| 5 star (2) | 100% |
Cheryl (Highland Park, NJ) on 05/27/2023: 
Then, in my late 20s while staying at a summer cabin in the woods, I came back from a walk one day to feel an itchy patch on my leg. Uh oh. So I quick went into the shower to wash off any oil before it got spread any farther.
The warm water felt so good, that I increased the heat and focused the water jet on that part of my leg for several seconds. Ahhh. Since that worked, I increased the heat some more. Ohhh, ahhh, even better. It felt like I was scratching it without scratching it.
I got the temp as hot as I could stand it, when the thought entered my head to blast it with cold. So I did. I let the icy cold water run on it for several seconds. Feeling relief and no more itching, I dried off, got dressed and went about the rest of the day.
A good 12 hours passed before I felt a little itching starting up again. So I did the warm-hot-hot water followed by a cold blast again. Another 12 hours without itching. This is great! Even better, I noticed that the patch that had been reddish was turning brownish.
It may have flared up slightly one or two more times before it totally disappeared as a brownish color in the skin, but it never spread and it never itched again. It just kind of faded away.
Of course, you would want to do this water therapy with a cloth if the rash is on your face or neck; but anywhere else on the body, with the shower head pointing at the spot, heat will do the trick. The best part? It only takes a few minutes and - it's free!
Mama To Many (Tn) on 11/07/2018:
My son has poison ivy on his hands. This morning the poison ivy had caused enough swelling that he was not able to make a fist. This was going to make work today difficult. I suggested hydrotherapy.
He put cold water in half of our double sink and warm/hot water in the other half. He set a timer for 7 minutes and alternated hot and cold, beginning and ending with cool. It brought relief to the itching and to the swelling.
He is now able to make a fist and and can go to work. (He needs to be able to hold hand tools.)
If poison ivy is over a large part of the body, hydrotherapy can be done in the shower alternating warm and cool. Of course if poison ivy is over a large part of the body, medical attention may be needed as well. It can get out of control and become systemic, and even cause fever.
~Mama to Many~
