Poison Ivy/Oak/Sumac alert
By Elizabeth Williams Bushey
Last week I cleared a bunch of shrubbery for my daughter’s Alice In Wonderland party. The backyard looks terrific, but despite the latex gloves I wore to protect myself, the tank top I wore to keep cool didn’t protect my arms from the poison ivy I failed to recognize, due to my city-girl upbringing.
Yes, yes, NOW I know: “Leaves of three, let them be.”
But if YOU’D seen the mess my backyard was BEFORE I started… you wouldn’t have been counting leaves, either. PLUS: I have a new puppy – Tucker’s new younger sister, Sophie – to look out for, so counting leaves was my last worry.
As a result, I’ve got a wicked poison ivy rash up and down my arms.
Friends suggested Aveeno, which is a terrific product, and also the standard calamine lotion – but the VERY best product out there?
Tecnu. Weird name, great product. The sooner you begin to use it, the better it works.
Incidentally, meet Sophie: our new Cavalier King Charles Spaniel puppy.
You apply it to the affected parts of your body (it’s a lotion) – and it actually sucks the oil out of your skin – the oils that cause the rash, and the itch – and rinses them off as you rinse off the lotion.
If you use it once the rash is full-blown, it STILL works: just temporarily. You just use it once a day or so.
This rash is so nasty I’m not even going to photograph it for you – but trust me, this is the absolute best. And, having sensitive skin myself, I’m not hesitating to recommend it for kids.
Run, do not walk, to the nearest drugstore, and pick some up for your family today. For poison oak, ivy, sumac – it simply cannot be beat.
