poison ivy !!!!

denisa

poison ivy !!!!

denisa

a couple of weekends ago i was out working in the yard (before the leaves had sprouted). i was wearing gloves and being careful of thorns, bees, etc.   i cut a brown vine off an apple tree.....well,  the vine must have been poison ivy or something like it.  even though i  thought i was protected, two days later i had a poison ivy-like rash all over my forearms, collarbone and feet. 

 bad enough, but the upper arm on the side where i had 19 nodes removed turned bright red and became really swollen. the poison ivy rash became especially bad there, and it got as numb as it was after surgery, besides horribly itchy.  it seems weeks later everything on that side is having a very slow time recovering.

i am just winding down from a long course of prednisone (dermatologist said "not to worry" about the arm) and although the PI is about gone everywhere else,  that arm has a slightly red, circular area (along the tricep), is warm to the touch and just not back to "normal". it's going away, but it's taking forever.

  anyone have any experience with recovering from poison ivy/oak/sumac on the affected side? any tips for treating this?  i am five years out from treatment, this really caught me by surprise.

denisa

Binney4

Denisa, hi!

Good to hear from you, only I'm really sorry about the occasion. How are you doing other than the PI?

You sure do have a history of coming up with, uh, "interesting" questions, Denisa. Actually nosurrender had a run-in with PI awhile back, and I pulled that thread to the top for you. Don't know if there's information in there that'll help you at this point, but at least you'll know you're not alone!  You might want to contact her here or at her own web site.

If it's newly warm to the touch go quick and get help, as an infection is sure possible. If it's been warm to the touch all along and doesn't seem to be worsening, then it well might be just the delayed healing you could expect on an at-risk arm. It would seem to indicate some stagnation of lymph in that arm, but I'm not sure whether either massage or compression would be a good idea unless you're absolutely sure you're not dealing with an infection. (Did you have any antibiotics phophylactically when it happened? That might be a thought if you have any question about possible infection.) If you are sure it's not infection, or if you start an antibiotic, then I think compression and massage might actually help.

Aw, nuts! Hope it only gets better and better. Do stay well hydrated, keep your arm elevated as much as possible, and be super careful to keep the skin intact.

Congrats on your five-year status! Don't let this get you down, okay? Keep us posted,

Binney 

denisa

hi binney and thanks for digging out some archives for me.

PI blisters have healed). i am assuming it will continue to go away - it just seems the recovery time for anything on that side is a whole lot slower maybe?

guess it just goes to show that we have to continue to be mindful, even years later.

thanks so much for your quick response -  

denisa 

NaughtybyNature

Hi Denisa: are you feeling better?

Love,

sccruiser

Hi Denisa,

I had a bad case of poison oak on my unaffected arm. Because of my truncal LE, I am at risk for developing LE in my unaffected arm. I had 2 rounds of antibiotics and some prednisone. It took weeks for the blisters to disappear. I still have a scar where the worst was. That happened last July.

I wish I had known about this product, Tecnu, that you can buy over the counter. A lady in the local thrift shop told me about it. If you catch the poison ivy/oak/sumac right away, before the blisters break, you can use this. It removes the oils from the skin.

Last week I got another batch of poison oak (from my cat), and as soon as I saw the welts and felt the itching, I tried the Tecnu. It worked!! Just amazing. Within a couple of days, the redness lessened, and the blisters never popped, just went away. No antibiotics needed!!

I now keep this product in my cupboard, along with my 50+ sunscreen, and insect repellant. It's my personal war on keeping lymphedema at bay!

This won't help you this go round, but you might want to keep a bottle in your cupboard for future use.

LE Hugs, 

anotherday2015

I hae lymphedema from fingers to chest wall after poison oak since last August. I am also stage 4 mets in my bones, original tissue area, tumor sitting on brachial plexus.

Noody seems to want to treat it, or at least show me manual drainage. Flew 10 hours to Athens 3 months post-op from Round One with no problems. three flights to FL in past 2 years--no problem.

why is nothing being done?

SusanSnowFlake

More scary stuff!  I get poison ivy all summer long, my yard is wooded, I hike , I take wild life photographs.  I'm actually allergic and one area of poison ivy can mean 10 random areas.  So poison ivy can make my unaffected arm have LE too? Now I'm really pi$$ed.  Who is supposed to tell me this stuff?  Sure won't be the surgeon or Rads Onco, they don't seem interested at all.   I saw both of them last week and when I said I was anxious to get back to hiking since last year was spent sitting, and finish the stained glass window for my front door neither said that I should to be careful not to get  poison Ivy or  cuts on the unaffected arm.  No one has said that because I have truncal my unaffected arm can develop LE. 

SusanSnowFlake

I wanted to bump this for all of us that are outdoor types.

I asked my LEPT about Poison Ivy and LE. She agreed it can be a problem but the extent of the problem is more than likely determined by a persons health issues.  For me with an allergy to poison Ivy her suggestion was leather gloves while hiking and a longer glove when gardening which I found at Menards they go to my elbow. Also have someone help me remove the gloves and any clothes that were exposed to the plant. BUT, she said she has gotten poison Ivy on unaffected areas and it did not have an effect on her LE. 

Again, with all LE issues this may different for each of us. I really hate the fact that we are our own Guinea Pigs. 

Red River Gorge or bust!

Kicks

Actually it was my Surgeon and Chemo Dr who noticed my LE before I did. There are some Drs who are very knowledgeable but unfortunately not all are.

We are all so different - poison ivy does not bother me at all. Have been in it more times than I can remember and never an issue at all. What does give me problems is mangoes - real nasty trees and fruit! (The tropical fruit that grows on trees - not bell pepper that some in the mid west call 'mangoes'.) Think poison ivy type reactions - I can not stand under a tree if dew is dripping off it, I can not touch the fruit, I can not touch fruit that is next to them in stores if the 'juice' has been spread to the other fruit. I've had to be careful around mangoes all my life.

Forgot to add: Mangoes are in the same family as poison ivy, poison oak and poison sumac - so if you haven't had any experience with them and have issues with PI, PO, PS and get skin issues after dealing with them do not be surprised. The 'funny' thing is that as allergic as I am to mangoes - am not to PI.

carol57

I've had luck using Ivy Block, a cream that you put on your skin when you think you might be exposed. There are other products with the same ingredient (bentoquatam), but I'm not thinking of their names just now. We live in the woods, and PI is absolutely everywhere. I generally avoid it, but birds drop the seeds and it comes up in our landscaped and garden areas from time to time. I'm covered up and careful, but after a nasty bout of it a few years ago when I wasn't aware I'd been in a PI patch, I now use Ivy Block on my hands and arms, even though I'm also covering with gloves and a shirt, when I'm working anywhere near the stuff.

hugz4u

bumped up for poison ivy person

There are lots of other posts. Just type poison ivy in search at main menu then pick lymphedema heading.