
