Poison Ivy?
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Poison Ivy?
DH has a rash all over his body, and the dummy didn't go to the doctor today. Sorry, but if you've read my other posts you'll understand why I'm so frustrated today.
Can anyone with experience tell me about Poison Ivy. I think it's what he has, but I'm not sure.
It started on his ankle, he did go golfing last Wednesday, but that would be a week ago Wednesday. He doesn't remember when the rash started maybe sometime last weekend. It has now spread over his entire torso. It is little bumps and his skin is bright pink, he is very itchy. I asked him to at the very least go and talk to the pharmacist today, but of course he did not. He is taking a bath with Espons salts, why I have no idea so I dumped some Aveeno Oatmeal in there with him and told him not to stay in too long. He bought Calimin (sp?) lotion and wanted me to put it on him but frankly I don't want to touch him cause I'm always handling the kids so I told him to get back into the tub and do it himself because he was making a mess all over the floor. I'm gonna lose my mind.
I've had a rash in the bend in my elbow and have been putting cortisone on it and I thought Matthew might have had a rash on his face as well.
Anyway needless to say it's too late to do anything today so we are all going to the walk-in first thing in the morning.
Any thoughts, anyone?
Sounds just like poison ivy to me. Lots of times, you won't notice it at the very first, and that's why it seems like so much time has gone by. It spreads quickly and easily, so it wouldn't be unusual for it to be all over him.
If calamine doesn't work, they have special gels and creams just for poison ivy that sometimes work better. They also have sprays that are easier to use on large rashes.
I am VERY allergic to poison ivy, so I feel for you guys!
If it's really bad they will put you on a steroid. Good luck tomorrow.
No experience with poison ivy, but I would definitely have it checked out.
Here's some more info:
http://www.webmd.com/hw/allergies/hw75041.asp#top
Experience with poison ivy, sadly. And boy, was I surprised, because as a kid I could sit in a patch of it and never have an itch.
The web site Lisa posted should be helpful - especially the home treatment section. One suggestion, when you or dh wash to get the oils off your skin, be sure not to use a soap that has oils or skin softeners in it. Use dial or something similar (maybe even Lava) that will thoroughly clean oils off the skin, and pick up the clothes carefully and wash them in hot water. It would also be a good idea to thoroughly wash the outside of shoes, shoelaces, etc. And if any tools or toys were handled, they should probably be cleaned.
By the time I realized I had it, I had to take steroids and antihistamines, and was a mess. No fun, and I don't wish it on anyone. You are wise to be careful of the kids.
Think about keeping a pack of disposable plastic gloves in the house for the future. Also, if he does have poison ivy, try to figure out where it came from. I have an infrequently recurring patch where at the fence between my neighbor's yard and mine, and this is one of the few places where I use the strongest chemical spray herbicide available (I try not to use chemicals around the house or yard, because of our animals, neighbor animals, and kids.) The spray I use kills the plants and roots fairly quickly. I then wear plastic gloves and an old long-sleeve shirt to pull the dead stems and put them in a plastic bag for the trash, dispose of the gloves, and wash my clothes right away.
Poison ivy seems nasty! I don't have personal experience with it, thank goodness.
Let us know what the doctor says today!
Yes, it sounds like poison ivy. Your DH might be bad enough to require a course of steroids, as mentioned.
Ginny, my DH used to be like you. He could sit in it, rub it all over him and never get it. Then, something changed and now he has to avoid it at all costs. I haven't had a problem with it YET, so I am the one who pulls it up and disposes of it.
Well the rash on his ankle is poison ivy, got it golfing pretty sure that. Doc gave him 30 mg of Prednisone to take over 3 days. He is however not sure what is causing the rash on the torso as it does look different from the rash on his ankle, gave him some cortisone in cream form for the rash.
He said it was so bad this morning he felt like crying, he did not however get a ton of sympathy from me. I told him to go to the doctor sooner or at least talk to the pharmacist but what do I know. I was still a little peeved at him for his preformance while his parents were here. Anyway the meds seem to be working. He has to go back to the doctor on Monday for a follow-up.
Hope he's feeling better soon. Frustrating that he acted like a little boy, around his parents, though.
Dd has it took her to the dr today and they put her on luixq its a mouse that we put on a few times a day and a steriod to help with the itching. I have no clue where she got it. THe only thing I can think of it they bathed the dog Friday night and by Saturday evening she was broke out under her arms. I feel for you I see her and she wants to itch itch and its rough trying to get her to stop
I am not sure where you live, but ocean water works wonders on poison ivy. Ds #2 gets it practically by looking at it, and dunking him in the ocean has prevented us from having to give him the steroid a couple of times. If you have any health food stores around you, they may have a spray made up of primarily ocean water that can help. We have that for when it's just too chilly out for the real thing. 
We have poison ivy on our property, so we use an outdoor cleanser called "Tecnu", which if used soon after exposure does wonders. It removes all the poison oak or ivy oils and helps prevent spreading. We also use it once we have the rash and it seems to speed up the process of healing. I feel it helps with the itching, as well.
Hope you dh is doing better soon, and hope you don't get it! I have had it in the summer, and I was miserable.
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