Living in Hell with Poison Oak!!!

[Maroney555]

I have the WORST poison oak I have ever seen.

 

It's all over my face and neck and arms. Both eyes are swollen, nose is swollen and lips are all blistered

 

I have tried everything, nothing helps. I went to the doc and got prednisone pills and some antihistamines, but am having little relief from them.

 

Does anyone have any advice??? This is unbearable...

 

Also, I have some cephalexin (antibiotic for things, one being skin irritation) and I was wondering if anyone knows whether or not it'd be OK for me to take those along with the prednisone and antihistamines....??

[BellaDonna]

I used to have a similar reaction when I got poison ivy. It's Hell and I'm sorry you are going through it.

 

Symptoms become severe when you have systematic infection (i.e. it enters your bloodstream) and you are allergic to the posion oak/poison ivy plant oil.

 

Since antibiotics treat bacterial infections- I don't think they would help you at all in this case.

 

You should call the doctor to see if there is anthing else he/she can give you for the discomfort. When I had the bad reaction to poison ivy I used to be given a shot, a cream, a pill, and some other oral syrup.

 

There may be a shot/vaccine you can get to prevent future bad reactions like this. Once I got the posion ivy shot as a teenager, I've never had a bad allergic reaction again and if I do come in contact with poison ivy now- I only get a small patch of it like a normal, non-allergic person would.

[Maroney555]

Ya, I am REALLY allergic! I will definitely look into getting that shot you mentioned.

 

So I checked and cephalexin actually does get prescribed for skin irritation, so I think I'm gonna add it to my cocktail

 

How many times do you have to get that shot?

[BellaDonna]

cephalexin actually does get prescribed for skin irritation

 

But if it is an antibiotic, it may only help skin irritation that is due to bacteria and not help your current situation at all.

 

 

How many times do you have to get that shot?

 

It was a while back, but I want to say that I remember going 2 or 3 times for the shot. It was given in a series.

 

I used to be so allergic that all I had to do was walk by a poison ivy plant (not even touch it) and if the plant oil was present at microscopic levels in the air/breeze -I would break out with it all over.

[Maroney555]

Awesome, thanks! I'll do more research on that antibiotic

 

Anyone have any tips for relief???

[BellaDonna]

Stay cool, and as dry as possible. If you get warm or sweat the itching feels much worse. Cool showers help.

 

Did the doc say that you can take Benadryl before bed? I always found it worked because it knocks you out so you can tune out the itching and get some sleep. You may want to cover your hands with very thin cotton socks to prevent yourself from scratching in your sleep.

[Miss Firecracker]

Awesome, thanks! I'll do more research on that antibiotic

 

Anyone have any tips for relief???

 

Yes, I DO! It is pretty expensive but well worth the money. I keep it at all times and use it at first signs, I'm terribly allergic.

 

 

ZANFEL

 

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[BellaDonna]

^ Yes! I forgot about Zanfel. That works well too. If you take a cool shower you can scrub the rash with it and it helps to take the oil out of the rash, which is causing your allergy.

 

It is expensive and if you are covered with the rash then you may need several tubes of it. Their website claims it makes the rash go away faster but I never had success with that aspect (probably because with a systematic infection- the plant oil just keeps re-infecting you via your blood stream) , although it did help with the itch. Walmart is the cheapest place to buy it.

[Miss Firecracker]

^ Yes! I forgot about Zanfel. That works well too. If you take a cool shower you can scrub the rash with it and it helps to take the oil out that is causing your allergy.

 

It is expensive and if you are covered with the rash then you may need several tubes of it. Their website claims it makes the rash go away faster but I never had success with that aspect (probably because with a systematic infection- , although it did help with the itch. Walmart is the cheapest place to buy it.

 

I accidentally found out it works on bug bites too. Happened to have a bad one at the same time I had poison oak. It was amazing.

 

My sister's friend had chigger bites all over her body, and I told her to tell this lady about Zanfel, and she used it and had amazing relief.

[BellaDonna]

If you know you have an allergy- I just want to add this last precaution: Be careful about petting outdoor cats.

 

I am an animal lover and a cat lover. One of my last really bad bouts of poision ivy came from petting a stray cat. Often animals will rub against the plant in the woods and have no reaction- but carry the oil on their fur.

 

Well....I pet this cat with both hands- it rubbed against my legs and feet when I had sandals on. Within hours I was covered with poison ivy blisters all in between my fingers, toes, and on my legs. ](*,)

 

It's not something I would have ever thought of as far as taking precautions, until it happened to me.

[Miss Firecracker]

I just had it last week and was wondering how I could have gotten it, and my husband reminded me I had been to the shelter to feed cats a few days before. So that had to be it.

[Maroney555]

Stay cool, and as dry as possible. If you get warm or sweat the itching feels much worse. Cool showers help.

 

Did the doc say that you can take Benadryl before bed? I always found it worked because it knocks you out so you can tune out the itching and get some sleep. You may want to cover your hands with very thin cotton socks to prevent yourself from scratching in your sleep.

 

Ya, got the Benadryl Not huge success with it though which sucks.

[Maroney555]

My sister's friend had chigger bites all over her body, and I told her to tell this lady about Zanfel, and she used it and had amazing relief.

 

Zanfel...never even heard of it..thanks! Have you tried Fels Naptha soap by any chance???

 

If you know you have an allergy- I just want to add this last precaution: Be careful about petting outdoor cats.

.

 

Yup, that's where I got it. My dogs....kinda funny, the rash is everywhere that I give my boxer hugs and nowhere else lol We found some oak in our backyard, so we are establishing weekly baths and absolutely NO more time on the furniture wish we had a yard for them.

[Maroney555]

Oh, and firecracker.. does Zanfel speed up the healing?? BellaDonna, you said you had no luck on that part?

[Miss Firecracker]

Oh, and firecracker.. does Zanfel speed up the healing?? BellaDonna, you said you had no luck on that part?

 

It did for me, but I can tell you are in pretty bad shape. I hope it works a miracle.

[BellaDonna]

The Zanfel didn't really make it go away much faster for me, but it did help with the itch and it helped dry it out.

[Miss Firecracker]

The pills the doctor gave me didn't help half as much as the Zanfel.

[Maroney555]

Thanks guys, I will have to make the hubby go get me some Hope it works...I've got a pretty severe case going

[Miss Firecracker]

Here are some good stories.

 

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Be sure to follow the instructions about activation.

[Maroney555]

Would it be bad to have a beer??

[Maroney555]

Here are some good stories.

 

link removed

 

Be sure to follow the instructions about activation.

 

Thanks!!! I will definitely be looking into getting some of this stuff.

[Shortpants]

Here's some info I found. link removed

 

I personally used to get poison ivy multiple times a year when I was a kid (we had a back hill that was COVERED in the stuff, and I used to roll down it all the time, duh!). I've used the calamine lotion, the baking soda paste, the oatmeal, the cornstarch, rubbing alcohol, and witch hazel. All of them worked in varying degrees, depending on where the reaction was.

 

 

 

Good luck, get better soon, and DON"T SCRATCH!!