Have you ever had poison ivy, poison oak or poison sumac?
By tinkerick
@tinkerick (1257)
United States
May 25, 2010 4:19pm CST
I was trimming our lawn about a week ago and got a tiny scratch on my forearm. A couple days later it turned into a small oozing rash. Now it's a larger still oozing slightly, rash and hives. I think the medical tape I was using to hold gauze on my arm contributed to the hives by irritating the skin. Also I think the skin irritation then caused the rash to get bigger. I've since switched to wrapping gauze rolls around my arm but now I'm getting things that look like bites which then turn into red blistery rashes on all sides of my foream.
Does this sound like poison ivy, oak or sumac? Or something else entirely?
I read online that poison ivy rashes do not spread by the rash themselves. It is only actual contact with the plant or it's chemical that spreads the rash.
1 person likes this
7 responses
@Cherryd41 (1119)
• United States
25 May 10
Hi Tinkerick
It sounds like on of those poison plants be it ivy,oak or sumac
I 'm so glad we don't have any of that stuff in our yard I have had poison ivy before and its no fun the itching almost drove me crazy
I was not happy when I found out I had it
I had to go the doctors for a prescription because it just kept spreading the more I scratched the more it itched I had to get on a mild steroid pill just to get rid of it.
I was not happy when I found out I had it
I had to go the doctors for a prescription because it just kept spreading the more I scratched the more it itched I had to get on a mild steroid pill just to get rid of it.@tinkerick (1257)
• United States
3 Jun 10
Yea that's what happened to me too. You actually see the line where I scratched and the rash spread. I did go to my doctor and she prescribed a steroid pill. That helped immensely.
@cicisnana (772)
• United States
26 May 10
I am highly allergic to poison ivy, if the wind is blowing hard I cannot go into my own back yard because I will be attacked. Any part of my body which isn't clothed and comes in contact with the wind which, I guess is blowing parts of the poison ivy will become red, infected, ooze, blister up. I've never ever wrapped, always used the pink stuff (can't think of the name of it, but it helps with the itching and will dry the sore's up-oh, calamine lotion) and take an antihistamine for the intense itch.
Hope you get better soon.
@stealthy (8181)
• United States
25 May 10
No I have never had either. I was immune to them when I was a kid; I don't know if that is still the case. A childhood friend of mine would get a terrible rash if he only got within 3 ft. of poison ivy and I could pick it and rub between my fingers and have no problem.
@carmelanirel (20942)
• United States
25 May 10
Though I am not an expert tink, but I have had this horrible rash, mine was poison ivy..I have the perfect remedy for this which also may work for poison oak or sumac..
Get some "Fast Orange" hand cleaner and hand sanitizer. Wash your arm every morning and evening with the fast orange. (The pumice in this feels great for the itching) Then through the day rub the hand sanitizer onto the rash..
You should experience hardly any itching if at all doing this. Also it will clear up within a week..This is the method I used last time I had poison ivy and I had no itching and the rash was gone in a week. Any method I used before I had horrible itching and it lasted 3-4 weeks.
@shooie (4984)
• United States
25 May 10
My husband says it sounds like posion oak. Said it probably won't go away without a doctors visit. We have an Aunt her husbans would be out in the yard and get in posion oak and would lay on her bed and she would end up in posion oak rash nice red and oozy. She would end up at her doctors a lot.
