Poison Ivy and I are not friends. Half of the time, I don’t even see it. I think the oil lurks in my wood mulch or I touch it hidden among my plants. Every year–especially when it gets hot and humid, I get those obvious bumps and familiar itch. With 10 year of gardening under my belt, and countless rashes, here’s what poison ivy remedies works for me to reduce my misery.
My Favorite Poison Ivy Remedies
Tecnu–my #1 choice!
Tecnu may not be a green product but I use it every time I come in from the garden. It helps with poison ivy and other oils from plants that can cause dermatitis. I am highly sensitive to thistle, pumpkin vines, etc.
The key to success with this product is you must use it within two hours of contact. Wash for 2 minutes and then rinse with cool water.
The Company lists a window of 2 to 8 hours but I haven’t been that lucky.
How does it work? The product remove the poison ivy’s urushiol oil before the rash starts.
If you do get those unsightly and completely bothersome rash, you can still use the product to lessen the duration.
I tend to use it with caladryl or clay when I get a rash. (See below.)
Before gardening season, buy a bottle (or now) and keep it under your sink. Be sure to wash anything that touches plants (arms, legs, and hands) each time you come in from the garden. You will thank me later.
Always wash your clothes, shoes, gloves and tools too. I throw my work clothes and gloves in hot water. You can use tecnu for your tools too.
Benetonite Clay
Prior to using this product, I used caladryl and slathered it on hoping it would dry up the rash. For me, caladrly doesn’t stop the itching but it does dry up the rash.
But recently Hubs told me about benetonite clay. I wasn’t surprised it work since I used wet dirt in the garden and put it on the rash. Surprisingly that works. (More about dirt later.)
I simply make a slurry which is similar to pancake batter and put it on the rash. In about 15 minutes, the itch is gone and the clay hardens. I am now on day four and the rash scabbed over.
(I use this one.)
Plain Old Dirt
I am serious.
One time I had the rashes everywhere and just wanted to have a scratch fest. Now I understand why dogs roll in the grass.
You know what I am talking about if you ever had poison ivy.
I simply wet dirt from one of my vegetable beds, and applied it.
It stopped itching. I was blown away.
The problem is dirt doesn’t stay on your skin as well as clay does so it is a temporary measure.
But if you need something, grab some dirt.
Calamine/Aveeno/Caladryl:
I use the store bought of all of the above out of desperation. However if you want to make your own, use this recipe. (Notice the recipe has benetonite clay in it.)
It does help to dry up the rash.
Dress for success:
If you know you will be around poison ivy, wear long pants, gloves, and long sleeve shirt. Strip outside and throw your clothes and gloves in a bag. Wash them immediately.
Remember my 2 hour rule? Be sure to clean yourself up after exposure.
What hasn’t worked for me:
I am a sucker for all natural solutions but they don’t always work for me. I have tried the following poison ivy remedies without success:
- banana peels
- apple cider vinegar . It helped to dry up the rash but didn’t stop the itching.
- Baking soda
- oatmeal. (It helps for a little bit but not the itching.)
- Jewelweed soap after I got the rash. (It is now growing among my raspberries!)
- Rubbing alcohol
- Hot showers
- one percent hydro-cortisone (the over the counter product)
Interesting Perceptive on Friction:
I haven’t tried this yet but thought it was really interesting. This YouTube video explains that simply using a wash cloth with soap removes the oil. The key to its removal is friction and to be sure you wash everywhere you could have possibly touch.
(Um, your face…)
Steroids:
Yes. I have taken steroids for poison ivy. It spread all over my body a couple to times so you can imagine how fast I run to my Tecnu when I think I touched it.
If it spreads or gets infected, please see a doctor.
Join the Conversation:
What poison ivy remedies have worked for you?
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Carol@studiobotanica says
July 15, 2016 at 9:18 amGreat ideas to have on hand, Anna. Dirt.. So perfect!!
I’ve never heard of soap made with Jewelweed but I do have a couple of Jewelweed remedies that I have used successfully.
Jewelweed tea made into ice cubes and ACV and jewelweed infusion.
Will write it up and send it over to you to add to your arsenal!!
Meantime. Definitely going to investigate the Tecnu as a back up plan.
Anna@Green Talk says
July 17, 2016 at 11:52 pmCarol, I used jewelweed too. Maybe the infusion would have worked better. Anna
linda spiker says
July 15, 2016 at 9:31 amGood to know! Last year my daughter’s friend got a terrible, huge, blister from coming in contact with a plant. It was like nothing I have ever seen. Plants can do some strange things!
