Essential First Aid: Poison Ivy

Whats worse than going to school or work on Monday after a great weekend in the outdoors.
Going with poison ivy, that's right you will spend the rest of the day with burning itching skin and awkward stares from friends and coworkers.

So let's talk about how to prevent and if you are still unlucky how to treat it so that Mondays can become less painful.

1st Identify the enemy:
Poison Ivy usually has three leaves therefore the common saying of (Leaves of three, Let em be!) comes in.  No seriously don't try to be that brave person, it will leave you miserable.

What causes the allergic reaction?

- Poison Ivy contains an oil that is rub off on to skin or object that most humans react to causing some form of dermatitis problem. 

I.D. and avoidance not you thing?

Well you are up for treatment my friend if you are allergic and that rash appears. From personal experience the best treatment is Poison Ivy wash, the one I happen to have with me is made by Tecnu. Its around $5 and will greatley help the symptoms and ease some pain. 

Other product that I carry with me are Calamine lotion which helps with the itching and the spread of infection from scratching. Also Neosporin for after the blister have dried up to prevent infection in those. All of these products are around $5 and can be easily purchased. 

You Need To Know.

1. How to identify the plant itself
2. How to get rid of the plant safely 
3. How to identify the allergic reaction (rash)
4. What can carry poison Ivy oil (dogs, gear, etc...)
5. How to treat basic reaction 
6. When to go to the doctor ( always go if you are uncertain seeing a medical professional is always a good idea) 

I have only scratched the surface on learning about poison ivy and showed a few products that I use in my first aid kit to combat symptoms. I will leave you with some good resources to read more, trust me its worth the extra few minutes of learning in depth about poison ivy as it can cause serious health risk to the outdoor enthusiast. 

• http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/poison-ivy/DS00774/DSECTION=symptoms
•  http://www.poison-ivy.org/index.htm
• http://www.medicinenet.com/poison_ivy/article.htm 

J.Jones