Poison Ivy

 So, last year I got poison ivy for the first time in my life. It SUCKED! It was April and I feel like I was spending more time outside than inside because I was trying to house break Greta. It was allergy season which was a nightmare! I have terrible spring allergies, but since moving to Charleston my allergies have actually done pretty well up here. Probably cause there's less grass here. Anyways, so I was already dealing with my awful allergies and taking Benadryl several times a day. Then this rash appears on my legs. And in a very interesting pattern. Exactly where Greta jumps in my lap. I had these little lines across my legs from where Greta had run through some poison ivy then jumped on me. 

Since I was already taking lots of Benadryl I thought that would help it. NOPE! After a week I gave in and contacted my doctors office. They gave me a steroid pack to help. 

April 10th

It did some. It really helped my allergies though. Man my nose and head felt great! lol. My poison ivy was itching less but it was still pretty bad. Now, here's the deal with poison ivy, you're supposed to dry it out and then it'll get better. Well, for someone that has eczema drying out your skin causes it's own set of problems. I was trying dry out the areas the poison ivy was on and put lotion on the rest of my legs. Not an easy thing to do. 

Then several people on Facebook told me to use apple cider vinegar on it. I did the research and tried it out. The first time I did, it seemed to help some. The next time I tried, it destroyed me. It actually burned my skin everywhere I had put it. It was a nightmare. I was absolutely miserable. Good thing it was during the pandemic so I had no where to go. 

I was itching and hurting and felt like I was losing my mind. So, I went to the store and got this poison ivy kit and soaked in a bath of this stuff, btw I am NOT a bath person, but I would do anything to stop this. It worked. I would recommend this stuff to everyone! I did it a few times and it REALLY worked wonders. it took almost 2 months for it to be completely gone! If I ever get poison ivy again I'll be using this stuff 1st! Also Greta and I don't walk where the poison ivy is nor do we walk in wooded areas or near anything that resembles ivy of any sort! I'm paranoid about it now!

April 18th