This game is impossible to enjoy

[Luminara]

when you have a poison ivy rash on your hands.

 

I washed thoroughly after pulling it up, and it still got me.

 

It's between my fingers.

 

It's on my palms.

It's on my damn palms!

 

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

[Frostbiter]

Man, I'm glad I'm not allergic to that stuff. It can be really nasty. 😞 Have you tried all the folk remedies yet?

[Nafsmar]

Happened to me a few times when I was younger. I couldn’t even make a fist. To make it worse when it dried and started going away all the skin on my hands peeled. That was a fun school experience. Today though there’s prednisone. Back then it was calamine lotion😝. Remember that useless crap?

[Solarverse]

20 minutes ago, Frostbiter said:

Man, I'm glad I'm not allergic to that stuff. It can be really nasty. 😞 Have you tried all the folk remedies yet?

I was never allergic to it either, until I got it a couple years back. Apparently as you grow older you lose your resistance to stuff that you once had an immunity to.

[Luminara]

1 minute ago, Frostbiter said:

Man, I'm glad I'm not allergic to that stuff. It can be really nasty. 😞 Have you tried all the folk remedies yet?

 

I've got a valley full of jewelweed.  It doesn't help.  Calamine lotion?  Useless.  Oatmeal?  Sticky and useless.  Hydrocortisone ointment sort of works, but not for long.  Scratching is orgasmic, but futile (and it makes my hands and fingers swell, which makes the itching worse, and the swelling and raw spots are painful).

 

It's been raining for the last three days.  It's overcast but not raining right now.  I think I'm going to risk the 30 minute ride on my motorcycle to get some more hydrocortisone.  And maybe a 5 gallon bucket of Gojo... soap and a scrubbing pad did diddly squat to prevent the rash.  Or maybe some sulfuric acid.  No skin, no itch!

[Frostbiter]

Just now, Luminara said:

 

I've got a valley full of jewelweed.  It doesn't help.  Calamine lotion?  Useless.  Oatmeal?  Sticky and useless.  Hydrocortisone ointment sort of works, but not for long.  Scratching is orgasmic, but futile (and it makes my hands and fingers swell, which makes the itching worse, and the swelling and raw spots are painful).

 

It's been raining for the last three days.  It's overcast but not raining right now.  I think I'm going to risk the 30 minute ride on my motorcycle to get some more hydrocortisone.  And maybe a 5 gallon bucket of Gojo... soap and a scrubbing pad did diddly squat to prevent the rash.  Or maybe some sulfuric acid.  No skin, no itch!

LOL! Maybe you can just take a brillo pad and scrub down to the bone? Did you try apple cider vinegar?

[Frostbiter]

3 minutes ago, Solarverse said:

I was never allergic to it either, until I got it a couple years back. Apparently as you grow older you lose your resistance to stuff that you once had an immunity to.

I'm immune through exposure. That stuff is everywhere in my neck of the woods. My ex got it really bad a few years ago and tried to inflict me with it. Poor woman only made it worse for herself.

[Luminara]

3 minutes ago, Frostbiter said:

Did you try apple cider vinegar?

 

No, but I had my hands in a stronger acid yesterday.  Sterilizing planting trays.  I've got enough raw spots to dissuade me from using acid again today.

[Frostbiter]

3 minutes ago, Luminara said:

 

No, but I had my hands in a stronger acid yesterday.  Sterilizing planting trays.  I've got enough raw spots to dissuade me from using acid again today.

Sounds like you have it really bad. Sadly, I don't know of any folk remedies that actually work. Hope you find some kind of relief.

[InvaderStych]

20 minutes ago, Luminara said:

I've got a valley full of jewelweed.  It doesn't help.  Calamine lotion?  Useless.  Oatmeal?  Sticky and useless.  Hydrocortisone ointment sort of works, but not for long.  Scratching is orgasmic, but futile (and it makes my hands and fingers swell, which makes the itching worse, and the swelling and raw spots are painful).

