it's not particularly 'natural'... but chlorine is really what's going to dry out the blisters and help the rash. Go swimming in a public pool if you can... or, not around your face, of course, but on your less sensetive areas, put a little bleach on a q-tip and rub it on for a second... it will start to sting, then wash it off. Repeat that a few times a day and you'll find it gone in no time at all. I once got poison ivy so bad that I ate through a straw and was on steroid shots so I've learned how *not* to have it spread since.
bleach can irritate some people and cause infection, not to mention scars. i have coworkers who used this method and have scars pretty bad (they also used to put out their cigarettes on their poison ivy - not recommended much either)...
I've always caught it very quickly since that one really bad time and now find a public pool (like at the YMCA) is the best thing for it... you *do* have to be REALLY careful with the bleach, but it's all I've found to keep my contact dermatitis at bay if I don't have a pool handy... and I take a wee bit of bleach on camping trips for that reason now, too. Better that than steroid shots ever again!
yeah, in moderation i assume bleach probably works pretty well... and the pool thing is a good idea too - i'll have to remember that! though i think when it's a large area of skin affected, it's best not to bleach yourself out like michael jackson lol. i was tempted to do *anything* this past month to ease my poison sumac on the entire length of the back of my right leg, but even without doing anything but calamine lotion, it looks like i had third degree burns after it's healed. all those poison plants are the devil for archaeologists.
I bet :) I'm not but a suburbanite with an interest in the subject myself, which is probably good considering my suseptability to such things and contact dermatitis :)
the key I found with the bleach was to wash it off as SOON as it started to sting... and after about three applications (over the course of a day or so) it was drying up and not itching.
Good luck!!!
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I've always caught it very quickly since that one really bad time and now find a public pool (like at the YMCA) is the best thing for it... you *do* have to be REALLY careful with the bleach, but it's all I've found to keep my contact dermatitis at bay if I don't have a pool handy... and I take a wee bit of bleach on camping trips for that reason now, too. Better that than steroid shots ever again!
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the key I found with the bleach was to wash it off as SOON as it started to sting... and after about three applications (over the course of a day or so) it was drying up and not itching.
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