Monday, June 7, 2010

Poison Ivy

It started with my boyfriend's face. Then it went to my foot. Between the toes to be specific. I've tried Zanfel- the best thing to come out of the over-the-counter meds in a long time- but alas the itch persists.

Seriously though- Zanfel has knocked out 9 of the last 10 cases of poison ivy to afflict our household. I must have either gotten a direct hit by the three leaf beast or maybe I have poison oak. The FAQs of Zanfel say that poison oak often requires a few washes.



In case you were wondering- which I know you were- what is my history with poison ivy? Well I've provided you a synopsis here:
  • 10 years old I get a serious, huge case of poison ivy on my hands, up my arms, and on my face.
  • I get chicken pox one week later. Now I have chicken pox and poison ivy.
  • Then just as the chicken pox clears up, I recatch the poison ivy. Now I have poison ivy, chicken pox, and poison ivy.
  • 12 years old. I get poison ivy between my toes. Huge. Gigantically between my toes. Can't walk. Requires meds as I can't walk for close to 2 weeks.
  • Unfortunately for most of my life the only remedy for poison ivy is Calamine lotion. That stuff works for shit. Sorry, but it does.
  • Anyway, you get the drift. For the next ten to twenty years I get poison ivy yearly or biyearly. Feet, legs, arms, face, palms of hands.
Ever notice when you get poison ivy you always have to play the "How the heck game?" How the heck did I get poison ivy between my toes? How the heck did I get it on the palms of my hands? If you have dogs they're probably the ones to blame. At least I do.

What about you? Worse case of poison ivy? Know how you got it?

7 comments:

Tiff :o) said...

I think I am immune to both chicken pox and poison ivy. I tried to get the chicken pox as a child by rolling all over my brothers' sheets and touching their arms. I wanted to stay home from school too. No luck...I never got them. Now, we have a yard full of poison ivy and I don't want to spray the nasty stuff in the dog pen so I just go out and pull the vines. I do wear gloves but just wear shorts and a t shirt when I pull them out and they rub against my skin, and I go trapsing through the woods in shorts through large poison ivy patches and I've seen it touching my skin but I've never gotten any rashes from it yet.

My husband, on the other hand, is ultra sensitive to it. So if it's on my skin, or on the dog's fur, then he catches it. Poor guy is always getting it, even without touching any.

I hope your's goes away quickly.

Jim Muller said...

What the heck were you doing rubbing your feet on your boyfriend's face in the 1st place?

Betty Mountain Girl said...

Tiff-- I think that is how I caught this last batch- from the dog that is. I have never heard someone get that much contact with ivy and not catch it- you're a lucky duck! Now you can venture anywhere outdoors without a worry! My current rule of thumb is- if it has three leaves I don't go near it. Even if it is a harmless artic strawberry :)

Jim- lol! But isn't it so random where we end up picking it up? How does one get it on their chin without getting it on their hands? Crazy!

Tiff :o) said...

I guess I spoke to soon. I came down with my first case of poison ivy. It was 5 tiny dots of it on my right arm. Wouldn't you know it, it was the one day I actually wore a long sleeved shirt while working with it. Actually, I read somewhere that if you wash your skin with rubbing alcohol within a few hours of contact you will be ok. I don't usually do the alcohol but I do wash it with soapy water before a few hours is up. It has served me well.

Richard said...

I learned to recognize the stuff and haven't had it since.

Jay Dub said...

no updates in a while? Still around??

Betty Mountain Girl said...

hey Jay Dub- Thanks for the checkin' in with me. I had a sparse blogging summer, but I am currently staging a comeback ;).....