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How do I get Rid of Poison Ivy?

Tricia Christensen
Tricia Christensen
Tricia Christensen
Tricia Christensen

The question of how to get rid of poison ivy may lead to several different answers. From a medical standpoint, people might ask this to determine how to get rid of the oil, urushiol, which causes skin reaction shortly after it’s touched. Alternately they may be asking how to get rid of poison ivy skin rash. Another question is how to eliminate poison ivy from around homes and landscaping, but this falls outside of the medical purview.

In order to prevent a brush with poison ivy becoming an itchy and uncomfortable rash, there are guidelines to follow. First, do not touch the stuff when possible. Stay on paths and observe the, “leaves of three, let them be” rule. Any grouping of three leaves on bushes may be poison ivy or poison oak, and there’s a good chance touching it will yield a reaction to the oils in the plant.

Using an oatmeal based lotion can soothe a poison ivy rash.
Using an oatmeal based lotion can soothe a poison ivy rash.

Of course, not everybody adheres to these rules, and sometimes despite caution, an accident occurs. The next step is to handle how to get rid of poison ivy oils on the skin, and there are several ways this could be done. Any of these methods needs to be done as soon as possible to increase chances of not contracting a rash. People who are camping or determined hikers or bikers should consider carrying products with them like Technu® a waterless wash that can help remove poison ivy oils. Alternately, rubbing alcohol can be used to wash the oil off the body, anywhere exposure may have occurred.

Poison ivy.
Poison ivy.

The exposure areas shouldn’t be cleaned with soap until after a full waterless wash or alcohol wash has taken place. Afterwards, having a shower and soaping the body is good sense, or at least thoroughly cleansing exposed areas with soap and water may help. If the poison ivy contact occurred a night before, it may be too late, but it’s still sensible to clean any bedding or pets that could have been exposed to urushiol.

A woman applying an anti-itch cream.
A woman applying an anti-itch cream.

In spite of best prevention, people may still end up asking how to get rid of poison ivy rash. In most cases, using anti-itch cream and waiting for about one to three weeks is sufficient treatment. People who have a rash with pus, one that covers a great deal of body area, or one that is resulting in huge of amounts of swelling and discomfort should see a doctor. Some people are extremely sensitive to poison ivy and might require extra treatment, such as taking an antihistamine and using an oral steroid like prednisone. Infection may need to be treated with antibiotics.

A man with poison ivy blisters on his hand.
A man with poison ivy blisters on his hand.

There are a variety of home cure methods to get rid of poison ivy rash, but these tend not to be very effective. Some things to help tame itch that may help are oatmeal bath soaks, over the counter antihistamines for itching, and products like anti-itch cream. Typically, people will only get rid of poison ivy rash with time.

Tricia Christensen
Tricia Christensen

Tricia has a Literature degree from Sonoma State University and has been a frequent WiseGEEK contributor for many years. She is especially passionate about reading and writing, although her other interests include medicine, art, film, history, politics, ethics, and religion. Tricia lives in Northern California and is currently working on her first novel.

Learn more...
Tricia Christensen
Tricia Christensen

Tricia has a Literature degree from Sonoma State University and has been a frequent WiseGEEK contributor for many years. She is especially passionate about reading and writing, although her other interests include medicine, art, film, history, politics, ethics, and religion. Tricia lives in Northern California and is currently working on her first novel.

Learn more...

Discussion Comments

Sporkasia

The best remedy for a poison ivy rash is to stay away from poison ivy. Do you know that even after you pull up a poison ivy plant it can still spread its poison? So, don't think that pulling up the plant and leaving it to dry out for a few months will do the trick. The plant will still be able to cause an allergic reaction.

mobilian33

One of the best or worst ways to spread the poison from poison ivy is to burn the plant. I have known several people who have been cutting and removing plants from wooded and overgrown areas and they piled all of the debris into piles to be burned. Poison ivy is all over where I live, so you have to be careful whenever you go outside.

Anyway, when these piles were set on fire and the debris began to burn the oils were released from the poison ivy and spread into the air. As you can imagine, this is not a good way of getting rid of poison ivy. Everyone around the fires got some of the oil on them. Some people broke out worse then others, but it was really bad for people with bad allergies because the oil was actually being breathed in.

Animandel

If you are highly allergic to poison ivy then you should remember the little saying mentioned in this article: leaves of three let it be. I always forget how many leaves the poison ivy has, but I'm committing this saying to memory, so I will know it in the future when I am trying to figure out whether I can touch a particular ivy or not.

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    • Using an oatmeal based lotion can soothe a poison ivy rash.
      By: Melanie DeFazio
      Using an oatmeal based lotion can soothe a poison ivy rash.
    • Poison ivy.
      By: epantha
      Poison ivy.
    • A woman applying an anti-itch cream.
      By: April Cat
      A woman applying an anti-itch cream.
    • A man with poison ivy blisters on his hand.
      By: Wild Geese
      A man with poison ivy blisters on his hand.
    • Poison ivy can cause severe itching.
      By: Adam Gregor
      Poison ivy can cause severe itching.
    • Oral antihistamines can help treat inflammation and itching caused by poison ivy.
      By: Wellford Tiller
      Oral antihistamines can help treat inflammation and itching caused by poison ivy.
    • Prednisone is a type of oral steroid.
      By: Thirteen Of Clubs
      Prednisone is a type of oral steroid.
    • A poison ivy rash may appear as a red, itchy rash marked by bumps.
      By: librakv
      A poison ivy rash may appear as a red, itchy rash marked by bumps.