Poison Ivy

[Renaissance]

Let me start out by saying that I'm severely allergic to poison ivy (I don't even have to touch it to get it). I recently got it, mainly on my hands, and in the past I've fought it with colloidal silver, but it was only effective if I took a bunch right away. This time I didn't have any so first I took some anti-histamines. However I learned those contribute to a leaky gut, and they weren't being effective this time, so I dropped those. I tried DMSO, and initially I thought it did something, but after the second application I wasn't noticing any change. All throughout this time, I felt like I was going insane. The poison ivy was going all furious on my fingers. At one point I blamed the poison ivy for having a reptilian energy signature since it looked like I had lizard hands! Oh, and I was literally talking to the poison ivy signature, letting it know it wasn't welcome, to 'get out' and so on. I was really tempted to just go to the doctor and get a steroid shot, but kept off cause I didn't want the shot to do further damage to my adrenals, which are in poor enough condition. So finally I took some mega-doses of vitamin C and within about an hour it soothed the irritation. I maintained the mega doses (maybe 20+ grams per day, taken throughout the day) and it cleared it all up in about 2 days!

 

[cholas]

Thanks for the tip Shane. I'll definitelt pass it on to folks I know that are also severely allergic. Vitamin C sure appears to be a consistent cure-all.

Where I used to live we had lots of poison oak and although not allergic myself, we were told by elder locals that near most 'poison' plants will be growing a 'cure'. Sure enough, nearby manzanita did the trick for many friends who succumbed.

 

[Gimpy]

I live in a woods full of poison oak, and poison ivy. My Hubby is not allergic to it, but he can feel it burn on his skin. Washing his clothes in castile soap gets the oils off his clothes. Washing with the same soap or dawn dish soap will get the oils off of his hands. My dog often has it on him, and we wipe him off with scent free baby wipes with vinegar added. So far, so good.


I've not had poison oak or ivy in all the years I've lived in these woods, partly from identification and avoidance, and the rest from being careful with the dog. :D

(Now watch the House Gremlins rub my face with it tonight )

 

[Laura]

Excellent tip. Frankly, I'd have gone for the cortisone.

 

[Keit]

I wonder if large dosage of Vitamin C could help with stings from Stinging Nettle. Or what about jellyfish sting? Probably would hurt either. Thanks for the tip.

 

[herondancer]

HI Shane,

I'm glad you found a cure for the problem. I'm wondering though. DSMO facilitates the transport into the cells of whatever substance it's mixed with. Wouldn't putting it on your skin with the poison ivy residue still there (even though I'm sure sure washed as much off as possible), have actually enhanced the effect of the poison ivy? I might be misunderstanding how it works.

Thoughts?

 

[shellycheval]

I have just learned that putting white vinegar on chigger bites helps a lot with the itching. Pour it on, yes it stings, but not as bad as the bites itch, and let it set for a couple of minutes then rinse it off with cold water.
Chiggers are invisible mites who bite like ticks and cause intense itching for days and weeks in some cases--they do not burrow or lay eggs under the skin like scabies--they are already in the larvae stage when they bite.

I do not know if this cure will help other wicked itches like poison ivy, oak, sumac, ticks, etc. but I thought I'd pass it on FWIW.
shellycheval

 

[Mrs. Peel]

HI Shane,

I'm glad you found a cure for the problem. I'm wondering though. DSMO facilitates the transport into the cells of whatever substance it's mixed with. Wouldn't putting it on your skin with the poison ivy residue still there (even though I'm sure sure washed as much off as possible), have actually enhanced the effect of the poison ivy? I might be misunderstanding how it works.

Thoughts?

I put a 70/30% solution on my back a few times to try and ease the pain, and after a minute, my back started itching like heck. It was almost as bad as having poison ivy!

 

[Lilou]

I put a 70/30% solution on my back a few times to try and ease the pain, and after a minute, my back started itching like heck. It was almost as bad as having poison ivy!

I've been using a 50% solution of DMSO for topical use. Even with that concentration, I usually end up putting on aloe vera (taken from my house plant), to ease the itchy/stingy feeling that follows. Thanks for the heads up on that Mrs. Peel, I don't think my skin would handle 70% solution!

