Posts Tagged ‘plants’

Methods To Escape The Poison Ivy Rash

Wednesday, March 24th, 2010

Poison ivy is a dreadful rash. The rash can go all over your body. It can cause itching and redness. Poison Ivy can be transferred from person to person. Not all people are allergic to poison ivy. However, it is still always best to avoid this plant. There are easy ways to avoid this plant and avoiding the rash. This can help you prevent the poison ivy rash, spending money on poison ivy medicine and not dealing with this issue at all.

This is how to prevent poison ivy from entering your life:

1. Know How to Identify It Probably the most key aspect of avoiding exposure is to be able to recognize the plant itself, and therefore limit contact. The plant is typically found in vines and shrubs outdoors, and has three shiny leaves. Though it is very hard to confuse poison ivy with another plant, if in doubt, you should just avoid the plant in question altogether.

2. Familiarize yourself where poison ivy resides. This knowledge will help you staying away from the plant. The plant can be detected in wooded habitats with poor amount of sunlight.

3. Leave No Skin Exposed If you are going to poison ivy territory, wear full sleeve pants and shirts. It is also recommended to put on hiking boots and thick socks to cover ankles and feet from exposure to poison ivy. Poison Ivy prevention is best achieved by not allowing any skin exposure.

4. Bath Your Hands After Going Outdoors Even if you feel that you did not touch the poison ivy plant, wash your hands. Bathing your hands with poison ivy soap is better than regular soap since any part of the rash may be removed.

5. Wash Your Clothes Keep in mind that clothes that are exposed to poison ivy, need to be washed immediately. These clothes could cause poison ivy if not washed immediately.

6. Shower Washing not just your clothes but also yourself is also another preventative measure in making sure your contact with poison ivy is as limited as possible. After time spent outdoors where the plant might have been, ensure to immediately take a shower and wash all possibly affected areas thoroughly.

7. Poison Ivy Block There are many poison ivy lotion on the market that prevent poison ivy if exposed on the skin. Apply to areas that you can not cover with clothes. Check to make sure a rash does not happen with these lotions.

Sanjib Sarkar is a content writer for Hmedicine.com. Hmedicine.com is online store offering a variety of poison ivy treatments such as Poison Ivy Soap and Rhus Toxicodendron. Visit the Uber Article Directory to get a totally unique version of this article for reprint.

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Poison Ivy Identification And Methods To Get The Scratching And Pain To Stop

Wednesday, March 10th, 2010

If you see a vine growing up a tree inspect it a little better before touching it. Poison ivy grows on vines that look a bit hairy. There are always three leaves clustered together that are almond shaped and dark to light green. The leaves do not have thorns but may have a serrated edge. The leaves are usually very shiny and they will turn red in the fall and fall off the vine. These leaves contain urushiol which is an oil that can make a grown man or woman cry.

This rash is the most aggravating rash known to man. It itches and hurts at the same time. It can spread all over the body and even creep into the body through any orifice that it can get into including the eyes, nose and genitals. When it does this it is a very serious problem and immediate professional help should be sought.

A rash on the skin is red and irritated and can have little bumps that may turn into blisters. These blisters can break open and a liquid can come forth. Although it is unlikely that the rash will spread by scratching the blisters it can cause another infection that will hurt even worse. It is advised that the individual avoid itching to the point of putting on some gloves to stop themselves. The reason you get a rash is because you are allergic to the oil. Not all people are allergic it and can stand in a patch of the plant without having any affect. Do not take the chance if you do not know if you are allergic or not.

The blisters can break and a fluid will be released so it is important not to scratch. The fluid can get under the finger nails and be taken other places on the body and start a secondary infection. Rashes start within 12 to 48 hours of exposure and can last from 1 to 4 weeks.

You do not have to touch poison ivy to get a rash. If the plant is burned and the smoke inhaled it is possible for it to affect the lungs and this could cause death in some cases. If a pet brushes against it and you touch the pet it can be transferred to you. Touching dead poison ivy leaves can infect you because the urushiol can last for several years after the vine dies.

If you are pulling weeds and all of a sudden you see a poison ivy leaf swiftness is essential. Go quickly within 10 minutes and clean whatever part of the body you think touched the leaf with rubbing alcohol. Take the hose and hose down the area and always use cold water because warm or hot water will allow the harmful oil to spread. Never get in a bathtub of cold water because you will spread the oil to other parts of your body. Just rinse off the areas that were touched.

Get disposable gloves on your hands and take off your shoes and your clothing. Hop into the shower and wash yourself down with grease repelling dish washing soap. Avoid the type that has lotion and do not use regular soap. Once you are done put more gloves on and wash down your shoes and clothing that you were wearing with a combination of alcohol and water. If you would rather throw the clothing away you can but do not put it in a washer without wiping it down. This could spread the oil to the rest of the family through their clothing.

If you get a rash carefully rub steroid cream to stop the itch and take an oral antihistamine. You can get into the bathtub with luke warm water in which is dissolved about three tablespoons of baking soda. An old remedy is to make a batch of oatmeal using Old Fashion Oats. Cool it and spread it on to the affected area and let it dry. This will prevent air from getting to the rash and it will feel better. Eventually the oatmeal will flake and fall off and make a mess all over the house so once it dries you can loosely wrap the area with gauze.

Other remedies include vinegar because tends to draw the oil from the skin so dab some on to the affected area. This will hurt at first but it is worth it in the end. Spreading honey on the rash and covering with gauze might be messy but it works. It is said that peeling a banana and putting the inside part of the peel against the rash will stop the itch and cool the inflammation. The best remedy for poison ivy is prevention. Stay away from it if you see it and if you notice that you have touched it take preventative measures immediately. If the rash is severe and excessive swelling occurs do not wait, go directly to the hospital.

Find the information and details you will need to get a cure for poison ivy easy and fast! When you will need a poison ivy treatment that will give you immediate relief, you can find it today!

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