TCRG - I gotta RASH!!

One of the hazards of country living is foreign plants.  Some I have never seen, some I have never heard of, some I have seen before and know all about.  Sometimes it's a Crap-Shoot.

I wish I had known that Poison Ivy comes in umteen million varieties before I submerged my barren arms into a cest pool of Poison Leaves.  The "Rash From Hell" as I like to refer to it, was acquired on Friday, June 24, in the evening hours.  I remember driving to MN on Saturday morning wondering what those little dots were.  Hmmmm....maybe next time I wonder what a dot is on my body, I will not pick at it.  That is highly unlikely; however, I will give it my best shot...cause this my friends, SUCKS!!

So, Deron (after holding me while I cried on Saturday from the pain....and then throwing me clothed into the pool "because the chlorine will help", which BTW, it does.) being the loving and supporting pretend spouse that his is has been doing some research on my trusty friend Google, and there are all kinds of home remedies, and ways to alleviate the pain, and many suggestions for clearing up the rash. 

Here are few pictures fresh out of the shower this morning so you can see what I'm dealing with:

Some of these don't look that bad, and they are now actually starting to get better.  But, these are just pictures of my arms.  I have somehow managed to spread the plague to my legs, feet, stomach, and a little bit on my back.  It's cause I am so talented!  Also, this is fresh out of the shower.  Here is what they look like now.  4 hours later.

Yep, it freakin sucks!  And I know that anyone who has ever had the rash from hell would agree with me.
Some helpful hints he found online and we tried out:

• Ice Packs - this one actually works.  I found that icing them down every few hours makes the pain go down a little bit.  This helps, not a cure-all.  But alleviates the pain for about an hour at a time. 
• Hot Showers - also works, fantastically!!  As you can tell from the first set of pictures above, the hot showers definately reduce the swelling, itching, and pain.  Yesterday afternoon, I also took a hot bath with some Melaleuca Oil.  Divine!  I did some more research this morning and found out why. "Heat releases histamine, the substance in the cells of the skin which causes the intense itching.  Therefore, a hot shower or bath will cause intense itching as the histamine is released. This process will deplete the cells of histamine and the patient will often obtain up to 8 hrs of relief from the itching - poisonivy.com"  Guess what I am doing right before bed tonight!  It will be my first full nights sleep in  almost 2 weeks.  And yes, I am counting my chickens before they hatch, but anything has to be better than this!!  Here's to hopin'.
• Vinegar - just like with sunburns or bug bites, this will alleviate the itching, also a short term fix.
• Aloe Gel - Sunburn gel, yes, helps, but only super temporary, I think this only relieved the itching for maybe an hour.  It does go on and sooth though, this was definatly worth it at the time.
• Caladryl - Like a Calamine lotion with Benedryl built in - This works well to form a clear coating over the sores.  But that's about it.  No lasting results with itch relief. This is our "Go-To" for bug bites, I think it works fantastic for bites, not for poison.
• Deodorant - Also a "Go-To" for bug bites.  And was mentioned as a common treatment for Poison Ivy; however, in my case, no relief what-so-ever.  I thought it was because at first, I used the smelly good kind, no relief.  Then I used the regular, un-scented one that I use fresh out of the shower, and still no relief.  In fact the un-scented, hypo-allergenic one that I used second, caused massive itching and burning.  I will stick to deodorant on bug bites only.
• Ivy-Dry Super - Deron and I spent some time in the pharmacy looking over the selection offered.  We decided on this spray as it appeared to be specifically suited to fit my needs.  Again, short term solution.  It really works great for a while, but apparently with my sensitive skin already screaming threats at me, the uber-effective Ivy-Dry Super is not what I need.  The Super Dry, is really super painful. 
• Benadryl - A friend suggested this on Saturday, I started taking some that day.  It didn't really seem to do much, so I only took a couple of pills.  Then on our second trip to the Pharmacy (we had to go when it was open to actually talk to the Pharmacist), she also suggested Benadryl.  She says that all the topical solutions are great and to keep using what offers relief.  She also said that fighting the fight from the inside out, is the ticket.  So, I've been religous about taking the Benadryl on time.  She did warn of and I had previously experienced the side effect of "Drowsiness" from the Benadryl.  I took a couple naps this weekend.  It's ok.  Now, to make it thru the day at work!
• Prednisone - Was suggested by a Nurse friend and seems to be doing it's job.  From what I have read, this helps with the inflammation and itching.  So far, it's done both, only right after I take it, no lasting relief.  Hope that we don't run out before I am ready to give it up!
• Advil - anti-inflammitory, and pain relief - what a joke!  But I do know it's not the Advil, it's the Poison Ivy.  I will continue with my Advil regime, Advil fixes everything. 

The other disheartening thing that I have read, over and over again, is that this usally lasts 3- 4weeks.  So as of today, I have been infected for 11 Days.  3-4 weeks = 21-28 days.  11 days down, 17 to go.  Keep at it Champ, it can't get much worse! 

I have also learned how to identify Poison Ivy, because apparently I previously didn't know what it looked like. 

   

There is tons of this in my new yard.  And since it comes in so many varieties and looks so different, all the time, I will be spraying massive amounts of 2,4-D into the yard!!  And I also learned a new slogan, "Leaves of 3, Let 'em be."  New words to live by, because I CERTAINLY do NOT want to do this again!!!