Poison Ivy!
It's the season.
I don't know about you, but when I get poison ivy reaction, I get A POISON IVY REACTION!
Last time I had poison ivy, it went systemic. Anywhere I had skin was now a rash, some of it oozing. I was in a ridiculous cycle: itching like mad, take Benadryl, fall asleep, wake up itching, repeat.
It was in the middle of this antihistamine-induced stupor that I did a phone interview with a reporter about my music and I wound up talking to the guy for like 5 hours and telling him way too much about my personal life. The only thing I remember from the conversation was that 1) I told him way too much info and 2) as we were hanging up, I said "well, I told you way too much. I have to kill you now.:" (That later became a song I wrote, "I Have to Kill You Now").
I was stubbornly resisting prednisone because, although I knew it would bring me relief, I also know from experience that it causes me insomnia, weight gain and mood swings, and it also doesn't get to the root of the problem; it gets your body to stop reacting to the poison, but it doesn't help you clear the poison.
Now, please note I am not a doctor and these are just the personal choices I make when weighing pros and cons. YOU CAN DIE FROM AN ALLERGIC REACTION.
I went to the pharmacy and they took one look at me and told me to go to the emergency room.
I said no, dammit, I am not going on prednisone! There has to be another way.
So they pointed me to the homeopathic remedies, and I ended up taking Rhus Toxidendron, which is a kind fo "hair of the dog." Very tiny amounts of the toxin somehow help the body to clear it. That's the theory. (This is not the "cure' for poison ivy I am talking about- I'm getting to that!).
It took me about a month to totally get rid of the rash from the poison ivy.
I had a gig during that time. It was one of those "in the round" shows where there are 3-4 songwriters on the stage, taking turns playing songs. and I looked so awful, no one would sit next to me. In retrospect I probably should've canceled and let them go on without me, but this is me- the same person who 4 years later would have a stroke on the way to a gig then still get up and try to perform.
But that's another topic. The point of my telling you this part of the story is: poison ivy is NOT contagious.
Poison ivy is spread by the *oils* from the leaves, so if you get that oil on your clothes or garden tools or even your dog or cat, you can *keep getting poison ivy* over and over! Anything that has been in contact with poison ivy must be completely cleaned off. So, poison ivy *can* be spread, but only by contact with the oils. (You know what is highly contagious and just as annoying? Pinkeye! But I digress).
This brings me to the promising *cure* for poison ivy I recently learned about:
a cleanser that removes the oil from poison ivy/ sumac/ oak away from your clothes, tools, skin, etc.
It's called Tecnu.
Tec Labs Tecnu Original Poison Oak & Ivy Outdoor Skin Cleanser https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000A7S3WK/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_U_x_z5jkDbKFGDDZK
You rub it on, wait a few minutes then wash it off, and now the oils are removed. You've gotten to the root of the problem rather than just squashing your body's reaction to it. And as far as I know, no nasty side effects and no constantly falling asleep from antihistamines. No oatmeal baths or steroids. No waiting a month for relief. And hopefully no sitting on a stage with 3 other people with empty chairs on either side of you because you look like one of those "please send money to help this poor afflicted person" commercials.
Of course, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, so if you can just avoid poison ivy/ oak/ sumac altogether, that'd be ideal. But 'tis the season for outdoor fun and you can't spend your whole life hiding indoors (well, I guess you can, but even if you do, other people go outside and can bring the poison oils with them on their clothes/ pets/ tools).
Wishing you an itch-free summer!
Carla
*P.S. NEVER burn poison ivy; the smoke can carry the poison into your lungs and kill you! (Thanks, Tom Reed for that reminder!)
It's the season.
I don't know about you, but when I get poison ivy reaction, I get A POISON IVY REACTION!
Last time I had poison ivy, it went systemic. Anywhere I had skin was now a rash, some of it oozing. I was in a ridiculous cycle: itching like mad, take Benadryl, fall asleep, wake up itching, repeat.
It was in the middle of this antihistamine-induced stupor that I did a phone interview with a reporter about my music and I wound up talking to the guy for like 5 hours and telling him way too much about my personal life. The only thing I remember from the conversation was that 1) I told him way too much info and 2) as we were hanging up, I said "well, I told you way too much. I have to kill you now.:" (That later became a song I wrote, "I Have to Kill You Now").
I was stubbornly resisting prednisone because, although I knew it would bring me relief, I also know from experience that it causes me insomnia, weight gain and mood swings, and it also doesn't get to the root of the problem; it gets your body to stop reacting to the poison, but it doesn't help you clear the poison.
Now, please note I am not a doctor and these are just the personal choices I make when weighing pros and cons. YOU CAN DIE FROM AN ALLERGIC REACTION.
I went to the pharmacy and they took one look at me and told me to go to the emergency room.
I said no, dammit, I am not going on prednisone! There has to be another way.
So they pointed me to the homeopathic remedies, and I ended up taking Rhus Toxidendron, which is a kind fo "hair of the dog." Very tiny amounts of the toxin somehow help the body to clear it. That's the theory. (This is not the "cure' for poison ivy I am talking about- I'm getting to that!).
It took me about a month to totally get rid of the rash from the poison ivy.
I had a gig during that time. It was one of those "in the round" shows where there are 3-4 songwriters on the stage, taking turns playing songs. and I looked so awful, no one would sit next to me. In retrospect I probably should've canceled and let them go on without me, but this is me- the same person who 4 years later would have a stroke on the way to a gig then still get up and try to perform.
But that's another topic. The point of my telling you this part of the story is: poison ivy is NOT contagious.
Poison ivy is spread by the *oils* from the leaves, so if you get that oil on your clothes or garden tools or even your dog or cat, you can *keep getting poison ivy* over and over! Anything that has been in contact with poison ivy must be completely cleaned off. So, poison ivy *can* be spread, but only by contact with the oils. (You know what is highly contagious and just as annoying? Pinkeye! But I digress).
This brings me to the promising *cure* for poison ivy I recently learned about:
a cleanser that removes the oil from poison ivy/ sumac/ oak away from your clothes, tools, skin, etc.
It's called Tecnu.
Tec Labs Tecnu Original Poison Oak & Ivy Outdoor Skin Cleanser https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000A7S3WK/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_U_x_z5jkDbKFGDDZK
You rub it on, wait a few minutes then wash it off, and now the oils are removed. You've gotten to the root of the problem rather than just squashing your body's reaction to it. And as far as I know, no nasty side effects and no constantly falling asleep from antihistamines. No oatmeal baths or steroids. No waiting a month for relief. And hopefully no sitting on a stage with 3 other people with empty chairs on either side of you because you look like one of those "please send money to help this poor afflicted person" commercials.
Of course, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, so if you can just avoid poison ivy/ oak/ sumac altogether, that'd be ideal. But 'tis the season for outdoor fun and you can't spend your whole life hiding indoors (well, I guess you can, but even if you do, other people go outside and can bring the poison oils with them on their clothes/ pets/ tools).
Wishing you an itch-free summer!
Carla
*P.S. NEVER burn poison ivy; the smoke can carry the poison into your lungs and kill you! (Thanks, Tom Reed for that reminder!)
No comments:
Post a Comment