This is for you Irishman.
I just got over poison ivy (it was actually sumac I think) and anyway, it was terrible. I was covered by about 90% of my body. I went to the doctor two times and a dermatologist. The shot didn’t relieve any of the itching but did help it to go away faster. It was so bad. I made the mistake of taking a warm bath rather than a cool bath so I had it all over my privates. It blistered and left red patches anywhere from the size of an orange to about the size of a basketball (the largest one wasn’t exactly round). I had it on my face too in my beardline. I couldn’t shave and the stubble made it itch even worse. I had a little in my eyes where they itched something fierce. The dermatologist said it was the worse case of urushiol poisoning that he had seen in a very long time.
To make things worse, my boyfriend got it too. His wasn’t as bad as mine and showed up before mine did. I got it from pulling weeds in my front yard wearing shorts and a short sleeved shirt. I would pick out the poison things and after rubbing it all over my body, I would throw it away. Note, I didn’t do any of those things on purpose. I know what poison ivy and oak look like. I didn’t know what poison sumac looked like before this. It was so bad that I missed 4 days of work and came back to work only because I knew I was very behind. It took over a month for it to go away completely.
Now my duet partner and her girlfriend have the same thing. They pulled up the identical weeds in their backyard. It must be really bad up here this year since I have seen so many people with it this year. Also, I live pretty much in the middle of the city. Those things aren’t supposed to grow here.
HUGS!
Sqrl
