Poison Ivy - Saint Louis, MO

If you will use childrens Benadryl, that will help a lot. And put some type of topical ointment on it 3 times daily.

L.

There is a website that gives out all the info on illnesses and drugs. Go to www.webmd.com They will help. Just type in the drug name and you can see all of the side effects and all that stuff so that you can make an informed decision about whether to give you child this stuff. Good luck.

The best thing I found is to bathe in oatmeal and then apply it like a goo

burt's bees poison ivy soap. My husband is highly allergic and uses it religiously when he runs into the ivy. We have it all over our yard, and thankfully our girls have recieved my immunity in that area, season allergies another story. Benadryl is also good to use in combination with the soap. Its very drying though, Ivy Dry is a spray that my husband says burns, but once it dries, no itching. Oatmeal baths are also good.

Hi C. H. I have several kids who are allergic to poison ivy and it seems to always take 2 weeks before you see the rash look like it's going away. If the prednisone is topical it shouldn't be a problem to your 3 year old. I don't think that if it's oral it shouldn't be a problem for your child to take it because they only have to take it for a short amount of time. It's a steroid and it just helps boost the immune system. If you don't feel comfortable with that advice then just make the child comfortable with cool/warm baths (lots of toys included)and over the counter antihistamines and topical aniti-itch medicine. Hope this helps.
M. B.

I have taken prednisone since I was a small-small child for asthma and sleep apnea. Yes, it has shown to lower your immune system, but to be honest I was never sick. I don't think that her doctor would prescribe her something that's not suitable for a three year old. If you feel he has then maybe you should follow your gut and just do over the counter remedies or. Like another suggested before, Burt's Bees is a very good product that I have found great success with and it's all natural. Personally, whether the doctor prescribed her a cream or a medicine she ingests I would give it to her. She's not going to be taking it for long, just until the poison ivy starts to get better. And personally, if I was in itchy agony I would want some relief.

if it is spreading to the eye it can spread to the throat and ears and can cause worse problems than just an itch. she can go blind deaf mute she can choke if it swells enough. my son was on prednisone as an infant and he is healthier than my daughter who was never on a steroid in her life. you have to weight the benefits to the side effects. in the case of poison ivy spreading on the face my personal opinion is side effects be darned comapared to the fact that you can stop the spreading to dangerous areas of the face.

Try Regular Sure deodorant in the can. I know it sounds crazy but I had an employee a few years ago that had a doctor tell her to do this. Apparently, it has a clay base and dries the stuff up. Anyway, it works. Everyone that I've known that has tried it, says it has worked great. My son's entire cubscout group used his entire can on a camping trip once they saw how well it was working on him - lol. You might want to spray it on a cloth and dab it on her cheek but could spray it directly on her arm. It has to be the Regular aerosol.

Good luck.

I had poison ivy alot when I was a child and my mom always had me take Aveeno baths right before bed. It's just packets of Aveeno Oatmeal, you pour it into warm running water and have her soak in it then when she get's out put calamine lotion on her to stop the itching through the night. It always worked for me and once I had a belt of poison ivy going around my stomach and up and down both arms. Hope this helps.

My son had it when he was 7 and had it fairly bad, but the dr. was cautious about prescribing a steroid, so he just prescribed an ointment. It worked good. (Just as the poison ivy was clearing up he then broke his arm..thankfully it was the one that didn't have poison ivy, that was a bad few months).

Hi C.,
I understand why you would be concerned. Prednisone is a medicine that has a lot of side effects and can upset the stomach. However, since I'm a pharmacist, I see it prescribed for kids often. In fact, my 3 y/o was given the same medicine for a viral reaction (swelling of her face and lips) that landed us in the ER. She vomited the first dose (give it with food to hopefully avoid this) but she had no problem with subsequent doses. It works the best for poison ivy--a lot better than all the over-the-counter stuff, and should help within a day or two. If your daughter is suffering from itchiness and discomfort, I wouldn't hesitate to give it to her. I hope this helps ease your mind.

Take care!
K.

Hi, I always get poison ivy and your better off letting your 3 yr old just get through it with topicals such as hydrocortisone cream or benadryl cream and oatmeal product baths. Prednisone decreases inflammation and pevents speading but also lowers the immune system.

My sister in law told me to suggest to give her oatmeal baths or visadern baths

What about using calamine lotion or giving them a bath in oatmeal

My daughter had poison ivy on her face, in her ears and all over her tummy a month ago (she is 3). Our pediatrician said that they prescribe that to patients who get poison ivy on their faces because it can spread to their eyes/throat/ etc... I gave it to my daughter Fiona for 2 days and it seemed to help a lot. There is also a cream and I think it is called Ivarest or something like that. It has an antihistamine in the cream which our doctor said really helps the itch. Good luck!

about 3 months ago i broke out with severe phisoras and the dr called it undetermined allergic reaction and put on predisone it did not get any better it got worse and made me kinda of crabby i would be against it and ask for a antibiotic not a steriod.. and benadryl for it that helped me alot...... good luck

J.

My 3yo has taken prednisone several times, he has always been fine with it. The only side effect he has had is trouble sleeping, and he wants to eat all day. It is a steroid, but she should be fine, the first time he was prescribed it he was 19 months. It works very quickly, he has taken it once for poisin ivy and 3 times for croup/asthma attacks. Good luck, at least it's not getting worse. You might also try an oatmeal bath.

I wouldn't give my child steroroids unless I had no choice. Since your child's problem is not spreading, I would assume that her body is fighting it quite well on it's own. If it gets into her eye, however, I would bring out some big guns.

I suggest you get some diaper wipes, pour a bottle of rubbing alcohol or 16oz of everclear (pure grain alcohol) over the wipes and use the alcohol wipes to carefully wiipe the effected areas two to three times daily to clean and dry up the area as well as prevent it's spread.

I also sugggest anyone who goes out into the woods or areas known to have noxious plants carry a box of these with them to wipe down (scrub gently) exposed skin with before bed and at lunchtime to prevent any plant oils from staying on the skin long enough to cause a reaction.

My family goes primitive camping pretty regularly, and we haven't gotten any of these sort of problems for over 10 years. Best of luck.

I have to agree with you. I don't know if I would give that to my little guy either. Is calamine not helping? That's probably a sill question but you never know. Maybe an oatmeal bath to dry it out. I can roll in a poison ivy patch and not get a single itch so I really don't have any good advice sorry. I was just shocked that your dr. would give that serious a medication for such a little person. But I guess they are the ones with degrees.