In regards to using DMSO for poison ivy, I didn't find anything about it in Dr. Morton Walker's book, DMSO Nature's Healer. But if the Vitamin C works, that sounds like the way to go!

 

[ocean59]

Wow, I wish I had known that as a child. I used to be as allergic as you, Shane.

I did a quick Google search, and it would appear you are not alone. Here is some really interesting info I found from a site called Poison Ivy, Oak, & Sumac Center. It is from a list of detailed testimonials about various treatments for poison ivy.

"The best thing you can do to build your immune system up is LOTS of Vitamin C. I used to get poison ivy all the time. Then I started to take a GOOD vitamin C (mega doses) every time I was exposed.....I have not had poison ivy in at least 10 years!!"

"Vitamin C has been a stand-by anti-allergy remedy for me since childhood. I get poison ivy pretty easily, and take 1-4 grams (1000-4000 mg) hourly to fight it. This stops the itching within ~20 minutes and dries up the blisters. At high enough doses Vitamin C seems to kill good as well as bad bacteria in the body, so I know I need to increase my dosage until I get gas or diarrhea -- then I eat a bowl of yogurt to replace the beneficial intestinal bacteria. Every body is different, so one person might need more or less than I take, but "megadoses" (1-10 grams) every few hours seems like a common range for people I've talked to with an infection or toxin. Vitamin C helps everything from colds to snake-bites to bee stings, and is water-soluable (i.e. won't build up in the body) so is never toxic."

Also, I found this interesting suggestion from Ehow.com:

1. Take a 1,000 mg Vitamin C tablet daily as soon as you come in contact with the poison ivy. It acts like an antihistamine, plus it reduces inflammation. Vitamin C will help squelch your body's allergic response (itching and swelling) to the poison ivy. The Vitamin C will also help your body cure itself, according to the Hands of Gold website.

2. Dissolve a Vitamin C tablet in a cup of warm water. Dip the cloth in the water and wring it out so it's not dripping wet. Apply it directly to the poison ivy on your skin. Do this three times a day.

3. Leave the dissolved Vitamin C on your skin for an hour to cure poison ivy. Then, rinse it off with cool water. Pat the affected areas dry; don't rub them as this will irritate the poison ivy.

 

[Renaissance]

Last summer I was happy to have found the Vitamin C remedy because I was working outside a lot clearing brush and often had direct contact with poison ivy, but still never got it because I was megadosing each day.

However, this past spring I got another bad batch of poison ivy on my hand. I was taking vitamin C internally but thought applying it topically might work too. I had done it before with a mild rash but this time it was worse and it made the rash much, much worse too. In fact I think the topical application pushed the poison ivy into deeper layers of the skin and I've been trying to get rid of it since. It didn't spread around to lots of other parts of my body like it has in the past, but it would almost heal and then totally come back. It did this four or five times!

My mom found a homeopathic remedy the other day. It uses poison ivy itself to fight it. I had heard of native Americans eating the plant as a means of fighting the allergy and being as allergic to it as I am, that scared the bejebus out of me. The homeopathic version sounded less extreme and at that point I was pretty willing to give it a shot. After taking it I felt a little nauseous and could feel my body heating up. I also felt some puffiness in my face which I typically feel at the onset of getting poison ivy, but I didn't feel like the poison ivy was running through me, which I usually do feel. When I woke up the next day it was 90% better. The remaining 10% has taken a few more days to clear up but it's practically gone now. The stuff is amazing. It seems you can take it early in the season if you think you might be around it to provide some immunity.

The product is called Oral Ivy if anyone is interested.

HI Shane,

I'm glad you found a cure for the problem. I'm wondering though. DSMO facilitates the transport into the cells of whatever substance it's mixed with. Wouldn't putting it on your skin with the poison ivy residue still there (even though I'm sure sure washed as much off as possible), have actually enhanced the effect of the poison ivy? I might be misunderstanding how it works.

Thoughts?

I saw that I never responded to your comment about DMSO, herondancer. Hope you don't mind a reply that's 4 years late. :P It's been a while since I tried using DMSO for the rash but from what I remember I didn't think the DMSO application caused it spread. But who knows. Rereading my initial post, it seems I did have a big flare up after trying the DMSO, so you might be right.