Poison ivy rashes can cause extreme discomfort, itching, swelling, blisters, and pain where the skin came into contact with the oil from the poison ivy plant.

If you realize that you have the oil on your skin it is possible to wash it off immediately and avoid a rash. The rash normally does not appear for a day or two after exposure to poison ivy, and many people do not know where they came into contact with the plant that caused their rash. Poison ivy comes in many forms, and it is hard to spot if you are not extremely knowledgeable about the plant before going out in any place poison ivy may be.

Poison ivy rashes start out as skin irritation, redness, and intense itching. As the rash progresses, blisters appear that have fluid under them, and the itching gets worse. Treating the rash consists of different measures to dry out the damaged skin and blisters while minimizing the itching, swelling, and discomfort. This can include using a hair dryer on the lowest setting and letting the warm dry air flow over the poison ivy rash, which will help dry out the fluid in the blisters as well as the skin, helping it to fall off faster so that healthy skin can replace it. Baking soda or vinegar can both help dry out the rash as well, while stopping any itching.

Over the counter pain medicines can help with any discomfort from poison ivy rashes, and hot showers can be very helpful in stopping the itching for hours at a time. If the rash develops any unusual or abnormal swelling or other symptoms you should contact your doctor as soon as possible, to ensure that you do not need immediate medical attention due to a severe allergic reaction. Taking a bath of warm water that has two cups or more of oatmeal mixed in can help soothe the rash and stop the itching, or the oatmeal can be made into a paste with warm water and spread on the affected skin for the same results. There are many home remedies that can prove invaluable when you have a rash caused by poison ivy.

Symptoms of Poison Ivy
Poison ivy is an allergic contact dermatitis, or skin rash, caused by exposure to urushiol, an oil found in the three-leaved poison ivy plant. Urushiol is so potent that it only takes a billionth of a gram to cause a reaction. Symptoms usually develop in 1 to 2 days and are often treated at home.

After exposure to the leaves, stems, or roots of a poison ivy plant, children develop symptoms of poison ivy within 8 hours to a week or so, including:

Step 1

Watch for swelling and redness, red streaks or red lines that can appear within 8 to 48 hours after contact with poison ivy. Itching may appear at the same time or shortly after your recognize the appearance of redness.

Recognize additional symptoms, such as blisters and hives. View photos of the poison ivy rash at the Poison Ivy, Oak & Sumac Center website (see Resources below).

Be prepared for the rash to spread to every area that came into contact with the plant. Your rash will be more severe depending upon the amount of urushiol you touched.

Be aware that it is normal for the blisters to leak and then become scaly within a few days.

Expect symptoms to linger for about 10 days. The affected areas may be particularly vulnerable to poison ivy reactions for months.

Watch for swelling and check to see if there is heat around the affected area.

Step 7
Call your doctor if you develop a fever or if the rash does not improve with a few days.
Keep in mind that children exposed to poison sumac and poison oak, other members of the genus Rhus or Toxicodendron, can get these same symptoms that are generically referred to as poison ivy symptoms above.

(Using medical terminology, these children develop rhus dermatitis or allergic contact dermatitis, an intensely pruritic, linear, erythematous, papulovesicular rash after exposure to the urushiol oil in poison ivy.)

Other characteristic signs and symptoms of poison ivy are that the rash will worsen over days or weeks without treatment with steroids, the rash may not go away for up to three weeks without treatment, many children will have worsening symptoms with each exposure, and that some areas of a child's skin that had less exposure to the poison ivy plant will get the rash later than others.

Avoid Poison Ivy Symptoms

Be cautious around any object that may have come into contact with urushiol. It can live for years on a dead plant or object, and may be carried on clothing or fur.

Step 2
Wear gloves when you wash clothes or objects that may have come into contact with poison ivy.

Preventing Poison Ivy
In addition to getting rid of poison ivy when you find it, you can avoid poison ivy by:

• wearing long pants and a shirt with long sleeves, boots and gloves when your kids will be most at risk, especially when playing in wooden areas, around lakes, or going on hikes
• apply Ivy-Block to exposed areas
• Unfortunately, few people recognize their poison ivy exposure or are aware enough to wash off the urushiol within 10 minutes to prevent a reaction. Others don't even recognize their exposure to poison ivy.

