I wore short shorts and… now I have poison ivy up my thighs (I think from trail running while training for the crazy Spartan Race I just did). It’s horrible. Just when my baby girl started sleeping through the night again, the itching wakes me up.
I was determined to use natural remedies, and first tried baking powder mixed with water to make a paste (about 3 tsp baking powder with 1 tsp water). This offered temporary relief but needed to be re-applied every few hours– all night long–and peeled off in flakes. So I moved on to soap. I’d always heard Fels-Naptha helps poison ivy, so I coated my legs in it. But when it didn’t seem to help I did some more research and learned Fels-Naptha breaks up the oils (urushiol) so can reduce the reaction if used immediately after exposure, but doesn’t reduce itching (so can’t help once the rash is there). Scratch.
After about a week of itching, and waking up at night itching, I finally bought some calamine lotion. It’s relief is short-lived also. Not the chemical holy-grail I was hoping for. It’s been over two weeks and the itching is still annoying.
Can anyone suggest other remedies for poison ivy? (other than wearing pants).
May 15, 2013 at 1:55 pm 
April 28, 2013 at 4:28 pm 
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
So soory to hear about your poison ivy. The only thing I ever found to work was Rhuli gel. An Aveeno oatmeal bath also offers some relief.
Good luck!!!
apply camomile tea bags!