: Medicines are a type of tool, right?
: Anybody have any good home remedies for poison oak that work?
Maybe I've become a sort of poison oak expert thru my personal experience. I live on about an acre which is bordered by origional open range (actually hills). Both my property and the ajacient land are covered with old growth poison oak (some plants with 3" thick vines). I spray Round-Up on the stuff nearest the house, but there is yearly new growth from, I believe, seed travel. Also, my dog routinely brings the stuff around on her coat. In any case, clearing and removing the stuff is a necessity. I came to this site doing an on-line search and in other sites, and here, read about "Tecnu", a soap to wash with after exposure, and "IvyBlock", a pre-exposure lotion and I am going to try these products, and then up-date my experiences here. In any case, I do get reactions and here are my experiences.
1. Bathing, anything with bleach was painful (body aches), didn't seem to do much either with the itching, but did dry up the blisters.
2. Bathing, anything with baking soda didn't do much either, except dry blisters.
3.Shaving the affected areas with a safety razor or knife in the shower(lots of saop and water)accelerates the clear up process, but be careful to keep the area clean, or secondary infections will happen.
4. Hot water applied to the affected areas gives the most incredible (I read in another site orgasmic) feeling. I mean the hottest you can stand for as long as possible until the "orgasmic" feeling no longer happens. This stops the itching for hours. I read an explanation having to do with heat and the release and temporary depletion of histamines (the itch chemical agent) in the skin, and I totally agree with the explanation. I live by this treatment for dealing with the itch. Besides, for me, half the poison oak experience is actually enjoyable when I do the hot water treatment. No kidding, the sensation is knee-buckling.
5. In line with the heat treatment to relieve the itching, I thought for a while about other heat sources, being mindful of water conservation here in southern California, and tried curling irons (too hot), and hair blow dryers, or heat guns. I use my wife's blow dryer all the time. It's much the same as the hot water, without the water. I basicly "cook" the affected areas until they no longer give me the "orgasmic" feeling. This relieves the itching for hours.My wife has sent me to the doctor on several occassions and I have received "professional medical advice/prescriptions" as follows:
1. Don't do the hot water treatment, "It only makes the itch worse. Take cold showers." I do not follow this advice, my personal experience has been more satisfying.
2.Prescription for "Prendisone" to relieve the itch, along with a warning about side affects and the explanation that the recovery time is the same, only the itch is relieved, and your health is threatened by the Prendisone. I opted for the heat treatment instead of dangerous drugs.
3. An explanation about the molecular structure of the plant oil (it has a fish-hook like barb which physically locks onto skin cells) and that recovery happens when all the affected cells have fallen off the body. I believe this to be true, and have found shaving/scraping/scrubbing affected areas to accelerate the healing process. I don't however really believe in drawing blood in the affected areas, because then these areas have to heal this damage. The safety razor in the shower gives considerable control in how much skin/blister is removed, and the water and soap basicly lubricate things and wash away the easy stuff. I think the most important information is that the healing process takes the same amount of time with or without medication, if nothing is done to physically remove the infected skin. The steroid Prendisone is really dangerous and should be avoided at all costs. I really recommend the heat treatment, and besides, "IT'S AN ORGASMIC EXPERIENCE, REALLY".
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