Poison Ivy and systemic reaction (1 Viewer)

[Linda]

I have a friend who has systemic reactions to poison ivy - just a small exposure sets off an awful rash along the trunk of her body. She has resorted to cortisone shots for relief.

My question is what else could she do - is there something preventative like an immune system tonic (astragalus)? Otherwise, her health is good - does not have other allergic reactions and rarely gets sick.

What do you all think?

Lila, Angela Anaeika

 

[Lila]

The first thing I think of here is that skin health reflects gut health.
This is a long term way of thinking; what is going on in her gut that is affecting her skin?

 

[Pucksterguy]

My daughter had a severe case of poison ivy rashes all over her legs and torso when she was 14. As usual the doctors and meds were useless. What cured her was an accidental incident. A neighbour had just shocked and over chlorinated their pool. My daughter and friend had no idea and went swimming in it. I don't know how long they were in the pool but the chlorine literally sterilized and maybe cauterized the sores. She was clear of the poison in a few days. Maybe have your friend sit in a bath or pool with a heavy dose of bleach in it, Linda. My daughter is an outdoors person and loves the wilderness and has zero issues since. (That I know of) Give it a try...

 

[Anaeika]

From the top of my head, lemon, lavender, & peppermint are good for allergies. Also yarrow is good for rashes and also bug bites. Identify yarrow or have it growing at your home. You can chew it up with your mouth and put it on the rash. It is handy to know while in nature while hiking and important to teach to children as well.

Let me spend some time looking up poison ivy in my books and get back on specifics.

 

[Toller]

Could be a sign of a miasm that will need to be cleared at some point in the future.

Homeopathy can help in this type of situation:-

https://www.homeopathyworks.com/blog/homeopathy-for-poison-ivy-and-poison-oak/

https://www.naturalnews.com/026516_poison_ivy_remedies.html

 

[Linda]

Could be a sign of a miasm that will need to be cleared at some point in the future.

Something that needs to be cleared is a possibility.


Here is the medical description of what is going on - the oil passes through the top layers of the skin and bonds with Langerhan white blood cells, which then spread it through the body.

It seems similar to what Angela wrote about on her histamine thread.

The ways to address the skin rash are helpful - some are new to me.

My big question is how to stop that reaction carried by the blood cells - would a tonic that strengthens the heart and circulatory system (Hawthorn) be helpful, or maybe one that strengthens the immune system.

 

[One65]

My wife had a *severe* reaction to poison ivy plants/leaves that were dried up and mixed unknowingly with our garden soil. Had a gigantic, very deep and oozing boil-like foot-long angry sore on her leg - and it was growing bigger by the hour. It looked like a gigantic 3rd-degree burn that kept growing. As a result of not being able to (initially) see the plant she didn't know what to tell her doctor had happened. The medical community had no idea what it was and hit her hard with very strong antibiotics. They suggested it was related to flesh-eating disease and were considering some very frightening options.

We decided to take matters into our own hands (before they had a chance to do blood-letting, leeches, or amputate . She saw a homeopathic doctor. He identified it as poison ivy and stated that it had long lasting effects in her bloodstream. He treated her with some oral drops (sorry, don't remember what they are at the moment) and the red patch began to fade away. Took several weeks though.

Further research revealed that people have somewhat of a natural tolerance to poison ivy, but at some point the body can no longer resist it and it can really harm you. It made a lot of sense... she had been out in the garden wearing shorts and raking leaves on the first warm day of the year. Just like she had for the previous ten years in the same garden.

I am telling this story in the hopes that it helps someone in the future.

 

[Angela]

I don't have too much to add to this... I have had reactions to poison ivy when I was young, but THANKFULLY haven't been exposed to the point of a reaction since. We would just use calamine lotion. It sucked and took a bit to clear up. I had it a couple summers in a row, then I suppose I wasn't exposed to it anymore to catch it again. I've never had it systemically though. I'm overly paranoid when we go into a woodland area, barely touching plants when I get it in my head that some might be there. I feel like if I look at it, I catch it. Hahah.

I was looking through an article that was talking about it, but I haven't finished that one yet. If it sparks any new ideas in my head, I'll come back to this.
The one thing I was just thinking about trying, is potentially a bentonite clay to help bind the toxins in the body and help pass it out. A histamine reaction is probably likely, so I would look into what I wrote in the other post as well.

Again, I'll let you know if anything else comes to my mind, or if I see anything in my searching.

 

[Lila]

What about taking quercetin (found in health stores, typically in pill form) for allergies? It's a natural antihistamine.
Angela, have you looked into this one?

From the top of my head, lemon, lavender, & peppermint are good for allergies.

I have seen these essential oils, used together work really well. I've also heard that adding frankinscence adds 'oomph' to the lemon, lavender, peppermint trio.

 

[Angela]

What about taking quercetin (found in health stores, typically in pill form) for allergies? It's a natural antihistamine.
Angela, have you looked into this one?


