Poison Oak - My Home Remedies

Home Remedies for Poison Oak

WARNING: This home remedies site is intended to be archival in nature. The natural remedies here are submitted by numerous people from around the world, and we have no way to test or verify every remedy. As such these home remedies should be used for academic purposes only. Never use any home remedy or other self treatment without being advised to do so by a physician.

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Poison Oak Home Remedies:

Submitted by bob lien at 2011-08-18 03:21:08
Yes, yes, yes, and yes. Oak makes me absolutely nuts, as many of you well know. I want my life back, please, instead of this ongoing siege against a ravaging and angry enemy. Since '67, my shortest bout with the oak is 6 weeks. Right now, I'm beginning yet another raging torment by this wily beast. I tried the salt method as discussed on about page two of the ivy forum (worth reading them all). I think gramma may be on to something. I tried wet salt massage about an hour ago, then drove to town for cigs. On the way back, I noticed the incredible vista of the mojave desert night sky, my mind free from the oak for the first time in three days. I'm going to keep trying it.
rating: 8 (3 votes)

Submitted at 2011-06-05 23:05:22
I've tried a number of solutions including the following Tecnu, J&J's poison ivy scrub, calamine lotion, poison ivy tablets (supposedly builds immunity), caladryl spray and lotion, fels-naptha soap, ditch the itch soap, castile soap, bleach, hot water, salt, pine tar soap, sulphur poweder, florasone cream, cortaid, burt's bees poison ivy soap, antihistamines such as Allegra, Triamcinolone, Quercetin, Butterbur, probiotics, Triphala and GOOP hand cleaner. NONE of these worked. I finally beat poison ivy after trying everything in the world by using AZTEC SECRETS Indian Healing Clay. As the clay dries, it sucks the poison ivy oil out of your skin. With each application it gets better. Usually by the 4th day of using it the poison ivy itch is completely gone and your skin can begin healing.
rating: 8 (5 votes)

Submitted by Aphra at 2011-03-13 16:47:23
I found something! I have tried oregano oil, baking soda and water, baking soda and vinegar, baking soda and salt, salt alone, banana peel, Avino, All Terrain poison ivy soap, and oregano oil. Nothing worked. Finally I went back to the remedy I used 30 years ago. Fels Naptha soap. I found it at Ace Hardware. Scrub hard with the soap, until it hurts. My poison oak dried up after two treatments with the soap. I used it several more times to be sure.
rating: 7 (27 votes)

Submitted by Stunner at 2011-07-01 04:22:49
Ok, I'm the type of person that when I get Poison oak/ivy, I am completely covered from head to toe. I'm talking in between my fingers/toes, arms, legs, hands, feet, the whole 9 yards. I have tried almost everything, from touch-me-not juice to over the counter ointments/pastes, even prescription medication. None of it really works that well, and if you are like me, you want instant results. well I found a way to get them.... so here it goes. If you can handle a few minutes of pain, the quickest, most efficient and effective way to get rid of it, is to just have at it and start itching everywhere you can. It would be best to do this outside in the yard. Pop as many of those damned blisters as you can. (I found a pocket knife to be the most effective.) Then once you are satisfied, ( I did it till I was bleeding... not bad though, just little spots.) just pour some of your regular house hold bleach on everything you just scratched. The pain is intense, but well worth it. Keep the bleach on as long as you can stand it. Then just rinse it off with the water hose. You will see that the blisters will start scabbing over within 5 minutes with NO MORE ITCHING. Obviously when you do this it kills ALL of the oils from the plant and gives it absolutely no chance to terrorize and torment you any longer. When I did this I was at my wits end and could not take it any more. I was miserable to the point where it was keeping me up all night it was so bad. So, sleep deprived and needing some well earned rest, I tried this. And if I ever get it again I will do the same. Like I said, the pain is intense, but well worth the 2 minutes of it. I hope this helps.
rating: 6 (12 votes)

Submitted by Amanda Calderon at 2011-08-06 19:36:55
I recently got poison oak, this is my first time ever getting anything like this, the reason, cause I went into a field with a friend to shoot a movie, and got poison oak all over my legs, thighs and gential area. I'm on my sixth day, already and just now is it barely feeling a bit better. Day 1, started with a small itch, behind my knees, day 2 was scary itchy, I couldn't stop, that's all i thought about over and over,like an obsession, it attacked, i didn't want to eat,sleep, watch tv,, talk to anyne,i'd itch till i was raw and tore my skin, I tried everything from the drugstore, 'Benadryl cream''Itch X''Cortison cream''Zanfel', none of these worked! (for me)cause i was sooo desperate,anxious and wanted this off of me, I did home rememdies, the rubbing down with prepared oatmeal with lots of salt, put it on your poison oak blisters/ rash, while it's still warm, let it dry, then wash off. But I finally found something that worked for me. I do the prepared oatmeal with extra salt, just follow the directions on your oatmeal package, get in tub, rub the warm almost hot oatmeal all over for poison oak rash, let it dry-about 15-30 minutes(this will be messy so have a towel ready to clean up the oatmeal that falls off) wash oatmeal off with hot water(the hottest you can stand) this opens up the pores and lets anything you put on it in, (the oatmeal), then, wash with Dial antibacterial soap, next,wash with the Zanfel (following insturctions), then, you wash that off with COLD WATER, this closes the pores, leaving all medicines in to kill the poison under your skin,NOW, (my favorite part) ahhhh, get ICE as much as you can, go back to the tub and rub, all of your poison oak down with ice, this will numb all the pain and itch. Let yourself dry, i rubbed down with ice for about 5 minutes. But numb as muchas possible.This seems to work the best for me, then I sit back and open up a beer to help me forgetit all. Hope this helps anyone out there. Poison oak, is seriously the most damaging uncomfortability mother nature can give you, No one can understand this, I 'd tell my boyfriend and he'd touch mylegs, when I'd stricty tell him not too,and thus the itching would start back up. Wrap your most damaging blisters with guaze bandages and medical tape, don't wear jeans, but pjs, silk if you have them. or Stretchy pants, the workout kind. And most of all Don't itch, I know it's hard NOT TOO, BUT, youll prevent infection and prevent popping your blisters with your fingernails. Just try your bestest not to friend. Poison Oak is a powerful plant and part of the cashew family (so intersting) try to find out information about poisonoak/sumac/ivy, youll find out how beautiful nature is, and how deadly it can be. This is just a brush of it, somepeople have ingested it or gotten it in thier eyes so be grateful. Gonna have another beer, now. Good Luck, The longest poison oak will last should be about 2 weeks, theres nothing you can really do about poison oak,but, wait for your blisters to heal, (depending on the severeity), another thing, you will be sleep deprived, the itch will be waking you up about 3-4-8 times throughout the night. Just please, don't itch, Oh, and take Benadryl allergy pills to kill off the infection. Hope this helps in any way. Take Care xoxoxox-Amanda
rating: 6 (6 votes)

