If you live in North America and have not yet come in contact with poison ivy, I would say you're lucky, but there is a good chance you some day will. If you have never heard of poison ivy, it is a poisonous plant that grows in North America that causes rashes, swelling, blisters and itchiness to the part of the body that came in contact with the plant. There are three different types of these plants, including poison ivy, poison oak and poison sumac, with the latter considered the most toxic. These plants contain urushiol on their leaves, this is what causes the skin irritation. Rashes and other symptoms associated with these plants can occur within 6 to 48 hours from initial contact. The rash can continue to get worse and seem to spread to other parts of the body. This is a big misconception.
Can poison ivy spread to other parts of the body?
The rashes can not be spread to other parts of the body. What ever part of the body that came into contact with the plant is the part of the body that will have the rash. The reason why the rash can get worse as time goes by is because the parts of the body that showed signs initially were the most sensitive to the urushiol oil. The other parts of the body were more resilient to the urushiol chemical.
Is poison ivy contagious?
Many people believe that poison ivy is contagious and can be spread to other parts of the body to other people entirely. This is a very untrue belief. People also believe that the pus filled blisters are contagious if they are broken, this is also untrue. The blisters are just filled with your own bodies fluid attempting to rid the urushiol from your skin.
If you think you've come into contact with one of these plants, there's a possibility you can prevent having any of the symptoms listed above. Once you realized you've touched poison ivy, you need to immediately clean the affected areas with water and soap; alcohol can also be used to clean the areas. If it is too late, and you see that you have a rash a few hours later, you will need to apply calamine lotion or spray. This will reduce the itchiness and dry the rashes. For severe cases of poison ivy, you should consult a doctor, especially if it is in the face and genital areas.
I've recently come into contact with poison ivy and I am currently on day 11. I am still seeing new blisters everyday. The itchiness is quite unbearable, I find myself itching myself more towards the end of the day. This is because during the day our body releases an anti-itch chemical to the areas. When we are ready to go to sleep our body temperature rises, and this chemical is no longer released.
I had it the worse on my wrist with yellow filled blisters. I thought it would be a good idea to pop them, but this was a really bad idea. My wrist literally oozed pus for 5 days straight. I needed to keep the area covered up with a gauze throughout the day.
I've had poison ivy before but this time around I didn't see a doctor. The last time I got poison ivy I did see a doctor and I was prescribed a steroid cream and Methylprednisolone. The cream helped, but the Methylprednisolone made me feel really sick! My doctor suggested I discontinue taking it. I had to lay in bed for a few hours and drink a lot of water to help flush the medication out of me. Methylprednisolone does lower your immune system, so if you do decide to take it, be very careful.
Honestly the best cure for poison ivy is time. Let your body fight it off by itself without any prescriptions. All you really need is water, soap and calamine lotion. Hope you found this article helpful.
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