Poison Ivy Home Remedies

If you or someone in your family has come into contact with poison ivy, there are some great poison ivy home remedies that you can use to help treat the outbreak.

An encounter with poison ivy does not usually end in a pleasant manner. The vast majority of people are indeed allergic to this toxic plant that grows with abandon all across the United States.

A poison ivy reaction is characterized by a very itchy red rash that can develop into oozing blisters. One of the most popular home remedies for poison ivy is the use of rubbing alcohol on the infected area. You want to be sure to treat the rash quickly, as the oily substance in the plant which is called urushiol can penetrated into your skin within just a few short hours. By dabbing rubbing alcohol on the affected area, the alcohol will cut through this oily substance and stop the oil from penetrating below the skin’s surface.

Another one of the more popular poison ivy home remedies is the use of hot water. It may sound strange, but many people have reported that if very warm water-the hottest that you can stand, is slowly poured over the affected skin shortly after coming into contact with the poison ivy plant that this warm water will cut through the urushiol and wash it away.
 
Many people keep a bottle of calamine lotion on hand for the occasional treatment of mosquito bites or other skin irritations. We all remember being ‘painted’ with the pink substance as children. Calamine is another one of the most commonly used poison ivy home remedies. The calamine lotion soothes the itching and dries up the affected area, so if you find yourself with a nasty poison ivy rash, by all means try this tried and true remedy.

Aloe Vera has been reported as being effective in treating poison ivy rash as well. If you have an aloe vera plant in your home you can simply snap off one of the long and spiney leaves and use the liquid substance as a topical treatment for the rash. You can also purchase aloe vera gel to apply to the outbreak. Aloe vera has antibiotic and antiseptic properties that are very effective in treating poison ivy outbreaks.
 
There are many poison ivy home remedies out there and these are just a few. The best advice you can receive about poison ivy is to learn what the plant looks like and to avoid coming into contact with it in the first place.