If you’ve ever had the misfortune, you know how unbearably uncomfortable it can be, let alone the difficulty in how to cure poison ivy. According to the Mayo Clinic, at least 50 percent of people who come into contact with the plant’s oil-urushiol–contract the rash associated with the plant. And not only is it itchy, but it can spread quickly to other parts of your body. While the best thing to do when it comes to poison ivy is to avoid it completely, sometimes you don’t even know you’ve been in contact with it because you can contract it from touching anything that has touched it, like your dog that may have rolled in it out back.
Severe cases of poison ivy are typically treated with prednisone, a steroid that has potential side effects that include depression, psychoses, rapid weight gain, blurred vision, and many other conditions that are best to avoid if possible. If you do contract poison ivy, attempt to manage the spread of it by reducing the itching using one of these natural remedies so that that you can avoid having to take stronger medications.
Natural Remedies for Poison Ivy
1. Poultice
A poultice is a mixture of raw and cooked herbs that you can easily make yourself to help heal and soothe skin irritations or draw the infection out of a wound.
2. Jewelweed
Jewelweed is a close relative to poison ivy that actually appears to be nature’s counterpart to it. NaturalNews.com cites a 1958 study referenced in Varro Tyler’s book, Herbs of Choice, which found that jewelweed effectively treated 94-percent of patients within two to three days.
3. Apple Cider Vinegar
For a cost-effective remedy that also helps dry out the rash, turn to your pantry and pull out the apple cider vinegar. While some recommend keeping it in a spray bottle to use whenever necessary, blogger Man from Modesto, who has had ample experience with poison ivy swears by applying it every few minutes (when possible) with a cotton swab which he says dries the rash out faster. Just beware that this remedy stings a bit in the beginning.
4. Banana Peel
While people are generally told to avoid banana peels because of their slipperiness, you may actually want to turn them when it comes time to relieve the itchiness of poison ivy or bug bites. The “meat” of the inside of the banana peel is said to quickly alleviate the itching and clear up the rash within a few days. Food.com recommends cleaning the rash with alcohol before applying the banana peel.
5. Baking Soda
Baking soda is used for many purposes including removing stinky odors from your fridge and making your own toothpaste, but it also works great for eliminating the itch of poison ivy. To start, run a bath and pour one-half cup of baking soda into it and soak for 30 minutes. In addition to the baking soda bath, PopSugar Fitness recommends applying a baking soda paste to the rash using a mixture of three parts baking soda to one part water. The baking soda is said to draw the urushiol out of the rash to help it clear up faster and relieve the itchiness.
Image Credit: blmurch
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