# cure for poison ivy? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 20, 2003, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cure-for-poison-ivy/220107 "2003-12-20T02:57:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Harborwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Harborwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harborwolf)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2003, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cure-for-poison-ivy/220107/1 "2003-12-20T02:57:08Z")
A coworker of mine was told that if you eat a poison ivy leaf you will never have a reaction to it. Is this as bad of an idea as it sounds? ---
**Author:** ![spingears](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@spingears](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spingears)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2003, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cure-for-poison-ivy/220107/2 "2003-12-20T03:11:03Z")
Ask him if he has? If the answer is no. Don’t eat one either. If the answer is yes, he lied. Don’t eat one either. ---
**Author:** ![gcarroll](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/65b543/32.png) [@gcarroll](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gcarroll)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2003, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cure-for-poison-ivy/220107/3 "2003-12-20T03:19:43Z")
This needs to be said: \>\>You can die from doing this!\<\< ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2003, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cure-for-poison-ivy/220107/4 "2003-12-20T03:45:05Z")
This is a very bad idea. Swollen tongue equals cannot breathe. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2003, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cure-for-poison-ivy/220107/5 "2003-12-20T04:00:33Z")
Weed-B-Gon. ® ---
**Author:** ![CurtC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce73a5/32.png) [@CurtC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurtC)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2003, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cure-for-poison-ivy/220107/6 "2003-12-20T05:09:34Z")
I have read that you can gradually desensitize yourself to poison ivy by taking a tiny amount, enclosing it in a capsule, and swallowing that, then doing this repeatedly over time with gradually more of it. This is probably what he heard, but got the story messed up. ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2003, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cure-for-poison-ivy/220107/7 "2003-12-20T05:20:33Z")
Don’t try any of these things at home or anyplace else. ---
**Author:** ![MaryEFoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@MaryEFoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaryEFoo)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2003, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cure-for-poison-ivy/220107/8 "2003-12-20T05:42:57Z")
It’s been a bad idea at least since my mother was a youngster (twasn’t she that tried it) and it still is. **spingears** is spot on. ---
**Author:** ![Bad\_Samaritan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bad\_Samaritan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bad_Samaritan)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2003, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cure-for-poison-ivy/220107/9 "2003-12-20T06:16:58Z")
Slight hijack: The best solution I’ve found for an outbreak of poision ivy? BLEACH Soak a small amount onto a paper towel straight from the bottle (do not dilute -unless you’re a wuss) and dab it onto the afflicted area once or twice in a day’s time. Sure it burns like hell for a few minutes and is pretty harsh on your skin, but that shit stops itching immediately and drys up within a few days. Works better & faster than any OTC solution for sure. Moisturize the area afterwards to help restore the skin. Disclaimer: I am not a doctor. Obviously, do not use bleach near your eyes, open sores, genitals, or on any other sensitive skin/coveted body areas.