Controlling Poison Ivy with Home Remedies by: Grandma
Hi,
Your poor daughter, so young and suffering from such an awful nagging skin problem.
The first thing I'd recommend is to get a soap called Fels-Naptha and keep it on hand. Anytime you think your daughter might come in contact with poison ivy I'd recommend scrubbing the area she usually gets infected with Fels-Naptha first before going outdoors. If you suspect she may have already come in contact with poison ivy it's really important to wash that area within two hours after contact. Getting the resin off the skin is most important to prevent the spread.
After washing the affected area I'd apply alcohol immediately to lesson the rash. You can also combine the juice of two limes in one quart water mixed with equal parts white oak bark tea. This solution should be applied with a wet cloth or bandage and changed when it dries out. It should reduce healing time and severity of the attack.
Other well known home remedies for poison ivy is taking the skin of a banana and rubbing it on the affected area. There have been cases that it actually chased the rash away in a day. Try rubbing the banana peal every hour for a day.
Oatmeal is also wonderful for relieving that awful itch. Just fill the bathtub with warm water (never use hot water on poison ivy it will cause it to spread) and put some oatmeal in an old toe of pantyhose. Take a long soak and leave the oatmeal residue on before rinsing. Or just make a paste with the oatmeal and tepid water and place it on the rash until the itching subsides.
