Health & Fitness
Poison Ivy - It's Time!
The very next day, she looked like she had been involved in chemical warfare. She had itchy, red patches all over her body.
You know all about the vine that has leaves in triples that may, or may not have a tinge of red sprinkled here and there? Personally, I back away from the stuff as if it were an Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake! Unfortunately, some folks aren't so lucky.
My bride of almost 44 years was out working in one of the gardens during our recent heat-spell. She apparently found a vine, sans leaves, that she tugged at and eventually won the battle over. Well, almost, that is. While tugging at the vine, she got the feeling that it may be the nasty stuff, but that didn't stop her.
The very next day, she looked like she had been involved in chemical warfare. She had itchy, red patches all over her body. Her contribution to this blog is this; "after working in the garden of unknown vines, you should wash your hands and arms BEFORE and AFTER going potty." Also, be aware, the offending poison ivy oil can be all over your clothes, so use appropriate caution…
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The following several days were a nightmare for her. Poison ivy consumed her conscious thought the entire day. We bought every kind of PI killer known to man, and covered all areas with various kinds of patches so the anti-itch ointment wouldn't rub off. Some areas are not conducive to patches of any type.
She ended up going to the doctor. He considered it bad enough to prescribe prednisone, a steroid that has her so wound up that her eyes are flashing!:)
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She also read that washing the affected areas with Dawn dish washing liquid, and blowing it dry with a hair dryer really helped. She gave it a try and while it seemed to help on one spot, not so much on others.
She also tried some cortisone-based goop, and some calamine-based stuff. In the end, no pun intended, the product that seemed to provide the best relief was good-ole A&D Diaper Rash Cream. This, in combination with the prednisone, has mostly defeated the PI scourge in less time than was anticipated. Unfortunately, it hasn’t stopped her from uncontrollably scratching her derriere while at the restaurant….
