I played tennis yesterday and woke up in the middle of the night extremely itchy. I was so frustrated because I already had a bunch of mosquito bites that created red blotchy marks on me that I received from a BBQ the night before. I got up and went to the bathroom and saw little red bumps on my wrist, fingers, and forearm. I knew right away it was poison ivy because I got it a couple of months ago from playing tennis. We were told that the tennis courts were cleared but I guess there was some still some plants lingering. Or I could have touched something that was coated with urushiol sap, which is what the poisonous element in poison ivy is. Thank god I still had some Calagel left over from last time to get me through the night and work. It is an over-the-counter itch relief gel that works pretty well.

I always like to research to find home remedies for everything so I searched the internet to see what kind of home remedies there are for poison ivy. Here are some of the treatments for itch relief I found:

1. Apply ice or a cold compress for 15-20 minutes as needed throughout the day.
   
2. Wash the area with soap and water.
   
3. Take an oatmeal bath. Aveeno makes an oatmeal bath soak product.
4. Cook oatmeal and apply a generous thick layer to the infected areas. Let it sit and harden.
   
5. Rub alcohol on the infected area.
6. Soak the area with water and vinegar.
7. Mix baking soda and water together to form a paste and apply it to the infected area.
8. Rub the area with the inside of a banana peel.
9. Rub aloe vera to promote healing and cool the itchy area.
10. Don't scratch!
    

Do you have any itch relief home remedies to share?

marie @ 19:53 | comments(0) | Permanent link