Poison Oak or Ivy spots constantly! Any supplement to prevent this?

Question

My fiance does landscaping for a living. He is constantly coming home with spots of poison oak or ivy. He is extremely allergic.
What is so strange is that he wears gloves, pants, socks and shoes all day but will manange to get a spot of poison oak on his foot, hand or leg. Yesterday he came home with one on his buttcheek.
It seems like whenever he is within 10 feet of the poisonus plants he will get it, whether he touches it or not.
It's started to affect his sleep at night, which affects my sleep as well. The painful itchy bumps keep him up all night.
Can anyone reccomend anything to keep him from constantly getting these poison oak or ivy rashes?
Is there any kind of herb or supplement that will make his immune system stronger to the poison?
Thanks so much for your help

Answer 1

Poison Ivy and Oak both have Urushol oils that lock onto skin cells. These oils can be transported by clothing and do not react until they come in contact with skin cells. The best thing for him to do is wash everything he works with on a daily basis, b/c the oils can be carried for an extended period of time by the clothes. Once the oil has "locked" onto the skin, it is impossible to wash it off. The only thing that can be done is to treat the symptoms. Try using Tec-nu creams or washes, which are available over the counter. If they do not work, you may need to go to the doctor. They can prescribe steroid creams to clear the spots up.

As for the immune system, there isn't much you can do. The more a person comes in contact with the urushol oils, the more allergic one becomes. Many people do not have a reaction to the plants until maybe in their 20's or even later. And as you said, it seems like he can get the rash just by looking at the plants, it seems he is very allergic to them.

I would just say the best way to combat the rash is to bring a change of clothes and bag up the clothes, gloves, boots, hats, etc. and wash them immediately when he returns home. It is a hassle, but probablly one of the only ways to keep from getting the rash.

Good luck

Answer 2

The only real way to prevent an outbreak is to avoid the oils of the plants. If he is basically coming home with new spots breaking out every day or so, he may have systemic exposure. Basically, this is when the plant oils are absorb into the lymph system / blood stream vs. simply into the skin. When this happens, you may develope new "spots" of rash in places that did not contact the plant oil (just like a buttcheek). To correct this, he will need to be put on a short (1wk) round of steroids to get it under control, thus he will need to see a doctor. For a simple exposure, he will need to wash his hands (or whatever body part came into contact with the plant) in warm very soapy water to remove the oil from the skin. In cases where the rash has started, the standard treatments will work (he knows what these are if he has had this alot since he was a kid like I did), such as calamine lotion, etc. The very best thing I have ever found to help with poison ivy/oak/sumac, is a fairly new product called Zanfel. It is available without a prescription from pretty much any pharmacy. It is a soap that actually pulls the toxic oils back outa the skin. Follow label directions and the itch will stop immediately and the rash is usually gone in 1 or 2 days. Truly the very best product for poison ivy I have ever used. But be warned, it is kinda expensive (about $35 per tube), but you only use a small amount to treat each area of rash.

Remind not to scratch (very difficult) because he can cause a secondary skin infection from the already damaged skin being "broken" from intense scratching.
Good Luck, and tell him to stay outa the poison ivy!!!

Answer 3

A product called Tecnu is supposed to break down the active
ingredient in the oil. It's available at some drug stores, or from
Solutions (1-800-342-9988)

Also rub the effected area with vodka,it does cool there itchy bumps down

Answer 4

unfortunately there is no way to decrease the reaction to these plants....there is only avoidance and treatment. Benedryl will help some with the itching, he should also talk to his doctor as there are prescription treatments available too.