The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.
Salt
Posted by Tammy (Wellston, Oklahoma) on 11/09/2006
★★★★★
Salt cures Spider/Insect bites, poison ivy. Last year I had a spider bite on my inner thigh. At first it was just a small red bump, but then it grew into what looked like a ring worm. A week later it was the size of a tennis ball and the center of it was a infectious white and itchyyyy as poison ivy. I showed it to my family in India via web cam, she knew immediately what to do. Said just wet it, pour table salt on it and let it sit for at least 20 min. After about one minute it began to burn some, nothing unbearable, although i only let it stand for about 5 min as I'm a big baby. It WORKED!! Dried it up in a matter of days. Since then, I have done this remedy for a number different insect bites, even have done on poison ivy and same result. A few days of doing this once at night cleared it. You can literally feel the salt drawing out the poisons.
Replied by Wraiththirteen
(North Augusta, South Carolina)
04/08/2010
★★★★★
Replied by Walt
(Warminster, Pa. Usa)
12/15/2011
Stick Deodorant
Posted by Debbie (Arkansas, US) on 06/15/2014
★★★★★
I always use a stick deodorant/antiperspirant for poison ivy. It dries the rash and takes out the itch for a while. Easy to apply even at work or in the middle of the night! After trying all the home remedies for years this has been my go to for the last 4 years. I start using it as soon as I itch, see 1 bump or a line of bumps. Best to keep clothing off rash/keep air circulating around the rash or use hair dryer, bentonite clay also helps with the drying but the deodorant is great to use immediately, because it is handy.
Sweating
Posted by Louis (Newton, Nc) on 08/13/2010
★★★★★
I had a bad case of poison Ivy that was crusting with large red sores, and itching badly. It has been spreading and getting worse for about 10 days since initial exposure. Normally, it would have continued getting worse, but I stopped it in its tracks by walking out in the hot sun and sweating alot. I took a 90 minute walk yesterday, and a 90 minute walk at around 11 AM with long pants on in 90 degree weather this morning. It's amazing how within less than 24 hours, the big ugly sores have nearly dissapeared, and pink, healthy flesh has taken it's place. Even the scabs from where I peeled off the crust are flat, soft, and healing quickly! Someone else here mentioned a roofer working all day in the sun and that curing his poison Ivy. Well, I 2nd the sweating in the sun cure. Is it the Vitamin D, sweating out the toxins, or the radiation? Who cares! It works. It's fast, non-toxic, and free.
Replied by
Jean (Ky)
12/20/2017
27 posts
Tea Tree Oil
Posted by Mellie (Farmington, Maine) on 07/04/2017
★★★★★
Wash area where poison ivy rash is and apply Tea Tree Oil. My only remedy, works every time.
Towel Scrub
Posted by Tiffany (Columbus, Ohio) on 04/24/2008
★★★★★
Odd Cure for the Itch: I get poison ivy, and I get it BAD. i never find products that work EVER. not even for temporarily relief. a few years ago, i actually got fed up with the scratch and had to do something about it. so i ran a towel under hot water, and began scrubbing the infected areas as hard as i could, making sure the blisters would bleed. it burns, like crazy. but for me, the burning is much more bearable than the itching. i've recently used this method for every outbreak. just make sure you actually have blisters first, otherwise it just might make it spread worse. also, clean the bleeding areas with rubbing alcohol.. as crazy as that sounds. hopefully it will cure your itch like it did mine. also, be prepare for scars.
Turmeric and Nettle
Posted by Mama To Many (Tennessee, Usa) on 07/13/2015
★★★★★
Last night my son could not sleep because of the intense itching on his legs from bug bites and poison ivy. (Occupational hazard - he does lawn care.) He told me about it today. He said, "I got up and took a boatload of nettle and turmeric and put anti-itch salve on my legs and it helped a lot! " I laughed and asked exactly how much a boatload was. He said about 6 nettle capsules and 6 turmeric capsules. I love that he knew what to do and didn't have to wake me up. :)
He knows that Turmeric is a great anti-inflammatory and will help itching of poison ivy and bug bites. Nettle is great for allergic responses. Both herbs are blood purifiers.
