Friday, April 26, 2013

poison ivy




i am covered in poison ivy. all over my torso. ALL OVER my torso. itchy blisters. increasing intensity. appeared on monday, they are still getting worse 4 days later.

spent a half hour pulling weeds last weekend and will now spend the next 2 weeks in pure unadulterated urushiol hell.

the first time in my life i got poison ivy was last year after doing yard work. i've hiked and camped all over in and out of the woods for 36 years in shorts and short sleeves and never got poison ivy a single time. as soon as yard work entered the picture last year i've been plagued to some degree.

 i am politely recusing myself from doing any yardwork for the rest of my life.

i will plant food in the garden, and tend to the plants, but i am never pulling weeds again. chopping down unspecified jungle growth is not happening again. absolutely is not worth it.

i love doing yard work. i love making the yard look nice. i love watching the progress. i love how immediate the gratification is.

i cannot live 6 months of every year in itchy pain.

i have a friend tyler in california who told me a few years ago he could not move to asheville because of the poison ivy. at the time i thought he was kind of nutty. now i understand. all this beautiful bountiful natural wonder with hidden shiny red blistering biting side effects.

kevin is calling me 'bubble boy' and i feel like a whining, complaining wuss, but god DAMN this shit is terrible.

any poison ivy cures, natural or unnatural, lay em on me. i would much rather the rash hurt than itch. i can handle pain, it's the itchiness that is waking me up at night and generally driving me batty. 2+ weeks is a long harsh payment for 30 minutes of yard work.

6 comments:

aunt jojo said...

I'm sorry to hear that, Skippy. No fun at all, to say the least. I've heard making a paste of baking soda and water can help ease the itch. And I've also heard there's a prescription med for severe cases, but not sure you want to go that route, you'd need to call a doc. Maybe your local pharmacy has some over the counter treatments. Hope it passes quickly!

skippy haha said...

thank you aunt jojo! i got a tip from tyler to pick up some antronex and thymex from a chiropractor, which was surprisingly easy to do - as antihistamine type supplements.

the chiropractor had poison ivy on her arm herself and said if it spreads too much, go to a doctor for a shot of prednisone. which is severe! she said there's a less intense alternative if it came to that but wasn't sure of the name.

i also got burt's bees poison ivy soap, and their res-q ointment which has comfrey and have noticed much less itching.

also i have neosporin with pain reliever.

and rubbing alcohol.

we'll see- i hope it passes quickly too!

Anonymous said...

Poor Lelly

Maybe you should get that steroidal shot...can't be itching on your BD

MOM

A Day in the Life of One Girl said...

I hope it gets better very soon!!!

kid D said...

Are you still suffering? If so, mom is right about the shot. I'm severely allergic and had it in my eyes and mouth as a child. I always found that Ivarest Cream helped the itching quite a bit.

skippy haha said...

thank you all! ivarest cream is now on the grocery list. oatmeal baths are really working. yuck!