As the temperature rises, so do your opportunities to commune with nature. Don't let poison ivy ruin your plans!
One beautiful summer day, Joanna recruited her two young children to help her work in the backyard. After working in the vegetable garden, she and her kids turned their attention to the patch of weeds growing at the back of the yard and along one side of the house.
The next morning, Johanna awoke to find a slightly uncomfortable rash erupting on her arms and lower legs. So did her daughters. Over the course of the day, their rashes grew progressively worse. By Monday morning the three were scratching furiously. By mid-afternoon, they were in the doctor's office. The diagnosis? Poison ivy.
Poison ivy, as well as poison oak and poison sumac, grows almost anywhere—deep in the woods, at the local park, or in your yard. Every year, 10 to 50 million U.S. residents are affected by poison ivy, oak and sumac.
The culprit behind the extremely uncomfortable allergic skin rash of poison ivy, oak and sumac is urushiol (pronounced "you-ROO-shee-ol"), an oily substance found in every part of the plant except the pollen. Upon contact with the skin, urushiol is almost immediately absorbed. If not removed quickly—within about 10 minutes—an allergic reaction (in most people) begins with redness and swelling followed by extreme itchiness, and then by blisters (filled with a yellowish fluid) that can break open, causing crusting and scaling.
The full-blown rash usually develops within 12 to 48 hours, but people who have never been exposed to poison ivy may not see a full blown rash for seven to 10 days. Although the itching and swelling can be treated and controlled, there is no cure per se for the rash itself, which usually takes 14 to 20 days to run its course.
Approximately 80% to 85% of the US population is allergic to urushiol. However, most people don't develop a rash upon first exposure, but rather after repeated exposures. In addition, sensitivity to urushiol often decreases with age, so children tend to be much more susceptible to urushiol-caused rashes than adults.
Despite what you may have heard, you can't "catch" the rash from someone who has it, nor can you "spread" the rash from one part of your body to another by scratching. You must have direct contact with urushiol yourself.
However, you can come into contact with urushiol in a number of ways:
It takes about 10 minutes for urushiol to be fully absorbed into the skin. So if you know you've come in contact with it, the best treatment is to wash the contaminated skin in cold water as soon as possible. Once the rash has developed, there are a number of treatments that will lessen its severity, including:
If you cover the rash or blisters after applying cream or lotion, do so with a gauze pad, and cover them very loosely since contact with the air helps heal the rash. Avoid scratching the rash and don't break open the blisters caused by the rash. Though the liquid within the blisters will not spread the rash, bacteria on the fingers and under the fingernails can cause the rash and/or blisters to become infected.
Although poison ivy, oak and sumac usually can be treated without medical attention, see a doctor if:
In such cases, your physician or dermatologist will generally prescribe prescription-strength cortisone creams, or in extremely severe cases, oral steroids, to control itching and swelling. In addition, since airborne urushiol particles pose an extreme health danger, seek immediate medical attention if you think you or your child has inhaled such particles, even if symptoms have not yet occurred.
The best way to avoid getting a poison ivy, oak or sumac rash is to avoid contact with urushiol.
RESOURCES:
American Academy of Dermatology
http://www.aad.org/
American Academy of Family Physicians
http://www.aafp.org
CANADIAN RESOURCES:
Canadian Dermatology Association
http://www.dermatology.ca/english/
Canadian Family Physician
http://www.cfpc.ca/cfp/
References
Outsmarting poison ivy and its cousins. US Food and Drug Administration website. Available at: http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/796_ivy.html .
Poison plants: ivy-sumac-oak. American Academy of Dermatology website. Available at: http://www.aad.org/pamphlets/PoisonIvy.html .
Last reviewed November 2009 by Brian Randall, MD
Please be aware that this information is provided to supplement the care provided by your physician. It is neither intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. CALL YOUR HEALTHCARE PROVIDER IMMEDIATELY IF YOU THINK YOU MAY HAVE A MEDICAL EMERGENCY. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider prior to starting any new treatment or with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.
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