Natural Cure to Poison Ivy

I worked in Georgia for five years. One of my tasks was to survey sites for proposed construction, hammer in guide stakes for underground storm water lines, locate property pins, and similar surveying tasks. This requires romping through the bushes.

You can imagine that I encountered poison ivy many times!

The following tips are the techniques I learned to prevent, minimize, and quickly clear up poison ivy (or poison sumac, it's all the same when it's burning and itching!)

I moved out to Georgia from California. I knew nothing of identifying, treating, or blocking poison ivy. I only knew that the rash results from a chemical reaction with the oil of the plant, which is called urushiol.

One day, standing in line at CVS, or maybe it was the Food Lion, a little old African-American church lady tapped my elbow. In the south, there remains some hesitancy to communicate between light skin and dark skin. So, it was a real God-send. What she told me next has saved me many weeks of suffering under the curse of poison ivy.

"I see you must have poison ivy," she said. She pointed in a slow direct motion toward a pink plastic bottle of calamine lotion tucked under my arm and a big bag of white cotton balls in my hand.

"Yes," I said. "I hate this. I get a case every two or three weeks surveying in the bushes around here."

"Well," she told me, "What you need is some vinegar. Apple cider vinegar will dry that out in a few days."

Despite the standard medical prognosis of "this will clear up in one or two weeks," I have had cases of poison ivy that lasted for months. Not just two months, either. I'm talking about 4 months once and 3 and a half months another time. In Georgia, the rashed tended to last three weeks. Still, a day or an hour with poison ivy is intolerable. So, I bought a jug of apple cider vinegar.

I came home with my bottle of apple cider vinegar. Being scientifically oriented, I decided to put calamine lotion on the right arm and cider vinegar on the left. I finished dabbing the lotion on the right side, and let it slowly dry. The preferred method is to dab, not brush on the lotion. It saves against popping rash bubbles, which then take longer to heal.

It really itched as the calamine dried. Ugh!

Next, I put vinegar on the blotchy red rashes on my left arm. It burned! Wow. But, once the initial burning subsided, it no longer itched. This was an unexpected extra bonus with this treatment: it burns for a few moments, then the itching leaves completely for about an hour. It is worth it! Also, be sure not to break bubbles with scratching. The sting of vinegar intensifies a little with the broken skin. And, it takes longer to heal.

After just one day, it was very obvious that calamine lotion does nothing for the sting and itch. So, I quit the calamine completely and have used vinegar exclusively ever since. Later, I threw out the calamine as I realized it is worthless in the shadow of using a natural remedy- common vinegar! But, I hope you will return yours to the store and get a full refund. Tell the clerk, "This stuff doesn't work. It just stains my clothes pink."

As the vinegar dries, it dries up the rash. I am going to say something here, and I want you to believe me. I have used this vinegar method many, many times.

The more you apply the vinegar, the faster it dries!

Keep a small cap full of vinegar, or a half-inch in a shallow coffee cup near your work station, or on a coffee table. Keep it, and a dozen Q-tips at hand. Every few minutes, dip the cotton tip into the vinegar and dab it onto the rash. Let it completely dry before dabbing more vinegar. I also use my finger after the rash has begun to dry. It is just faster. As the rash dries, it becomes less tender, itches less, and becomes sufficiently tough to use a finger tip and spread the vinegar in a non-dabbing technique.

The more you dab the vinegar, the faster it will dry. It will begin to dry out and produce brown flakes. I think the brown tint is from the color of the apple cider vinegar. I'm not sure. But, that is the way it always works. Applying large amounts to the poison ivy rash seems to delay the drying, extend the stinging, and only produce the same drying effect as a small amount does. So, just dab on a small amount, and let it completely dry between applications. At first, you will not be able to discern the effect. However, by the second day, you will notice that the edges of the rash have begun to dry. The postules (bubbles) and any skin breaks will take the longest to dry out and heal. So, don't scratch!

Net Cost? A gallon of cider vinegar costs 3 to 5 dollars. You will use a few cups at most. Your cost to use this treatment will be under a buck.

Next: tips to prevent poison ivy completely.