Submitted by Jennifer at 2010-08-14 18:26:06
Bactine, IvySooth and Zinc Oxide gave a little temporary itch relieve (zinc oxide the worked the longest), but I highly recommend Rhus Tox 6c above all these. Within just a few hours of taking the homeopathic remedy Rhus Tox in a 6c preparation, my 9 year old was totally itch-free and within 24 hours, all evidence of the rash had reduced by over 80%. He took 3-4 tablets every 45-60 min for the first few hours, then reduced to 5 tablets about every 2-3 hours. It is also said that 1 tablet per month (30c dose) trigger continued immunity, but I haven't tested that one yet.
rating: 6 (8 votes)

Submitted by Marsha at 2011-08-17 21:31:27
Preporation H (I may have that misspelled) works. Even better than that is the Rx strength, Proctozone HC.
It really relieves the itching and is gone in 3 or 4 days. Really!!
rating: 6 (5 votes)

Submitted by CoG - childofgod at 2011-01-28 20:02:45
Tea Tree Oil. Full strength on the infected body part. Stops the itching, steralizes the area, overcomes and dissolves the oil.
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If you know beforehand that you are going to be in areas of poison oak/ivy, use Technu.
rating: 5 (7 votes)

Submitted by bob lien at 2011-08-19 18:21:29
Ok,well salt worked, but the effect was too temporary, so...I have moved on to this: I used a heat gun (I don't have a hair dryer. I kept it at a distance away so it won't burn me. The intensity of the itch makes me scream, almost orgasmic, as it pulls out the histamine response. I also take mega mega doses of vitamin c (20 grams+ per day) and swab the areas with rubbing alcohol. Last night, I finally slept. And today, slept again. I almost feel like I could be somebody! The blistered patches are flat, semi-crusted. They see me comin with my heat gun and try to hide. ;=)
rating: 4 (8 votes)

Submitted by bob lien at 2011-08-22 19:35:13
Well I'm back with a report. This is about day 9 since my first itchies and believe it or not, the oak is nearly cleared up. This is by far the shortest time period that I have ever suffered with the oak (see previous posts). To be honest, along with the heat gun, mega C, and rubbing alcohol, I have been drinking a mild herbal tea made from the fresh chaparral bushes that grow on my desert acres. (Some folks might raise their eyebrows at this). All I can say is that my skin is nearly clear and itch free. Voila!
rating: 4 (6 votes)

Submitted by Shells at 2010-07-31 12:36:31
I have always known I was allergic to poison oak/ivy. Even growing up in a small city, I have had it so bad that it was spread inside my body, through my esophogus. I moved to the mountains and the first year I had it straight for that year,my dogs or cats would pass it off of theie fur. I tried everything and WOW, I got the cure nailed! I take 1000mgs of vitamin C every day, not chewable, faithfully and I do not get it. I do forget to take it,or I am just lazy, so I do get it but I immediatly take the C, once in the morning and once at night for a few days, then back off to 1 a day. Too much C will give you canker sores. This remedy does not help the itch so for that I use listerine.The C makes it go away so much faster,I really hate prednisone, swells you up and all. So if you are taking a trip to the mountains, start the 1000mgs of C every day a week before. Love to know how it works for you.
rating: 4 (7 votes)

Submitted at 2009-11-01 20:22:26
Apply rubbing alcohol on the poison oak rash up to 3 times a day.
rating: 3 (10 votes)

Submitted by Brooke! at 2012-04-21 01:02:11
white vinegar. works super fast. i used that and a gel called Calagel. Works great. I packed it in my bag for school, but i ended up not even using it except for once in the morning before i went to school! I also use tecnu(a skin cleanser) to wash out my sheets(YOU NEED TO DO THIS). I've tried calamine lotion, also works. It hasnt spread AT ALL!
rating: 3 (3 votes)

Submitted by Abigail & Ray at 2011-07-15 19:06:37
I like to use rubbing alcohol to wipe the area down as quickly as possible then follow tht with 'Sasquatch Itch Cream'. It keeps the immune system from brewing up a storm. Then I kick back with an adult bev.
rating: 3 (2 votes)

Submitted by Ke at 2012-04-12 23:48:40
My mom has always used bleach for Poison oak/ Ivey. I thought she was nuts! I got into some today so I tried my moms little trick and I have had instant relief... I will sleep tonight! Oh it burns pretty bad too.
rating: 3 (4 votes)