 

This:

 

https://www.teclabsinc.com/products/poison-oak-ivy/tecnu

 

It works best if you use it immediately after exposure (before rash develops), but still useful after exposure.

 

I used to carry it in my kit on any job where there was a chance of being exposed to Oak/Ivy/Sumac.  I still keep it around the house, even though there is very little of the demon plants where I currently live.

 

Got it really bad once when I was a kid, as in "we're missing a few days of school" bad.  As an adult exposures never caused that sort of reaction.  After discovering and using Tecnu when I might have been exposed I've not gotten more than just a brief, local rash at the point of exposure, no spreading. I don't know what's in the stuff and I don't care because it works. 😄

 

Soak yourself in the stuff, let it sit for a couple minutes, then rinse it off in as cool of a shower as you can tolerate.  (Hot water doesn't do the rash any favors).

Edited October 13, 2020 by InvaderStych

[Luminara]

2 minutes ago, InvaderStych said:

This:

 

https://www.teclabsinc.com/products/poison-oak-ivy/tecnu

 

I saw that at a friend's house when I was cat-sitting last week.  He has a bottle of it next to the back door.

 

5 minutes ago, InvaderStych said:

Hot water doesn't do the rash any favors

 

Neither does a wood stove.  Can't warm up my hands without intensifying the itch.

[Luminara]

61 degrees Fahrenheit.  1/4 mile through mud to the road.  30 minutes to the nearest dollar store (grocery stores are farther, pharmacies are an hour and then some).  Rain could start again at any moment.  And I'm on a 150cc motorcycle.

 

Going for a ride.

 

If anyone hears a piteous wail that sounds sort of like an ambulance giving birth to a randy squirrel, don't worry, it's just me passing through.

[InvaderStych]

23 minutes ago, Luminara said:

I saw that at a friend's house when I was cat-sitting last week.  He has a bottle of it next to the back door.

 

I can extrapolate a couple things from that: Your friend and I would probably have a few things in common, and you likely live someplace where some variety of the accursed plant is quite common.  😄

 

Tecnu is also good for cleaning gear/tools/clothing, but wouldn't try it on anything that's supposed to be waterproof like gortex.  Might be fine, but that gear is too expensive to risking needing to replace because I washed it wrong, so I've never tried.

 

You haven't lived until you've had to scrub down a dozen pelican cases because you didn't think to mention to your helpers what poison oak looks like and that it grows under every shade tree within 100 miles of where you're standing.

 

23 minutes ago, Luminara said:

Neither does a wood stove.  Can't warm up my hands without intensifying the itch.

 

Yeah, that does suck.  Also, skimming back through the thread and noticed something else:  Don't Scrub! That just releases the chemical causing the rash and spreads it around.

 

6 minutes ago, Luminara said:

Going for a ride.

 

Shiny side up, Rubber side down.

 

Edited October 13, 2020 by InvaderStych

[Greycat]

1 hour ago, InvaderStych said:

Shiny side up, Rubber side down.

... So many potential responses.

[Coyotedancer]

Taking a Benadryl might help with the itching, too. It'll block some of the histamine reaction you're having to that evil stuff. 

[Nafsmar]

Get the prednisone it magic for the ivy

[Luminara]

1 hour ago, InvaderStych said:

I can extrapolate a couple things from that: Your friend and I would probably have a few things in common, and you likely live someplace where some variety of the accursed plant is quite common.  😄

 

It's everywhere.  Most of the properties around me and where I spend my few hours working each week are colonial or just post-colonial settlements, with poison ivy vines as thick as my arm on some trees.  On my property, it's primarily confined to the north edge, but here and there it's roped it's way up trees and intruded down into the valley.  Every plant has roots which extend so far that it's nearly impossible to eradicate with anything but Round-Up.

 

I refuse to use that shit.  I'd rather suffer some itching for a week than defoliate everything, and end up with cancer to boot.

 

1 hour ago, InvaderStych said:

Don't Scrub! That just releases the chemical causing the rash and spreads it around.

