Home remedies for poison ivy?

My brother gets it so BAD - all someone has to do is burn the leaves and he's covered in it. First thing to do - wash your hands (get under your fingernails too!) and your clothes to keep it from spreading. (The oils from the plant can hang out for a LONG time, and anywhere you scratch or touch, you could spread the rash.) If someone else touches your rash, it's not contagious - unless you haven't washed off the oils from the plant. Go get some Benadryl, either oral medication or a cream, it should ease the itching. (It can make one sleepy, and it always makes me goofy, so don't plan on doing much - like driving or thinking too hard - if you take it.) Plain calamine lotion or cortisone cream - like Cortaid - is good too. (If you use any Benadryl product - DON'T use Caladryl - it's got Benadryl already in it - double dosing is NOT recommended!) The Aveeno (or other brand) oatmeal bath soaks are also soothing. There's an anti-itch lotion called Sarna that you can buy in almost any pharmacy that one of the doctors I work for swears by for ANY itch. (It smells kinda gross, but it works!) None of these will dry it up, but they'll hopefully keep you from wanting to rip your skin off. Someone said put bleach on it. THAT's a little harsh on your skin, and can cause a NASTY chemical burn, but if you have access to a chlorinated swimming pool - take a dip or twelve. It does help dry it up. (I don't know how or why exactly, but it has worked for my brother.) If it's on your face or you have major swelling of more than one body part or it starts to ooze, you'll need to see a doctor to get steroid treatments to make it go away.

Bleach?!? Ouch, don't put that on your skin! I hope you're kidding. It's really not safe. Try a solution of baking soda mixed in warm water. It will help soothe the itch. If it's on your feet you can just soak yourfeet in a big bowl or buket. If it's on your face or somewhere else that you can't soak in a bowl, put the solution on a washcloth and apply it to the affected area. I think you can use calomine lotion, too, but I'm not positive. There are some over-the counter remedies that work well, but the best cure for poison ivy is time. Just make sure you're not scratching the blisters and then touching other parts of the body... It will SPREAD!

The best remedy for poison ivy is Neoxyn. It can be purchased at any Rexall drug store. The directions are to swab on with cotton or a Q-tip and scratch! Within a minute, the itching stops and the poison ivy turns to scabs which heal quickly. In my younger days I spent alot of time exploring the mountains behind our house. I got poison ivy ALOT! I've been covered from head to toe with poison ivy more than once. Until I found Neoxyn it was nothing short of pergatory. This stuff works so well, you'll never again fret about poison ivy as long as you have some of this in your medicine cabinet.

Try puting 1/3 cup of baking soda in your bath water...it really helps.

Jewelweed. It is natures cure for poisen ivy, and it is often found growing right next to poisen ivy. http://altnature.com/jewelweed.htm

Best thing I've learned is learn to identify it and STAY AWAY FROM IT, FAR AWAY I'm super allergic to it. Several times I've had it on 80-90% of my body.

http://www.revolutionhealth.com/conditions/skin/rash/treatments/poison-ivy-remedies?msc=S20241 Hope this helps you ! Also take a benadyrl or any over the counter anithismie 'if you are not allergic to them! God bless & Feel better soon I pray!

I have true empathy for you, as, I have had Poison ivy, several times in my life. very badly... steroids from the dr. will cure it. the other remedy that worked wonders for me, was, after work, I went to the beach, and, went into the salt water, and let it dry overnight on my skin with out taking a shower. and, it really worked...(thats if you live near the ocean)...otherwise see the dr. save yourself the suffering you have, because it will spread quickly.

For heavens sake do not put bleach on weeping skin sores. I saw someone recommend that! Calamine lotion works best, it dries and also relives the itch, if you can find benedryl (spray or lotion with calamine it is even a bit better, but the former is just fime. My cousin use to get that and the calamine helped her a great deal.