Hi everyone,

My son has gotten a case of poison ivy all over his face! He has a problem with chemicals, so alcohol and bleach treatments are out. I did put charcoal poultices on but it is spreading and getting worse. I should have insisted on putting it on 4 times a day but it didn't look that bad yesterday. (ever try insisting to a teenager?) It is in his ear and is starting to go around his eye.

No cortizone, please. I want to stay as natural as possible. Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance.

-- Dee (gdgtur@goes.com), October 16, 2000

Answers

Hi Dee, Where the poison ivy was growing, there should be jewelweed growing nearby, some people call it "touch -me- not" flower, it has small orange and yellow flowers, can grow 4 ft. tall, but is usually only waist high. It likes damp places, like along creeks, etc. Anyway, find some and mash it up and apply the juice to the skin, is the best natural remedy for poison ivy. You can also dilute CIDER vinegar half with water and apply several times a day. If you cannot find fresh jewelweed, the tincture works also, but is hard to find, might try Frontier Natural Products Co-op, www.frontiercoop.com, or 1- 800-669-3275. Aveeno oatmeal soap and bath therapy will reduce itch and swelling, they also make a cream, all natural, available at drug stores and Wally World. Good luck, Annie in SE OH.

-- Annie Miller (annie@1st.net), October 16, 2000.

Baking soda paste. Baking soda mixed with good old H2O like you would be making gravy or white sauce consistancy. Works. Old remedy my mother used on us kids. Dries it up. I used it on my stepson when he got a real bad case, also as a teenager. I'd already tried other products and they were not much help.I got frustrated & went to the old tried & true, Worked like a charm. I saw it on another post, for stings, from a beekeeper, so someone else knew of this. Jewelweed works also, but is probably frosted back now.

-- sharon wt (wildflower@ekyol.com), October 16, 2000.

There's a lot of stuff in the archives, mostly under "Misc." and "Uncategorised". Bring up the list, then do "Edit", "Search" (several times) for "ivy".

-- Don Armstrong (darmst@yahoo.com.au), October 17, 2000.

If you can get homeopathic remedies, get Rhus Tox in 30c. It relieves the symptoms of poison ivy. The remedy will be on tiny sugar pills (kids love that part!) which the patient lets melt under their tongue. Homeopathy is great for children, and unlike stuff like antibiotics, once you see improvement, you stop giving the remedy and simply let the body's immune system do the rest. It WORKS!

According to homeopathic theory, eruptions on the skin, such as the body's reaction to poison ivy, are showing the patient's system pushing the problem to the safest place it can -- the skin. Eruptions which are suppressed by exterior means (cortison creams, calomine, and, it would seem, charcoal poultices, etc) are forced to go inward or upward, where the problem is more dangerous, more difficult. For this reason, many people who have suppressed the rash, later develop stomach trouble or joint problems.

You can call Homeopathy Overnight at 1(800)276-4223, or order online at www.homeopathyovernight.com .

-- snoozy (allen@oz.net), October 17, 2000.

i use this to help dry up heat rash and diaper rash, may work....take a very hot pan,cast iron is best add a cup of flour and drown it almost to the point of burning,let it cool of and heat again,when cool rub on what ever you want to dry up it pulls the moisture out of your skin. i use it 4 or 5 x a day and it really works.

-- renee oneill (oneillsr@home.com), October 17, 2000.

Hey Don, I use natural medication whenever possible, but when my son gets poison ivy and it is on the face, it seems that a trip to the dr. is in order. He gets elocon to put on it and some methylpred--4mg--in tablet form.it is a dose pak. It is the only stuff that has assisted with his face especially when it got to his eyes. I know it isn't what you want to use, but it is a suggestion if it doesn't get better with the other things. lynne

-- lynne (leaves8@hotmail.com), October 17, 2000.

Hey everyone,

Thank you all for your advice. Here is what happened (or didn't) Annie, the jewelweed (if it was indeed that) was dead. Sharon, the baking soda burned, does it usually? Snoozy, not near place that sell homeopathic meds. I will pick it up in case I need it in the future. renee, saw your post too late. lynne, if it didn't get better he would have gone to the doctor but they are too ready to give cortizone and steriods.

What I did was make the poultice with the charcoal and added Echinacia and Black Walnut. People, you would not believe how much better it looked after it was on for only 10 minutes! It stopped spreading and the swelling went down. I did the applications a few more times and each time was better. The school doctor (who is a nurse practicioner) said it didn't look bad. That was after the two applications. And believe me, he was bad when he woke up this morning.

Thank you all again for your time and advice. I love this forum.

-- Dee (gdgtur@goes.com), October 17, 2000.

Colloidial oatmeal also helps to draw the fuid and stop the itching. If you don't have any Aveeno you can make it by using a blender with regular whole rolled oats ground up. I hope he gets better real quickly!

-- Doreen (animalwaitress@yahoo.com), October 18, 2000.

Dee, what kind of charcoal are you using? I'm only familiar with the kind you use to cook on the grill with, I have some childrens liquid echinacea/eyebright, and I have blackwalnut trees around here. Were the latter 2 tinctures of these things? I think I have poison ivy on both forearms, we butchered a goat Sunday and smoked some of it all day/evening right next to a hickory tree with poison ivy trailing up all over it, I never touched it but I think with the heat it got me of the grill it got me. baking soda burned a little on me to, many thanks if you could get back to me via email.

-- Carol (cwaldrop@peoplescom.net), October 18, 2000.

her is one that has worked for me as a landscaper over the course of many years though you may not want to use it on your face. Any strong degreasing dish soap that can dry out your skin will dry out the oil that causes the reaction. just rub it on a bit thick and let dry and it will draw out the oil and break it down and three is no more itch after about 5 - 20 minutes. And just rinse off. if real bad repeat. the rash may take a day to clear but the fluid blisters should be gone. Anthony J. DiDonato

-- anthony j. didonato (didonato@vvm.com), October 21, 2000.

WARNING! I have found that even though the swelling and poison ivy looks better after the poultices, it will come back if you stop. I'm sorry I didn't know this sooner. They do dry up immediately again after the first repeat application. Sorry, it turned out not to be a miracle cure.

-- Dee (gdgtur@goes.com), October 21, 2000.