Something got me on the right side of my neck. It is itchy but it doesn't look like the poison ivy rashes on Google images. Looks more like a burn, feels hard under the skin and is shaped like two fingers slapped me.

Any tips for relief?

Benadryl. It used to be pink and everyone knew you had poison ivy. Now it comes in a clear gel, works better and cannot be seen. IIRC, it takes me 4-5 days to get through it IF I make a point of not scratching. Salt water, if you are near the ocean, helps to dry it out. Alcohol, as in rubbing, will also help drying it, but it is a very temporary solution.

Make sure it is not the start of shingles.

If it truly is a ivy rash, I might suggest a washrag with bleach water. Scrub hard enough to open the blisters and the bleach will dry it out. I know it sounds like torture, but this is the only thing that kills the shit within hours. This will keep it from spreading to a place you "really" don't want to get it.

quote:

Originally posted by mutedblade:
If it truly is a ivy rash, I might suggest a washrag with bleach water. Scrub hard enough to open the blisters and the bleach will dry it out. I know it sounds like torture, but this is the only thing that kills the shit within hours. This will keep it from spreading to a place you "really" don't want to get it.

That's not how poison ivy works. It doesn't spread. Some areas of the skin develop the rash faster than others so when more of the rash appears, people think it is spreading.

IF it is poison ivy, it's best to wash it well w/ soap and a wash cloth to make sure any ivy oil is no longer on the skin. Wash it twice. Make sure that shirt gets washed.
Once cleaned of oil, you can itch all want. It won't spread from itching.

If it's shingles, seek medical attention.

Me and a buddy were hiking in the woods one day. He had to take a crap. No tp. He used leaves to wipe his butt. There was poison ivy in the mix. Talk about torture. His brown eye and bag was in bad shape. He was hurting for days.

quote:

Originally posted by mutedblade:
If it truly is a ivy rash, I might suggest a washrag with bleach water. Scrub hard enough to open the blisters and the bleach will dry it out. I know it sounds like torture, but this is the only thing that kills the shit within hours. This will keep it from spreading to a place you "really" don't want to get it.

I saved this from a previous thread, I don't know what poster to thank.
[FLASH_VIDEO]


Link to original video: https://youtu.be/4oyoDRHpQK0 [/FLASH_VIDEO]

Thanks for the tips.

What makes those of you that mentioned it think it could be shingles?

It showed up a day after I mowed a new overgrown property with grass in a wooded area. There were some climbing vines on some of the trees.

Tecnu even after the fact. Ive used it after I got the rash and it seemed to keep it from spreading. https://www.teclabsinc.com/pro...ak-ivy/tecnu-extreme

quote:

What makes those of you that mentioned it think it could be shingles?

Could be many things. Could be poison ivy. Have you been in the weeds/woods?

A few years ago my scalp was hot on one side. The next day I had a tingling, itch, and then rash under one ear/on side of face. Next day shingles. And it hurt. While most get shingles across one side of torso some get the face. If it is shingles you will shortly have small blisters. Regardless of whether ivy/oak, other or shingles, Caladryl should help it. I got the clear type. Hope for you it's not shingles...

Edit: BTW poison ivy/sumac causes blisters also. Shingles is much more painful typically...

When I was a surveyor assistant (read there is some crap in my way, go clear the line of sight) a old family doctor told me if you get a contact dermatitis (poison, oak, ivy, sumac) first take off all your clothes and was them, then wipe exposed skin with mineral spirits to remove any left over plant oil (technu is mineral spirits). Then when blisters form scrub them til they pop then dab Clorox on the area (yes it burns). He told me by doing that you are no longer treating a contact dermatitis you are now treating a chemical burn. If the rash is really spreading fast go to the doctor and get either a steroid dospak or a steroid shot.

quote:

Originally posted by mark123:
Thanks for the tips.

What makes those of you that mentioned it think it could be shingles?

It showed up a day after I mowed a new overgrown property with grass in a wooded area. There were some climbing vines on some of the trees.

I guess because you said it did not look like poison ivy and you have probably had poison ivy before.

Shingles starts on one side of the body and starts with a pain or itch.If you think it is not poison ivy see a doctor and antiviral meds can be given if they determine it is shingles.It
could make it go away a lot faster.

Pain is usually the first symptom of shingles. For some, it can be intense. Depending on the location of the pain, it can sometimes be mistaken for a symptom of problems affecting the heart, lungs or kidneys. Some people experience shingles pain without ever developing the rash.

http://www.mayoclinic.org/dise...ymptoms/con-20019574

Most commonly, the shingles rash develops as a stripe of blisters that wraps around either the left or right side of your torso. Sometimes the shingles rash occurs around one eye or on one side of the neck or face.

I'm betting plant based...wipe it down with IvyDry OTC...or...

...any bats, woodchucks or lemurs in the area?...

I get poison ivy constantly, its everywhere on my property. The video Recoatlift posted seems pretty accurate from my experience. I coat my arms with non-stick cooking spray when I know I can't avoid it, and Fast Orange works well to wash off heavy contamination. Soap and a washcloth work for most contamination, and I only get a few blisters here or there where I miss a spot.

If it gets abraded into my skin, nothing seems to stop it, but letting clay dry out on the infected areas seems to help quite a bit. Zanfel, not Tecnu, works like a miracle, but for $40 it should, and I save it for around my eyes or bad spots that start looking like severe chemical burns.

Last February, I got an itching spot on my ribs, and thought it might be ivy, then maybe it was an allergic reaction to soap or softener, then bedbugs, and finally it was found to be shingles. After a day it became clear it wasn't poison ivy, it stopped itching and became a painful blister. If the rash appears to be shingles, don't wait to visit a doc, it is no joke. I was off work four weeks, and still have occasional phantom pains that I think are from it.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: dynorat,

It seems to be going away. I wasn't able to find any topical benadryl so I'm riding it out. The tecnu only works on the oils, right? They're long gone since the exposure was Friday. I don't have to return to the property until next Tuesday but I'll surely be more careful in the wooded area.

Need to correct my post, Zanfel, not Tecnu works best, on the oils, and after on the rash, more than anything I've tried, but it is expensive. When you have something that really works I suppose the price is justified. I have Tecnu also, but it doesn't seem to work any better to remove the oil than soap, and fast orange is just as good in my mind. Ivy Dry in the pump spray seems to work for the rash and itching afterwards, keep it in the fridge for added relief.

Dr Weil on poison ivy treatment:

https://www.drweil.com/blog/he...%20Itch%20And%20Rash

I get posion ivy and oak just being down wind.
Rubbing alcohol a.s.a.p. after contact with it , and even after it develops into a rash.

Perhaps it removes the plant oil which they say takes a day or so to sink into the skin.

Works Great for me. I live in the forest, and before the above got it consistently. No longer a problem.