Home Remedies For Poison Ivy

Poison Ivy is called contact dermatitis in the medical world. Contact dermatitis is caused by direct contact with the irritating oils of the plants poison icy, oak and sumac. There are several home remedies to reduce the itching of poison ivy and to allow the rash to heal faster.

Remedies from the Kitchen

• Dawn Dish Soap has been proven to be an excellent way to reduce the amount of affected time from contact dermatitis. It works by removing the oils that irritate the skin. This remedy has not been found to be effect in every person as the Urushiol Oil that causes contact dermatitis does not usually stay on the surface of skin, therefore is more difficult to remove with soap.
• Baking Soda has two good remedies associated with it. The first method is to take a bath in lukewarm water with a 1/2 cup of baking soda, oatmeal can be added to the water to help soothe, too. The other remedy involves mixing baking soda and vinegar together into a paste. After they react together and have a paste thick enough, spread it over the affected area and scrub the area with a soft washcloth. You may experience some stinging from the vinegar with this remedy.
• Banana Peel seems to have some itch relieving properties as well. Simply take the peel from a banana and rub it on the affected area. The process should be repeated 2-3 times a day until the rash is gone.

 Remedies from the Medicine Cabinet

• Vitamin C has both external and internal applications. Large doses taken at the the time of break out has been reported to dry the rash up faster. Also, topically apply a paste with Vitamin C, such as packet of Ester-C or Emergen-C. Adding Vitamin E oil to the Vitamin C paste can help speed the healing process as well, since the Vitamin C will work to dry out the rash, and the Vitamin E oil will work to repair the damaged skin. Vitamin E oil is also great for wrinkles and stretch mark
• Acne pads, such as the Noxema or Stridex pads. They are designed to cure a similar skin ailment and have been reported to work on contact dermatitis as well.
• Rubbing Alcohol has the same effect as the acne pads, but is more drying. It can also be used before a rash has appeared to remove the Urushiol oil that may have come in contact with your skin.
• Gold Bond powder has had good results to help with the itching both in cream and powder forms.

 Homeopathic Remedies

• Oral Ivy is an oral homeopathic remedy that works to help increase the immunity to poison ivy, before contact has been made, and also reduces the amount of time affected with the rash in some people.
• Rhus Tox is another oral homepathic remedy that relieves the symptoms of arthritis and joint stiffness, and is also used for a number of skin ailments including shingles, hives, fever blisters, chicken pox and poison ivy.
• Zanfel is a wash that claims to bond to the Urisol oil and wash it away. It has become fairly popular as a remedy to remove the oil that causes contact dermatitis and is available in some of the large chain drugstores. The product’s website has a useful locator that you can use to find this product.

A good resource to find more information about contact dermatitis can be found at the Poison Ivy, Oak and Sumac Information Center.