Natural Home Remedies For Poison Ivy

Natural Home Remedies For Poison Ivy

Cucumber 

It's not exactly a day at the spa, but cucumber slices are one of the simplest poison ivy home remedies. 

Either place slices of this cooling veggie on the affected area, or mash it up to make a cucumber "paste" and apply to the skin for soothing relief.


Baking Soda Baths & Pastes

Found in most kitchens, common baking soda is a great natural remedy for the itchiness associated with a poison ivy rash. To help relieve itching, place 1/2 a cup of baking soda in a bath tub filled with warm water. You can also mix 3 teaspoons of baking soda with one teaspoon of water and mix until it forms a paste. Apply this paste to the infected area to relieve itching and irritation that’s associated with a poison ivy rash.

Oatmeal Paste

Cook a small amount of oatmeal and apply it directly to the skin as a paste. Make sure to cook it very thick so that the paste will stick to the skin. Some sources recommend putting the oatmeal on the skin while it is very warm, as the heat from the oatmeal will eventually cool, leaving the skin dry and relieved. Make sure not to apply the oatmeal when it is too hot, as this can easily burn the skin. You may also try mixing in a teaspoon of baking soda, for an extra itch-relieving effect.

Aloe Vera

According to Christopher Nyerges, a survivalist, director of the School of Self-Reliance in San Gabriel Valley, Calif., and author of “Wild Foods and Useful Plants, aloe vera is your best option when it comes to rashes.

"It's superlative, and causes cooling and immediate healing,” Nyerges says. For quick relief, simply break open the leaf of the aloe vera and apply the gel over affected areas.

Manzanita leaf tea

Manzanita leaf is an astringent and helps to dry up blisters.

Nyerges has studied how local Native Americans ate these leaves regularity to become immune to poison oak. “I started eating the leaves maybe 25 years ago, and do so every spring, and I no longer get the rash,” he says. However, he doesn’t recommend this approach to others because everybody’s body chemistry is different and it may not be as effective.

Instead, crush a handful of fresh Manzanita leaves and branch tips and boil into a thick tea, then apply it to your skin as hot as is comfortable and let your skin air dry. Re-apply a few times per day.

Jewelweed

Christopher Hanifin, PA-C in the department of physician assistants at Seton Hall University in South Orange, N.J., recommends jewelweed as the go-to remedy for poison ivy.“It is a plant in the same family as impatiens, and the juice from the stem has long been held to reduce the effect of exposure to rhus family plants (poison ivy, oak and sumac),” he says. 

Simply crush the stem of the plant and rub the liquid into the skin. Conveniently, jewelweed usually grows near water or in shallow ponds next to poison ivy and oak.

Cold coffee

Coffee has a substance known as chlorogenic acid, which is an anti-inflammatory. It can help keep the swelling down. Apply cold coffee with a cotton ball and throw it away when you are done. The oil from the poison ivy can cling to the cotton and spread.

Tea Tree Oil

Tea tree (or Melaleuca) essential oil can help to heal poison ivy rash once it has stopped oozing. Tea tree heals from within first, so it may not seem to be working, but keep using it. It may sting at first, but that will fade quickly. Tea tree is generally safe to apply undiluted to skin, but only a few drops are needed.

Lavender Oil

Lavender essential oil heals rapidly. Be sure to use after the blisters have opened, like with tea tree. Healing with Lavender oil is more rapid and it can also sting at first. Lavender essential oil is also generally safe to be applied undiluted.