oh you poor thing! So very lucky that your eyesight wasn't impacted.

Thanks, dlm2000. Things have been pretty blurry, but not so bad I can't see and I think once the swelling is completely gone, it will be fine.

When I first started noticing symptoms, my wonderful dd convinced me to have a hot tub and relax. It felt great, but when I got out and looked up treatments on line, the first thing I read was not to go in hot water as it opens your pores so more of the oil is absorbed by your skin. Best thing to do is wash in lukewarm water with dish soap and rub area with rubbing alcohol. Just wanted to pass that on in case anyone else is ever in similar straits.

Oh I'm so sorry....

My mother made a friend a flower arrangement using lovely leaves once in the fall ...she never did learn to recognize poison ivy! Leaves of three...let 'em be.

My GF when young got it on her face and kept using warm compresses to make it feel better. Same thing...her face swelled up like a raspberry and she had trouble seeing. She got over it though.

At least you weren't a man who relieved himself after handling the stuff!

The problem is caused by an oil called urushiol. Like any oil, it floats in a fine layer on water and spreads faster when warm.

Best thing to do is wash immediately with dawn dish washing liquid as it cuts oil and will dry it up.

When we were kids, we wiped it off with gasoline on a rag...which is an even better grease cutter as any mechanic will tell you...and then wash the gasoline off. Worked great.

Oh you poor dear! Thanks for the heads up as this time of year I start thinking about going for walks. I hope your body heals quickly.

so sorry this happened to you, what a bummer.

Daisychain,
Stick to picking daisies and avoid all other plants.
Jean

You have my sympathy. The leaves are also reddish when they bud in the spring--so pretty and delicate, and just waiting to wreak havoc.

Annie's post reminded me of a family story, with my uncle as the unwitting victim. He once used a handful of the leaves as TP.

We get poison oak around here. I thought I had a run in with it a couple weeks ago, but it apparently wasn't PO-sure acted like it initially.

If you've got it around, get yourself some Technu. It's a wash specifically designed to prevent the oil from taking hold. I keep some in my field kit and apply to bare skin before I even go out. I also put it on my hands when I take off my boots (or before I use the toilet if I'm out of the office), since the oils can get on your clothing..

The old adage "leaves of 3, let them be" is one that I repeat every time I'm in the field or hiking. The spikelets will have 3 leaves on a single bracht.

Oh, I know the pain of poison ivy very well. After suffering from it a number of times, I learned to head to the doctor and get a dose pack of prednisone early in the process rather than waiting in misery. Technu has saved me a number of times. I have since sold the house surrounded by poison ivy. I left clear warnings to the new occupants.

I found out the hard way that PI also presents itself as a hairy vine going up a tree.

Am so sorry you ran into this. It can be painful and does take a couple of weeks to resolve with the amount you were exposed to.

I know the experience and want to share that poison ivy also vents it's ire even in the winter. I was ice skating on a pond near home (9 yrs old) and couldn't get the skates off because the knotted ties were wet. No way to get anyone for help and laid down to cry, then wiping my face of tears. Same as you, two weeks of incredible red swelling and couldn't see. Back then there wasn't much for this other than calamine lotion.

So, beware in the winter even without leaves.

I'm so sorry to hear of your outbreak. I don't know much about Poison Ivy but Poison Oak has a memory. My Dr told me if you are exposed again - anywhere on your body - the rash can break out on a prior site.

Indeed, I was raised around Poison Oak and the saying "Leaves of three..."

Burning Poison Oak is really dangerous. I bet Poison Ivy would be bad too.

We don't really have poison oak or ivy around here, but I've heard it's awful. Hope you are feeling 100% soon.

My BIL was in a motorcycle accident when he was younger...laid down his bike on a corner and slid off the road and under a field fence (on a rural road). Broke his leg badly, went to the hospital where they set it and put on a thigh to ankle cast...and then the itching started. Poison ivy under the cast! It was awful for him.

olychick, I am trembling at the thought of such a thing - agh!

My mom has a story about my grandma almost dying when they burned poison ivy in the fireplace by mistake. I come from a long line of those allergic to the weed. My sister on the other hand could roll in the stuff and not be affected. Her cross to bear as a kid was always bees/wasps. We'd play together in the forest and she'd get stung numerous times and I would be untouched by the insects, but would invariably come down with poison ivy within the next day or two.

I've never heard of technu. I'll have to ask at the drugstore.

FYI

I am so sorry you went through this! We have poison ivy in our woods and some of the established beds and I know the pain too well. If I even ever so slightly brush against it I will get the rash.
I have tried to eradicate most of it but as we live in a rural area, it's always present. For several years, I had to deal with the oil on my dogs fur and getting it on my face when we would snuggle. That upped my efforts to eliminate it everywhere they usually went. So for the past two years my face hasn't looked gross- it was rough for awhile!