Jan Mrozek says
July 15, 2016 at 5:32 pmA homeopathic remedy called Rhus Tox worked for me when 2 rounds of steroids didn’t even make a dent in my head to toe rash. I’ve used it ever since and it always works.
Anna@Green Talk says
July 17, 2016 at 11:51 pmJan, do you have a suggestion on how to de-sensitize yourself from poison ivy? Anna
patty says
July 15, 2016 at 7:31 pmWow! How ironic!! writing these comments will act like therapy for me…. I have had an absolute horrible time with posion ivy over the last two weeks!! When I first contacted it in my life I was 45 and it was awful. I thought I got rid of it all and never to see the plant again. I was soooo careful, so I thought. You know where this is going….. 🙂 5 years later and two weeks ago I felt the burn that is forever implanted in my mind , I rushed in and washed with Dawn soap and was sure I got off any oil that I might of came across. A few hours later it all started. Needless to say two rounds of steriods, one antibotic, two cortisone shots, benedryl, pepcid and clartin tablets all of which came with a on call to the doctor, an urgent care visit at night and a trip to my dermatolgist ; I still am recovering. Gardening is my life! That is what I do all spring, summer and fall. Why am I so allergic????? I have not touched a hose, shovel, garden object in two weeks becasue I am frozen scared to go into my yard. I hope no one else has encountered such extreme reactions. I am open to all advice suggestions you have used , so that you can stay doing what you love best like me gardening!!!!
Anna@Green Talk says
July 17, 2016 at 11:50 pmPatty, see Jan’s comment below. I would put on gloves and wipe down everything with tecnu.
jessica says
July 18, 2016 at 3:23 pmWe are dealing with PI this year. Blah. Tecnu did nothing for my boys. However, I found a soup called Mean Green. It is not ‘natural’, however, it worked so well for us. My oldest’s son was going systemic, it kept spreading. After the first ‘scrub down’, as he calls it, it stopped itching and spreading. The color went from angry read to pink. I used it twice a day on, and with in one day he said it no longer itched. Within three days, it was almost all gone.
My husband has been using it on the one spot he got and it’s kept it from spreading. It is still oozing, but that seems to be how his body handles PI.
I have not tried it on my youngest yet but he responds well to an rx cream (Desonide) and one dose of rhus tox. (My oldest and husband do not get relief from it)
I have found though that everybody reacts different so all products don’t help the same.
Diane MacEachern says
July 22, 2016 at 6:45 pmI’m with you on Tecnu! But my number one strategy is to avoid letting the darn stuff touch my skin. I wear long pants and long sleeves and gloves in the garden, rubber boots, too. If I see it, I immediately dig it out with a long shovel and put it carefully in a bag to go into the trash. Thanks for the other ideas for treating poison ivy.
Anna@Green Talk says
July 26, 2016 at 6:15 pmDiane, I take the same approach but somehow I still get it. Anna
Cameron mcqualter says
September 12, 2016 at 2:16 amHi Anna,
Great article! There are some very interesting home remedies here.
Did you know that the medical world doesn’t actually know how Poison Ivy affects the body? We published an article here to announce that they have figured it out.
It means that an over the counter solution that actually works could be on the way very soon! Check out the article here.
Dianne Bachmansky says
August 9, 2017 at 9:47 amas a longtime gardener, the most effective antidote I have found is to rub an ivy rash as soon as possible with any kind of vegetable oil. Make sure to go beyond the rash boundaries a little. Let it sit for about 3 minutes. Then use Dawn dish soap to wash the entire area clean. The oil dissolves the ivy oil and the soap gets rid of the vegetable and ivy oil all at once. If your skin has scabbed or become dry, scratch the surface of the hardened area lightly with your nails or a rough cloth and apply the treatment. This will help remove any ivy oil that may have been sealed in under the skin. My pharmacist gave me this advice years ago and I am frequently grateful for his wisdom!
Anna says
August 9, 2017 at 10:33 pmDiane, can you use this trick after the rash shows up? I found that it takes some time for the rash to show up. Is there a time period where this doesn’t work? For example, technu says you have to use their product within 2 hours of exposure. Anna
Dianne says
August 17, 2017 at 11:50 amAbsolutely! The rash occurs only if there is any remaining ivy oil on your skin. If your skin is reacting it means oil is present. Slather on the vegetable oil and after a few minutes, apply the Dawn soap directly and rub it onto the entire area, then rinse it all off. Reapply as needed.