 

That's an old belief, it's been disproven.  What looks like spreading is just delayed reaction in places where it wasn't evident.

 

1 hour ago, InvaderStych said:

Shiny side up, Rubber side down.

 

You could've mentioned that a couple of years ago, before I broke a collar bone and arm.  😛

[Luminara]

33 minutes ago, Greycat said:

... So many potential responses.

 

Being rode hard and put away wet is, from what my fuzzy memory can dredge up, great in bed.  Not so much when it's a machine weighing several hundred pounds doing the riding, and the wet is all of the coffee in your veins spilling out.

[Luminara]

19 minutes ago, Coyotedancer said:

Taking a Benadryl might help with the itching, too. It'll block some of the histamine reaction you're having to that evil stuff. 

 

I was so focused on the anti-itch medication, I forgot to pick some of that up.  And I told myself to do it before I left.

[Nafsmar]

2 hours ago, InvaderStych said:e.  (Hot water doesn't do the rash any favors).

From my recollection hot water does take the itch away for a while. I suffered many summers with it and would take very hot showers for a bit of relief. But that was me. I learned how to identify it and as an HVAC tech it is the first thing I look for when walking to a condenser. 

[Fire Chief]

Plus it (Benadryl) will make you sleepy (it does me) and sleep couldn't hurt at the level of misery it seems you are in plus/plus people around you might like the going to sleep thing 😛

[Luminara]

16 minutes ago, Nafsmar said:

Get the prednisone it magic for the ivy

 

It looks like it requires a prescription.  I've had nearly fatal responses to the last two prescriptions I was issued.  I also haven't had good experiences with doctors.  I'll stick with over the counter options.

[Luminara]

3 minutes ago, Fire Chief said:

Plus it (Benadryl) will make you sleepy (it does me) and sleep couldn't hurt at the level of misery it seems you are in plus/plus people around you might like the going to sleep thing 😛

 

If I don't heat up the kettle and make some coffee before 1:30, I'm going to be passing out anyway.  I don't function well during the day time.  Never have.

[Nafsmar]

It’s a steroid and I understand your situation but trust me I have suffered multiple multiple times. It is the best option available as it starts to work as soon as you take it and by the next morning you feel a lot better. 

[tidge]

Anyone suffering from reactions to Poison Ivy/Oak/et al. has my deepest sympathies. I am in the category of folks who never suffered a reaction as a child, but as an adult will develop extreme reactions to exposure. In my case it isn't like the immunity wore off; it's more like childhood exposure predisposed me to having the current reaction.

 

Other than avoiding contact by extreme clothing discipline, I have a couple of things I do that I'm not recommending, just listing. I get exposed to the villain whenever I do yardwork. I've been much more diligent about removing as much as I can from around the property than the previous owners, but the neighbors don't care at all!

1. Shortly after exposure, I'll take a single anti-histamine. I suppose this could be taken as a prophylactic, but I wait until I'm done with the yard work and all clothes are segregated for cleaning.
2. Also right after exposure, I rinse exposed areas (arms & legs) with isopropyl alcohol, and then wash with detergent. NOT SOAP... you want detergent to bind to and carry off any residual oil.

Earlier this year, I made the mistake of doing yard work while wearing short sleeves; this exposed my forearms to more contact than I should have allowed. I discovered that I got some relief from a few of the affected areas which developed blisters (thankfully small, but nevertheless VERY itchy) by applying salicylic acid (sold as a wart remover solution) directly to the blisters. In my case, the blisters were all very small, and located in places where I could apply bandages to cover them. DO NOT OVER APPLY acid this way, as it will cause scars. Depending on your skin complexion and general health, the scars may not heal quickly (or at all!)

 

Topical anti-itch and/or steorid medicines may provide some relief, but generally I've found that applying a protectorant such as a Zinc Oxide ointment and then covering the affected area with a loose bandage can be enough to resist the urge to scratch.

Edited October 13, 2020 by tidge