How To Treat Poison Ivy

Learning how to treat poison ivy is pretty straight forward. A poison ivy reaction is actually caused by an oily substance called "urushiol" that poison ivy leaves release. Your adverse reaction to the poison ivy's "urushiol" depends on how quickly your skin absorbs the substance. This is why a poison ivy reaction takes up to 48 hours to show up. As far as treating poison ivy is concerned, you'll just be doing things to limit the irritation until the "urushiol" leaves your system. It usually takes the poison ivy reaction about two to four weeks to subside. So, all you can do is wait. Here's how to treat your poison ivy reaction.

What you need: 

• oatmeal
• cold compresses
• anti itch medication

1. Oatmeal.  No, it's not to eat. One way to lessen the irritation of a poison ivy reaction is to take an oatmeal bath. You're not going to crack open a package of cinnamon oatmeal with the old Quaker man on the front. Instead get some of that over the counter colloidal oatmeal. Put it in a cool water bath. Let yourself soak in it for a while. It'll help to lessen the irritation.
2. Cold compresses and antihistamines. Apply cold compresses on the affected areas. The cold from the compresses will help to lessen the inflamed areas. Which will in turn, lessen the irritation you feel. You should use these a few times a day for 30 minutes at a time. Antihistamines will help lessen the inflamed areas as well.
3. Anti itch medication. Use this stuff when the home remedies fail. Either way it goes, you'll just be playing the waiting game. It'll still take two to four weeks for the symptoms to fully disappear. Whatever method or methods you choose will just be to aid in dealing with the irritation. No one method is faster than the other. It all depends on how fast it takes for your body to remove the "urushiol" from your system.