Poison Ivy - Long Valley,NJ

Sounds like you might be pretty sensitive, so get one of the soaps especially designed to remove the irritating oil from skin. My husband depends on a brand called Tecnu, available in many drugstores. At the first sign of a breakout, or even if he doesn't realize what the rash is for a couple of days, he rubs in the Tecnu cleaner and then rinses it off very thoroughly. Generally, the rash begins to dry up then instead of spread.

Good luck. That itching is intense.

You are not contagious. If you've washed all items/tools/clothing/gardening gloves/etc you think came in contact with the oil, they should be fine.
With poison ivy (or poison oak or poison sumac), your body has an allergic reaction (contact dermatitis) to the Urushiol oil and as with any allergic reaction - you can blister anywhere - not just at the site of contact.

I've had it a few times, and my body won't quit reacting to it on it's own.
My personal record is 2 months of scratching. When I woke up from scratching my legs bloody in my sleep I gave up and went to the doctor. A prednisone steroid series finally shut the reaction down and my skin could finally heal up.
They say jewel weed salve is a natural treatment - acts as a topical steroid.
I only found out about it a short while ago, but it helped with one itchy spot I had (but I wasn't sure it was poison ivy that time).

A friend of mine's son got it bad in the middle of winter one year. It turned out the firewood he was carrying into the house had a dead, dried poison ivy vine that was attached to the piece of fire wood. The oil stays viable for YEARS after the plant has long since died away.

It isnt contagious persay but its resin is what can be if something touches it. It doesnt come off until you wash it. So my suggestion would be to wash all the clothes and wash things well around the house to be sure.

There is a wonderful site WWW. Poisonivyadvice.com (poison ivy advice.com)

I only ever had a little bit like you have now. I believe it can be spread if you scratch the blisters open but I'm not sure if it they are closed. If they are tiny spots you can always put a band aid over it. You can get it from unwashed clothes or other items. You can get soap that counteracts the oil (it is a heavy duty brown or dark yellow soap) if you touch the leaf and wash right away then you might not get a rash. I'm not sure if there are any specifics on washing clothes to get the oil off.

PI is not contageous. The oil, however, can spread. So wash your sheets, towels and anything else you may have come in contact with that day (including gardeing tools, your steering wheel, everything) in hot water.

Good luck and feel better. It will just take time.

The rash is not contagious. but the oil from the leaf can spred if you haven't washed the clothes, shoes, ect.. that my have touched it. When I get poison ivy, I call my Dr. and get a prescription cream and sometimes a cortisone shot dependingon how bad it is.

Your son and husband may not be sensitive to it and therefore never get a blister. I wasn't sensitive to poison ivy until well into adulthood.

PI is rarely serious and nothing to freak out about. It is uncomfortable and messy. Just wash anything that may have had contact with the leaves. Go outside and look carefully around your property for the plant and get rid of it. Look it up to find out how to do that. I do know that if you try burning it, the resin gets into the smoke and can cause illness.

I don't know about it being contagious. I think that I spread it on me by scratching it.

I am very allergic to PI. Sorry to disagree with others, but I have gotten it by touching my husband who had it so I would say yes you are contagious! Your outbreak shouldn't be too bad if this is the first time you've had it. Each time you come in contact with PI, it breaks your immune system down more (unlike other things which you build up immunity to). I had PI several years in a row and the last year I had it, I was head to toe in extreme pain and could hardly breathe so it can become dangerous. Also, urushiol oil remains spreadable for 7 years before it dries up so if you touch a rake after touching PI, you can get it again in 6 years by touching the same rake. Most important is: Do not scratch it! Put calamine lotion on it (wait for it to dry) and then a band aid. Good luck! Oh, and make sure you know what it looks like. Google it and look at images. It can be all different sizes and various colors.

Fels Napatha laundry soap - wash YOU and anything you've been in contact with... it is safe to use as I've used it on my kids many times - one is very allergic to PI and came home from camp covered one year (try washing a sleeping bag!)