Poison Ivy

To prevent it from spreading

Remove all clothes and shoes that have touched the plant.
Wash your skin with soap and water.
Apply rubbing alcohol or alcohol wipes to the parts of the skin that are affected.
Use an over-the-counter product (e.g., Tecnu) that removes poison ivy sap.
Rinse the affected area with water.



To Treat Poison Ivy, Oak, or Sumac


Take a cold shower, put the rash area in cold water, or pour cold water over it. Use soap when you shower.
To relieve itching, take an over-the-counter antihistamine, such as Benadryl. Follow the label's directions.
For weeping blisters, mix 2 teaspoons of baking soda in 4 cups of water. Dip squares of gauze in this mixture. Cover the blisters with wet gauze for 10 minutes, 4 times a day. Do not apply this to the eyes.
Wash all clothes and shoes with hot water and a strong soap. Bathe pets that have come in contact with the plant. The sap can stay on pets for many days. Clean items used to wash clothing and pets. Wear rubber gloves when you do all these things.
Keep your hands away from your eyes, mouth, and face.
Do not scratch or rub the rash.
Apply any of these to the skin rash:
Calamine (not Caladryl) lotion.
Over-the-counter hydrocortisone cream. Follow the directions on the label.
A paste of 3 teaspoons of baking soda and 1 teaspoon of water.
Take baths with lukewarm water. Add an over-the-counter product called Aveeno colloidal oatmeal.

Ellie knew Lon didn't want to admit it, but he might be crying.

He took a cold shower while she washed his clothes in hot water.

She drenched his legs in Calamine. Of course, she had to make a quick trip to Wal-greens for a few things they didn't have for these kind of emergencies.

But he didn't want to take the benadryl.

"I don't think so." He shook his head. He was already in bed.

"It might help you sleep." She told him.

"Maybe I just won't sleep." He shrugged it off looking at the yucky blisters from the rash. He was a bit squimish about touching it or even her touching it.

"We should go to the emergency room. Or the clinic at the University." She suggested.

"I'm not a student, and I don't have insurance." He looked up at her. "I'll be fine."

"But it'll just put you off another day to look-" Ellie stopped. This was no time to talk about finding a job. "You should rest."

"Easier said than done," he fretted slightly.

"Then take the medicine." He was being testy now, or perhaps she was.

"Its just I haven't had anything in a very long time. Sort of. Well, not any drugs."

"Its only benadryl," she snapped. "You need it." She handed him over one little pill and a bottle of water.

"God," he breathed under his breath and took it.

"I have to wonder what you were like when you were little." She smiled.

He was restless at the moment.

"Horrible."

"Yeah, right." She couldn't resist but to comb her fingers through his dark blond hair away from his face. He really did need to be pampered.

"I don't like for you to see me like this, " he then told her.

She wanted to laugh.

"What do you mean? You can't help it." She looked into his blue eyes and had to admit she liked being with him very close up. But he was quite disgusted with himself, it seemed. Sad she supposed.

"I know. Its just-" He shrugged then more sad than she'd ever seen him before. "What if I can't find a job? What if I'm only a waste of your time?"

"You couldn't be a waste of my time." Ellie shook her head, no. "You'll find something. You will. Besides your typing up that whole Spanish thing on your own. Maybe you should be Lydia's assistant. Not me."

"I-I...no." He shook his head. He smiled then and so did she. She kissed him to let him know he definitely wasn't a waste of her time.