Oww! No fun!

Please be careful about your caladryl/benadryl combination to make sure you're not getting too much of the active ingredient!

And whuffles to you!

Ooooh. Bad scene. I'm so so sorry. I had a patch that was about 6-8 inches square a couple of years ago. Right on the back of my knee. Hang in there...

Dude, you need Zanfel and Tecnu. I've had it so bad so many times and honestly, those are the only things that work besides prescription steroids and you don't want to go there if you don't absolutely have to: if, like me, you have gotten it systemically, which means that if I'm exposed to it now, it tends to just pop out on my body wherever it feels like popping out. Big fun.

Anyway, since I have learned all this the hard way, here are my prevention tips:

1. Wear a button down shirt whenever you're in the garden or out in the woods or wherever you think you're getting it. This is way serious. I've had poison ivy all over my face from pulling a T-shirt off and it was not attractive or fun AT ALL. When you get in, toss all your clothes immediately into the washer in hot water. Do not wear them again until they're washed.

2. Always, always shower after you come in from the garden or the woods; use tecnu or Dr. Bronner's soap or jewelweed soap or something equally strong all over.

3. Homeopathic poison ivy pills. Yeah, I don't believe in homeopathy either but I'm telling you, since I started taking these things occasionally in the summers I have hardly gotten any poison ivy at all. They're miraculous.

avoid butt-nekkid sex on beds of 3-leafed vegetation.

gah, sorry to hear that govtdrone, poison ivy is one of those torments that I seriously DO NOT MISS AT ALL. We don't have much, if any poison ivy out here in Colorado although we do have rattlesnakes, poison oak and cactus everywhere. I have vivid memories of the traditional summertime oatmeal bath-and-ER-visit deal when I was a kid growing up in Ohio. Oh, and other fun things like having to run cross-country and do mountain bike races in full-length tights and long sleeves in 100-degree weather.

My fave hiking / mountain biking Midwestern combo? Wild rose / blackberry brambles + poison ivy. Yeah, that's it, scrape the shit out of yourself, THEN get covered in the oil.

Blah. To add to MGL's tips, bathe your dogs regularly as well (especially the long-haired ones). I've known plenty of people who avoided the plants, only to get it all over them from the dog's coat.

Well, it could be worse:

I have a story to tell, about A guy I know, who is almost an urban legend. About 12 years ago, my friend Sam and I went out on an excursion to a swimming hole in the central Oregon desert. Note that the swimming hole is in a gorge, which you hike down to on a trail from the parking area. At the top there is a well maintained rest room with running water.

So after swimming a bit and eating lunch, Sam asked me "Jon, did you bring any napkins from the car?" I said I hadn't. He shrugged and went off into the brush. He came back looking satisfied and said "I found some nice big leaves that took care of the job really well." Everything seemed fine for the rest of the day.

The following day, I called him, and his mom answered the phone. She said "Sam can't talk right now; he's on a lot of medications." Sam ended up spending the next couple days in the bath, during which time, he got constipated, which under the circumstances, was probably for the best. People talk about the urban legend of the guy who wiped his ass with poison oak, and I can say "I know that guy - I was there."

i have a whole tube of Zanfel i have no use for and the shit is pricey. i wish i could just give it to you. It's only for what you've got and i don't got it, never have.
Also, go get the shot.

Zanfel is totally the way to go. Most drugstores have a generic equivalent that costs about half as much as the name brand. It's still pricey, but worth it. Feels soooooo good to rub that scritchy-scratchy stuff all over your itchies.