~Mama to Many~
Vinegar, H2O2, Lavender Oil
Posted by Debbie (Austin, TX) on 06/01/2008
★★★★★
OMG! Yes, this does work for poision ivy. Nothing I purchased ever worked. I used liquid laundry detergent, distilled white vinegar and 3% H2o2 and it instantly took away the nasty itch. I did several applications as Ted directed. THANK YOU!
Vinegar, H2O2, Lavender Oil
Posted by Ted (Bangkok, Thailand) on 01/04/2007 392 posts
The toxin resinous oil called Urushiol, can actually be detoxified by several ways. With the resins you can remove, or neutralize it nevertheless.
First start simple and wash the effected area with a strong detergent to remove the resin. When it is removed and the rash, is no longer reducing, you go to the next step of removing which is vinegar which will remove the other part of the resins.
How it is done is to grab a towel and try dabbing several times with vinegar, for example, to remove the resins. Try different areas of the towels that are clean and keep repeating until they are all removed. What vinegar does is it detox it and remove the oil. Rubbing alcohol will also work but less effectively than a vinegar.
Finally, after this is done several times, get the 3% hydrogen peroxide. It must not be weaker than 3% otherwise it will not neutralize the by oxidation of the resins.
The peroxide will cause drying, but it will also dry out whatever resins left over. So with a towel, this is rubbed with a 3% hydrogen peroxide several times, and find a new clean area of towel and do it repeatedly. The peroxide will neutralize what is left.
Finally, when it is done about 5-10 times, we apply this with lavender oil, 2-3 times liberally so that the oil will neutralize the toxin resin. Peppermint oil might further reduce but not necessary unless it is still irritating what is left of the rash and most resin at this stage should be removed.
The secret I think lies in the number of applications for it to work, which must be done for half a day, at one hour apart, at least. The reason why some antidote don't work is improper understanding of the mechanics of resinous oils on the skin.
Vinegar, H2O2, Lavender Oil
Posted by Ted (Bangkok, Thailand) 392 posts
Oh by the way, a traditional remedy for poison ivy is jewel weed (touch me not), but it is not easy to get, this is why a vinegar, alcohol, detergent, and lavender are a bit easier to find, and hence the remedy are geared on convenience.
Also, Ordinary vinegar works the best. Most supermarket vinegar will work. An antidote for jellyfish poisoning is vinegar, but then it is also antidote for toxic alcohol (methanol), aspartame, splenda, etc. Vinegar works by detoxification and it is in fact actually anti-histamine, anti-inflammatory, to most toxic oils. That I found out quite by trial and error.
Vitamin C Paste
Posted by Ann (Albany, NY) on 11/16/2007
★★★★★
I had poison ivy for the first time a couple years ago. It was sooooo incredibly itchy, I could barely stand it. After looking on the net, I found' a remedy from a lady dr. She said to make a paste of Vit.C powder (just add water). Apply and let dry. I can't swear that it did the trick immediately, since I'd suffered with the rash for several days by then, but it surely helped!
White Vinegar
Posted by Samm0 (Brevard, Nc) on 09/13/2011
★★★★★
I applied generic white vinegar to any itchy area. The itch and irritation would stay dormant for 4-8 hours. I would say vinegar is 10 times more effective than calimine lotion. And its instantly effective. I had the rash for about a week. Finally I decided to apply Bleach and water 50/50. All of the rash was gone by the next day. I would have used H202 if I read up on EC in time but bleach worked for me. It would burn when dabbing the rash with vinegar and bleach, but above all the vinegar made my poision ivy seem non-existant.
Yarrow
Posted by Garnet (Austin, TX) on 04/13/2009
★★★★★
Yarrow for Poison Ivy. I make a paste of the dried flowers, add some clay and sometimes comfrey to make it stick. Leave on 20 minutes. Blisters dry up and skin heals after one application.
