Poison Ivy Symptoms

It is important for us to know the poison ivy symptoms for us to know how to address the problem.

Actually, diagnosing a poison ivy rash is easy as it is different from other rashes. You can know that it is a poison ivy skin irritation if the sufferer has history of encountering the plant. He might have gone to a camping or hike to the woods or near the lake. He might have touched the weed in the flower bed, garden, backyard, school yard, or along the trails. His dog might have played around or near the plant and he touched the dog that is carrying the oil in its fur. He might have touched a garden glove or any object that has contacted the plant.

After a few hours or days, a curved line of rashes and redness will appear as the first poison ivy symptoms. The development of rash starts slowly that is why it takes time before the symptoms appear. The rash appears in different ways. There are those which develop as full blown poison ivy rash at once. Some may experience bug bite-like or scratch like spots in the skin (especially in the feet) as initial rash. Then, the rash spreads around the body surfaces. This is because urushiol oil spreads internally or systematically as it is absorbed in the skin and travels throughout the body.

Over the next few days, the poison ivy symptoms to look after development of itchy, red swelling or bumps and blisters in straight line on the skin. The straight line is due to the way the poison ivy brushed the skin leaving the colorless yet detrimental urushiol oil. For an indirect acquisition of the skin rash, the rashes are spread out, not in linear appearance. Lesions that look like blisters or vesicles are filled with a clear liquid which can ooze. If not treated with steroid containing medications, the rash will get worse as the days and weeks go by and it will take a longer time (longer than three weeks) to recover. There are also times that other parts of the skin will show rashes.

Now, if you are suffering severe poison ivy symptoms such as what we will mention next, it is a must that you will be brought to the hospital. The emergency cases to attend to immediately include: very intensely itchy rash, swelling of the throat, face, or eyes, difficulty in breathing, widespread rash over the whole body. This is a rare situation and this is actually a severe allergic reaction which can lead to death. You might think that the sufferer is just going over acting over the matter.

An issue about the poison ivy symptoms is that if these can be communicable since they look oh so awful especially those fluid filled vesicles and blisters. However, there is no problem with the fluids the blisters contain. These are not urushiol oil which can cause the rash. What can spread the rash is an unwashed hand (nails) that got in contact with the offending oil and touches a healthier skin. This is why, applying rubbing alcohol to the affected area and washing with water are recommended to reduce the poison ivy symptoms.