Poison Ivy


Symptoms of Poison Ivy

  • Degree of patient’s sensitivity, amount of vulnerability and the body parts exposed determines the severity of the reactions. Body parts such as eyes, lips, crotch etc are more sensitive to the poison oak sap. After 24 to 48 hours of exposure, the victim may experience skin discomfort followed by redness, blistering, swelling and severe itching. Affected area may have rash characterized by itchy bumps, blisters and swelling. Symptoms may be present for seven to ten days if the infection is mild or it may last for weeks .
Causes of Poison Ivy
  • Although poison ivy can be a cause of severe skin irritation it is not a serious health threat. Poison ivy is just one of the many plants found in the United States that can cause such a response upon contact with the skin. This response is termed as contact dermatitis and more appropriately allergic contact dermatitis, as this is an allergic reaction. Allergic contact dermatitis of this nature, when the thorn is a plant, is termed as allergic phytodermatitis. Although there are plenty of home remedies for poison ivy that can provide some swift poison ivy relief, prevention is the most good strategy.
Poison Ivy Remedy
  • Home remedies for poison ivy are primarily aimed at admitting relief from the poison ivy symptoms, but even the best treatment for poison ivy blisters cannot obviate the symptoms altogether. Before we delve into poison ivy relief solutions and natural remedies for poison ivy rashes it would be wise to gather information on therapeutic measures you could take so that you do not even need to try out any poison ivy handling at home. Here are some tips that could help avert a poison ivy reaction:
  • The best way to avoid experiencing a poison ivy rash would quite naturally be by simply avoiding contact with the plant. This is of course a lot easier said than done, and is not genuinely feasible. Even for those who know incisively what the plant looks like it would be hard to prevent contact, especially when in thick vegetation as the plants can often go unnoticed. Clothing may offer some amount of security, although limited. Try and wear long pants and long sleeves when gardening or in an surroundings where you would be likely to come in contact with the plant. This may be uncomfortable but it could reduce the risk of a rash at least slenderly. Barrier creams could help too, but they are again not horribly effective. When gardening and getting rid of weeds make sure that you wear gloves with your shirt sleeves tucked in tight so as to also protect the wrists and forearms which mostly tend to get exposed. Gloves are extremely great and it would be best to use vinyl ones as they are not absorbent as most other materials.
Poison Ivy Diet
  • Vitamin C taken daily with bioflavonoids will prevent infection, rapid spreading of the rash and heal inflammation.
  • Calcium and Beta-carotene helps to boost the immune system and speeds up healing.
  • Victim must take zinc as it helps to repair damaged skin tissues.
  • Take goldenseal, a root that is native to North America which has been used for centuries in herbal medicine.

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