In addition to causing spread, the dirt from your fingernails can also cause an infection, which can be very hazardous to your health. As good as scratching the rash feels, it spreads the oil to other areas of your skin. However, it is also the absolute worst thing you can do if you want to get rid of it. It feels amazing to scratch at the affected area and it brings an immediate sense of relief and satisfaction. Treating a RashĪ poison ivy rash is nothing to sneeze at. Urushiol can remain on your clothes, gardening tools, and even dead plants for up to 5 years. The leaves, stems, roots, and berries all contain the rash-causing substance. Urushiol can be found in every single part of these plants.
#How to get rid of poison ivy rash skin#
The rash may appear as dry, red, swollen skin or fluid-filled blisters. Contact dermatitis caused by urushiol can present itself in different ways.Ĭontact with this oily plant resin results in an allergic reaction on the skin. Regardless of which plant you come into contact with, urushiol is the common denominator.ĩ0% of people that touch plant oil containing urushiol will develop some form of contact dermatitis.
#How to get rid of poison ivy rash how to#
However, the primary reason you should know how to identify each plant comes down to one dangerous similarity: Urushiol. Toxicodendron are flowering plants in the sumac family. They are all members of the Toxicodendron genus. Poison ivy, oak, and sumac have a few things in common. The leaves are also hairy on both sides and change color from red to green to orange as the seasons pass. Poison oak gets its name because the leaves resemble that of the oak tree. The leaves are more distinctly toothed and jagged. Generally, it has a three-leaf structure, but it can grow as many as nine leaflets per cluster. In certain growing conditions, it will also present itself as a shrub. Poison oak will grow as a ground vine and as a climbing vine. It is the most common of the three plants and can be found everywhere in the United States. The plant will lose its leaves in the winter but can be identified by its root structure. They will be a reddish color in the spring, green in the summer, and orange or yellow in the fall. The leaf color will change with the seasons. The edges of its leaves can be both jagged or smooth, depending on which variety you encounter. The leaf in the middle will be larger than those that shoot out from it. Poison ivy is characterized and well-known for its three-leaf structure. When the vines make it to the top and have nothing left to climb on, they will shoot out in all directions seeking sunlight and something else to climb. It does so by climbing something short like a fence post or a tree stump. In fact, it can also present itself as a shrub or even a small tree. These vines can grow to be 6″ thick and climb to heights as high as 100′. However, it also thrives as a climbing vine distinguished by its hairy appearance. Most people are familiar with poison ivy growing as a ground vine. The western variety is not nearly as common. The eastern variety is the most common and can interbreed with its western relative. There are two different varieties of poison ivy: eastern and western.