★★★★★
After clearing large vines and patches of poison ivy, I wasn't prepared for the extreme reaction I would experience. I had covered my body well for the yard clearing process, and afterwards, washed my arms with soap, wiped them with tea tree oil wipes, and finally with rubbing alcohol. Two days later, when severe rashes and blisters began appearing I used Tecnu, IvyRest, All Terrain Poison Ivy Cream (a great choice! ), baking soda paste, and witch hazel. Despite my efforts, I was in complete misery, my neck and arms bandaged mummy style in gauze. The blisters and oozing wouldn't stop. And it all just kept spreading! I was doing 4 loads of wash a day to make sure my bedding and clothes weren't the continued source of the problem. Any one who looked at me would feel the need to start itching or run. I got very little sleep and would begin each day feeling like it had all spread to more parts of my body. I was experiencing nausea, headaches, and a fever. At a certain point, I decided there was nothing more topically that I could do, and started to focus on internal treatments. I began drinking 1.5 liters of water each day, and used Herb Pharm Immune Defense tincture, Amla capsules (ayurvedic vitamin C), turmeric capsules, and Hyland's Poison Ivy tablets. This provided some relief, but new blisters continued to appear all over. I searched online and began to learn about systemic poison ivy. When rashes start appearing in places that had no contact with the ivy, and begin spreading all over, the ivy's urushiol oil has penetrated the skin to bond with white blood cells called Langerhan's cells. Now, I had some idea of why my reaction was unrelenting. The primary option at this stage is to go with steroid injections, antihistamines and over-the-counter medications. That isn't my strategy of choice, so I researched further into alternative treatments for systemic poison ivy. I found a few references to the virtues of Reishi mushrooms for treating inflammations experienced thru poison ivy. I bought Herb Pharm Reishi tincture and New Chapter Reishi capsules. I took the daily recommended dose of each 4X/day!!! Immediately I began experiencing relief and the a healing of the blisters. My neck (at 2-1/2 weeks of rash) looked like I had been impaled and was crusted over and bleeding from from the continued re-blistering. It felt like it was on fire and looked like charred embers.
I am writing this post to share the miraculous benefits of reishi mushroom in healing the brutal effects of systemic poison ivy. Within 3 days of taking my reishi supplements, all the blistering had stopped and had begun disappearing. This above photo is 2-1/2 weeks into treating poison ivy before beginning treatment with reishi supplements. I put vitamin E on the scabs to keep them moist and to encourage healing. By day 4 of the reishi and topical vitamin E, my neck was clear of the scabs and healing greatly!!!
