Poison Ivy

Ugh. Poison ivy. Am-I-right?  I am severely allergic!  When I was 9, I was a giant, oozing, walking scab that summer.  I've never had it that bad since then, but I'm very cautious. Even so, somehow I got some on my leg and then it spread to other regions. According to my Mensa brother, you have 3 hours to get it off your skin before it does its damage. Also, you need to use something that cuts grease, because it's the oil from the plant that causes the itching but also the spreading. In addition to a good soap, something abrasive is good to scrub it off to make sure there's no oil left on your skin.

I've done a few things to clear it up. To quell the itching, I take hot showers; I set the shower on a single stream so it has a bit of pressure to it, and then I target it to itchy areas. It itches even more until the natural histamines kick in to quell the itching. This also works for bug bits but NOT sunburn!  Adding heat to heat adds more heat; because PHYSICS.  If you have a small area, then you can also heat up a spoon and apply it to the itchy area for poison ivy and bug bites.

After the shower when I'm itch-free, I spritz jewelweed over the affected areas and let it dry. It helps with the itch and it helps to dry up the poison ivy.  There's some down at the "lake" that I will make sure to harvest in the next coupla weeks. The last thing I've been doing is taking homepathic, Rhus Tox. All of this has helped me stay relatively comfortable and the poison ivy is drying up and going away. Which is where I want it!

I'll leave you with Susun Weed talking about Jewelweed.  :-)