  Unless they are one of the lucky few who are immune to poison ivy, many of these children who are exposed to poison ivy will eventually develop a rash.

Treating Poison Ivy Exposures
If you are exposed, according to the FDA, you should quickly (within 10 minutes):

• first, cleanse exposed areas with rubbing alcohol.
• next, wash the exposed areas with water only (no soap yet, since soap can move the urushiol, which is the oil from the poison ivy that triggers the rash, around your body and actually make the reaction worse).
• now, take a shower with soap and warm water.
• lastly, put gloves on and wipe everything you had with you, including shoes, tools, and your clothes, with rubbing alcohol and water.

Unfortunately, if you wait more than 10 minutes, the urushiol will likely stay on your skin and trigger the poison ivy rash. You may not be able to stop it on your skin, but you might still scrub your nails and wipe off your shoes, etc., so that you don't spread the urushiol to new areas.

Commercial products, like Zanfel, Ivy Cleanse Towelettes, and Tecnu Extreme Poison Ivy Scrub, are also available over-the-counter, if you don't want to use rubbing alcohol.

Remember that poison ivy isn't contagious though, so touching the rash won't actually spread it.

Since your kids get poison ivy a lot, having a 'poison ivy action kit' ready, with rubbing alcohol, a large bottle of water, and some soap, might be a good idea. Since rubbing alcohol can be poisonous, children should be supervised with it though and it is not something you should send off into the woods with them.

Instead, review some pictures of poison ivy so that they really know what to look for. Since poison oak and poison oak can trigger the same rash, knowing how to recognize and avoid these plants is important too.

If you think you already know everything you need to know about poison ivy, try our poison ivy quiz and find out for sure.

Next, go on an expedition and see if you can find the poison ivy in your yard or other places where your kids play. To be safe, wear long pants and a shirt with long sleeves, boots and gloves, to minimize the chance that you will accidentally be exposed to poison ivy.

If you find it, either take steps to get rid of it or teach your kids to avoid those areas.

Poison ivy treatment combines methods to stop the itching and burning while helping new skin cells to replace the damaged ones. With the rise in childhood obesity and more and more kids spending too much time inside playing video games and watching TV, most parents love when their kids go outside to play. Unfortunately, in addition to the sun and bugs, poison ivy can be a big problem for kids playing outside. Poison ivy can also be a hazard to gardeners, hikers, campers, and anyone else who likes to spend time outdoors.There are numerous natural home remedies said to stop the itching and dry up the skin so that the affected layers will fall off, leaving healthy unblemished new skin behind. These can include home remedies and more conventional treatment like cream to help with the swelling, rashes and itching. We'll touch on both here breifly, though you can find more about some of the more common treatments in our other articles.

Home Treatments Rumored To Help

Baking soda is a very effective home remedy that can stop the itching and burning while eliminating the damaged skin layers. Create a paste from equal parts of water and baking soda, then apply this paste to any skin that has a poison ivy rash. This is said to cool the burning and stop the itching sensation immediately. Our experience shows mixed results, it may be worthwhile to give it a try.

Don't Try This At Home

There are some treatments that are no longer used because of the dangers of damage to your skin, and bleach is the biggest one of these. Years ago, straight bleach was believed to be helpful when used on a poison ivy rash, because it removes dead and damaged skin and stopped the itching. Bleach, however, will cause damage to healthy skin, and is a harsh and caustic chemical that should never be used on your skin in any circumstances. There are other treatment methods that will give more effective relief without damaging the healthy skin underneath.

Another no-no is also commonly used unfortunately. Some claim using hot water or hot air will help dry out the rash, and stop the itching and discomfort that poison ivy causes. Showering with hot water as hot as your unaffected skin can stand without burning is said to provide very effective relief, as is blowing warm air from a hairdryer on the rash in an attempt to also help to dry out any blisters. While it's true that drying out the rash is the quickest way to get rid of it, these methods aren't very effective nor are they a good idea to begin with.