POISON IVY
Report #6883
What's worse that poison ivy? Nothing.
A few hours to a couple of days after you touch any part of a poison ivy plant, your skin will start to itch and turn red, then break out in blisters and develop crusty yellow scabs. The leaves contain so much oil that you can break out after you pat a dog that has brushed against the leaves. You can break out just from being near burning poison ivy leaves.
If you think that you may have touched any part of a poison ivy plant, wash it off with soap and water as soon as possible. You can remove the oil only for the first few minutes after you touch it. After that, the oil is bound to the skin and cannot be removed. Then, it cannot be spread from you to other people or to other parts of your body. You also should wash clothes that have touched the oil because they can cause a rash for many months.
The rash becomes more severe for up to five days and then starts to clear, but if you have several spots or you continue to touch objects that have the oil, you can continue to break out for months. Since poison ivy is caused by your own immunity trying to kill your own skin, the only effective treatments are those that shut down your immunity. Antihistamines are ineffective. The standard treatment is cortisone type injections or pills, but some doctors do not prescribe them because they are afraid of a rare and unusual complication in which the hip joint is damaged. Frequent bathing helps to prevent infection.
By Gabe Mirkin, M.D., for CBS Radio News