I have had what Im pretty sure is poison ivy for a little over a month now. I've tried calamine lotion, aveno soap, and ivy dry. Now its a big rash under my chest and on my hips and still itches. Is there anyone who may have any other ideas on what I can do or what this may be? I would really appreciate any suggestions
I've had more than my fair share of cases of poison oak and i can tell you it dries out by one month. it starts as a very itchy red rash and moves into a blistered oozing itchy mess, the dries into a scabby itchy mess. The whole process takes a week or two.
You need to see the doctor. He can prescribe something to help. Or you can call the advice nurse. I think I was prescribed an antihistamine and steroid cream.
Based on the location and the duration, I'm almost positive it's NOT poison ivy! That's much more likely on your arms, legs, face - any body part exposed to the PI oils or touched by your hands once the oil is on them. The fact that it's not in any of those places but is on your chest and hips, and the fact that it seems to be spreading, and the fact that it hasn't abated, tells me it's something else. The calamine could be aggravating it but you need a proper diagnosis.
I'd see a doctor. My first thought when I read this was shingles, not poison ivy. My son is HIGHLY allergic to poison ivy, so as Jane mentioned, I've dealt with it more times than I'd care to admit over the years and it usually doesn't last a month. Especially how you described it, under your chest and on your hips, sounds like it's following a nerve pathway, which is common with shingles.
Make sure it's really poison ivy first. My hubby gets poison ivy easily, but one time he had a rash on his back and side. He didn't get it checked out, but I really think it was shingles. According to a website it said shingles can be activated by stress and that you shouldn't eat nuts and some other food I forgot. He stopped eating nuts, and my MIL made fresh peppermint oil from the peppermint in our flower beds. They put the peppermint oil everyday to help ease the ich and I'd put hydrogen peroxide on it at night to help it heal faster. It finally went away, but it takes 3-4 weeks to go away.
As for poison ivy. It can be poison ivy, because you can accidently transfer it from your arms to any location on your body just by itching the poison ivy spot,then forgeting and touching another part of your body. Always try to wash the area that touches poison ivy with COLD water and soap ASAP. I finally got it after all these years. Never had it before. I noticed that the calamine lotion hubby uses, just doesn't look like it works and it's not really 100% calamine like use used to be able to get years ago. I decided to try witchhazel. To my surprise the witchhazel worked and I got rid of my poison ivy a lot faster than he did. I tired the witchhazel, because that is what I use on my pets. I use a cottonball moistened with witchazel to get rid of the ear mites my dog had one time....alternated with baby oil...just make sure it's a damp cottonball and not wet...You don't want any liquid going down the dog's ears....I used witchazel when my cat had acne and it worked great.
I am very allergic to poison ivy and nothing works for me besides going to the doctor and getting a prescription for steroids. You might have to do that if it won't go away.
You are making me feel better about taking two weeks to go to the doctor for something similar - I think it was poison oak and mosquito bites that got me started. I'm now sitting here waiting for the Addorax(?) to take effect. The original problem(s) ended up just creating a super sensitivity in my body (at least that is the conjecture).
Go to the doctor - after a month you should stop trying the home remedies.
Are you sure its poison ivy? I would say a month is too long to have it unless you are inadvertently reinfecting yourself by exposing yourself over and over. I'd call a doctor if you aren't exposing yourself to the ivy oils b/c that does not sound right.
Go to the doctor. If it's not poison ivy, the doctor can tell you. If it is, he/she can give you a steroid shot. My husband is starting week 3 of a vicious case of poison oak. He as exposed on a mountain bike trail and it started on his forearms. It has spread everywhere (and I mean EVERYWHERE). He's had poison oak many times, and never this bad. From what I understand, it can spread as a secondary rash from your immune system trying to fight it off. After two steroid shots and a Benadryl injection too, the initial rash is starting to clear up, but the newer rashes are taking their time. It's been awful.
See the doctor and get better soon.