I have seen these essential oils, used together work really well. I've also heard that adding frankinscence adds 'oomph' to the lemon, lavender, peppermint trio.

Yes! Quercetin could help!

 

[Toller]

My big question is how to stop that reaction carried by the blood cells - would a tonic that strengthens the heart and circulatory system (Hawthorn) be helpful, or maybe one that strengthens the immune system.

From my own personal experience (and I'm not saying that it's right for everybody) the best way to strengthen the immune system is to strengthen your energy system. If you need to kickstart yourself, then you could try radionic healing or acupuncture.

 

[Linda]

Thank you very much. The info here and other places suggests attention to general tonics for circulation, immune health, as well as gut health. I agree that the energetic system is a big part of the equation, too. So, I'm going to slowly guide my friend along this path.

 

[Linda]

Just heard from one of my best sources -

The toxin may be stored in the central nervous system (spinal column and brain), which is why major outbreaks may be associated with stressful situations.

Initially, Apis Mellificus will help, as well as methyl folate and B12 to support the nervous system. Beyond that, moving out the stored toxin may be accomplished with oriental medicine, and that is specific to each person.

 

[Snowmelt]

Just imagine the amount of scientific testing (by which I mean taking it orally, or patch-testing the skin) that must have been done in ancient China for them to develop the whole herbology of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and also their understanding of the human energy system and energetic healing (which is what Qi Gong is all about). Perhaps a lot of that testing of results and reactions never got written down, but the Yellow Emperor's Treatise on medicine sure did!

 

[Pod]

A neighbour had just shocked and over chlorinated their pool. My daughter and friend had no idea and went swimming in it. I don't know how long they were in the pool but the chlorine literally sterilized and maybe cauterized the sores.

Not so surprising Pucksterguy and well spoken. Calcium hypochlorite turns into hypochlorous acid when dissolved in water. contrary to belief there is no available chlorine from this chemical regardless of what is said on the label. This could well have done wonders for your daughter's skin rash. I would suggest that Linda takes some from her pool supply and lets her friend bathe in it.

 

[therium]

The oil in the poison ivy is called urushiol, and that is the oil people are sensitive to. Never burn poison ivy as the oil in the smoke will get into your lungs and can be really bad for you, even cause death.

One sunny day I put on my shorts and short sleeved shirt, and took the weedwacker to a patch of overgrown vines and grass on a local trail. I buzzed and buzzed and got my legs covered with plant matter along with my arms, but my legs were the worst. And then I had a reaction which told me it was poison ivy.

To combat this I used Dawn dish detergent to remove the oil right away, using a warm soapy water and an old washcoloth and towel I could throw away. I certainly did not want the urushiol to get into the washer to taint other clothing. Then I patted down the area to make it dry. Then I found some liquid benedryl to put on the area. I did this about 4x every day, sometimes more at first.

The itching was terrible and I often itched myself until I bled. The redness lasted for about 4 weeks on my legs, the arms cleared up a bit sooner. I also took antihistamines to reduce itching but they never took it all away.

And then I made it my goal to learn all the forms of poison ivy, and differential identification, such as: what's the difference between virginia creeper (where young shoots have 3 leaves) and poison ivy? Well, when it's growing up a tree, poison ivy has many hair-like roots to attach itself to a tree, VC does not. I'm talking about 10-20 rootlets in PI per inch of vine. So find a vine with many hair-like roots attached to a tree, and follow it down to the ground. The PI can also spread on the ground easily. VC also can have 3-5 leaves per terminus, while PI will only have 3. The color of PI can vary throughout the season from light green early in spring to a dark green. But PI tends to have smooth leaves. I never did see any PI that had a white, shiny underside so I do not use that to ID it. WC tends to have more texture as the veins are more indented in the top of the leaf.

Urushiol has been found to be active even when some people found it in 4000 year old Egyptian tombs.

 

[Anaeika]

Here is the essential oil answer.

 

[Linda]

More info - if the rash is really, really bad try colloidal silver. Once it has settled down, then lavender oil can help with the last of the healing.
By really, really bad I mean large raised welts the size of a medium orange.

 

[Anaeika]

Get real lavender essential oil. There are a lot of fakes being sold as it is the most commonly conterfeited oil. If it gives you a headache, you know it is synthetic.

 

[therium]

The oil on poison ivy leaves, urushiol, is one of the most toxic plant oils we know of. When archaeologists brushed against some 3000 year old leaves in an Egyptian tomb, that's when they found out it was poison ivy as they got a reaction.

What I used was topical Benedryl as a gel. Plus anti-histamine anti-allergy meds if you want to go that route. Search for herbs that relieve irritation like aloe.

But as soon as someone finds the exposure site, it's a good idea to remove the urushiol ASAP and wash it with a grease-cutting soap like Dawn dish washing detergent. Use warm water with a bit of Dawn in it. But if you're not sure exactly where the exposure site is, don't do that.