10 Facts About Poison Ivy

1. Poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans) is a plant that contains the oil urushiol. Contact with this oil is what can cause the itchy rash people contract. The rash is considered considered to be contact dermatitis.
2. Urushiol is an allergen. The rash that occurs from touching a poison ivy plant is an allergic reaction to the oil. In an allergic reaction, the immune system is sensitive to the allergen. The body goes into overreaction mode, and tries to fight off the offender. With poison ivy, it creates a rash.
3. You can not be allergic to poison ivy until you have come in contact with the oil of urushiol. The contact can be direct, or through indirect methods. Direct contact would be by touching the plant. Indirect contact would be if your clothes have touched it, and then you touch your clothes. You can also come in indirect contact by touching tools, such as clippers, that have come in contact with the poison ivy plant.
4. Poison ivy rashes tend to develop within a few hours to two days. The rash can take as long as two weeks to appear. During the first contact, the poison ivy rash can take about a week to develop. Later contacts with urushiol usually develops in just a couple of days.
5. Poison ivy rash normally lasts about 10 days. It can however last up to three weeks in some individuals.
6. Severe cases have been known to last over two months.
7. The poison ivy rash is not contagious to anyone. You can not spread the rash after it appears on your skin. Even when touched, it can not be spread to other parts of the body. The urushiol oil has already been absorbed into the skin. If it appears later on a different part to the body, it is only because the rash is either still developing, or something has been touched that still has the oil on it.
8. Sensitivity to poison ivy depends on age, extent of contact, and your immune system function. Some studies have shown that the allergy to poison ivy can be an inherited factor.
9. Poison ivy normally does not cause complications in health people. Complications can include bacterial infections from scratching.

10. Jewelweed is a natural antidote for poison ivy. It normally grows near by the poison ivy plant, and is nature’s remedy. The jewelweed plant can be made into a salve, or infusion to help heal the rash.

For more info please read Ten Facts You Probably Don’t Know About Poison Ivy