Poison Ivy Procedure: Exposure? Quick, You Have 15 Minutes to Wash!

Hiking along a trail in the park you stop to rest and drink some water. Suddenly you realize you are standing up to your ankles in a patch of that horrendous weed, poison ivy. Quick, you have no more than 15 minutes before the urushiol oil in the poison ivy binds to the proteins in your skin and will likely cause an outbreak.

Immediate Treatment for Poison Ivy Exposure:

"Once bound to cell membranes, urushiol is virtually impossible to wash off and attached to cell membranes becomes a "warning flag" that attracts patrolling T-cells and initiates a full-blown immune response." ¹

Typically a person will try and rinse off the oil using soap and water, however, the best way to first remove uroshiol oil is with rubbing alcohol. Alcohol is a solvent and dissolves the oil more effectively.

1^. Pour the alcohol on to paper towels then wipe the skin in the direction away from your face. Dispose of the towels afterwards in a plastic bag.

2^. Follow with copious amounts of just water at first to rinse the oil off the skin. (Soap will be used later and if used now, could allow the urishiol to spread to other areas).

3. Next wash the area using soap and water. If possible remove your clothes and shoes (outside if able) and then take a shower with soap and water making sure to really lather up contacted areas to release any remaining uroshiol oil. Again, always wash away from the direction of your face.

4. Afterwards, wear vinyl gloves to touch anything that may have come in contact with the urushiol oil i.e. shoes, tools, clothes, and clean them with rubbing alcohol and water.

5. Ivy cleanse towelettes from the makers of Ivy block, the first FDA approved lotion to prevent poison ivy outbreaks, can be also be used. These are handy to carry with you when you are far from running water.

What to do if you still break out with a poison ivy rash:

Drugstore products against poison ivy can be used repeatedly over the next few days to help even after you have broken out with a rash and can keep the outbreak contained.

I personally have used Zanfel with very good results and a close friend uses Tecnu and swears by it. These products are expensive but well worth the money if they control the poison ivy outbreak. They can be found on-line or in your local drug store.

When to see a doctor for poison ivy if:

1. The poison ivy rash is on your face, near your eyes or if you feel your mouth has been exposed and there is swelling. Call 911 if you develop trouble with your breathing.

2. The poison ivy rash is not relieved by general treatments and more areas over your body are breaking out. A doctor may decide to give you oral steroids for treatment.

3. An area starts to develop an infection which may be caused by excessive scratching. The area may appear more painful, swollen, warm or discolored.

4. You are on medications that make you more susceptible to other health problems.

It might be helpful to put together an emergency kit with either rubbing alcohol or Ivy cleanse towelettes, a water bottle, paper towels and liquid soap just in case. Hopefully with a little pre-planning, you can enjoy the summer season without an outbreak from that dreaded weed.

Sources:

1. Reference [Herbalgram (American Botanical Council) Volume 34: 36-42, 1995 by W.P. Armstrong and W.L. Epstein, M.D.] from http://poisonivy.aesir.com/view/faq.html

http://pediatrics.about.com/od/weeklyquestion/a/06_poison_ivy.htm