Symptoms of Poison Ivy

Getting Poison Ivy is the worst. You are itchy and uncomfortable. Honestly, you are probably just going to feel miserable until it goes away. Poison Ivy produces urushiol, which is a skin irritant. That is why people scratch themselves so much after coming in contact with it. It causes an allergic reaction. Most reactions to Poison Ivy cause a person to have severe itching.

Usually you will find Poison Ivy in grass and wood areas outside. It is very distinctive looking. Poison Ivy has specific 3 green leaves that are grouped together per branch. Poison Ivy is a bit shiny and red in appearance. Each leaf is about 3 to 12 centimeters long.

It usually takes a person 12 to 48 hours to start getting symptoms of Poison Ivy. However, it does take some people up to two weeks to start showing symptoms. Once a person starts showing symptoms Poison Ivy usually lasts for three weeks. Here are the symptoms of Poison Ivy:

1. Itching

The most common part of having Poison Ivy is the intense itching. That is how you really know you have it. Most people use Calamine Lotion and take Aveno baths to help relieve the itching. Try not to scratch as much as possible.

2. Rash

The skin of the infected area will be all red. It will look blotchy in appearance, or look to be like in straight red lines. It might look like the rash is spreading because it is infectious, but the truth is it might look like it is spreading because it takes certain areas of your skin that was originally affected from the first contact of Poison Ivy to show up. That can sometimes take up to two weeks.

3. Blisters

If the Poison Ivy gets bad enough you might see your skin begin to blister. Blisters are little bubbles of skin that rise. Those blisters might be filled with ooze. Do not pop the blisters.

4. Swelling

Be on the look out for swelling of your body. Look for swelling of your face. Check your mouth. Look for swelling of your eyes. Make sure you check your neck for swelling. A severe reaction of the Poison Ivy could make swelling of your body very dangerous. In fact, it could be so dangerous that you cannot get any air because the swelling is so bad. Make sure you or someone else calls 911 if that happens.