If you love gardening or long walks in the deep woods but your sensitive to poison ivy or poison oak what can you do.

And Keep In Mind That Prevention Is The Best Remedy

It is much easier to prevent poison ivy or poison oak than it is to cure it. First of you need to educate yourself so that you know exactly what poison ivy and poison oak look like. Above are some great photos of both that you can look at so that you will know exactly what both look like.

But be aware that it is the oils in poison ivy and poison oak that causes the rash. You can get the rash by touching the plants or touching something that has touched the plant. Be careful of clothing , gloves or even your dog or cat that has touched poison ivy or poison oak. Particles in the air can also give you the rash so use extreme care if you are burning poison ivy or poison oak. The very best advice I can give is leaflets of three let it be. Avoid the plants or touching them. If you must get rid of poison ivy or poison oak purchase a poison ivy or poison oak spray to spray the plants with. If you must pull the plants up or pull them down from where they were growing wear a thick long sleeve shirt , gloves and a mask.

Leaflets of Three Let Them Be.

You need to learn to recognize poison ivy or poison oak on sight and you need to teach your children and other family members to do the same. You should avoid these plants and you should teach your children to also.

If You Can't Avoid Contact Protect Yourself.

You should wear long pants , a long sleeve shirt , socks and gloves if you must touch the plants. There is a product called Ivy Block that you can use to keep yourself safe from poison ivy or poison oak. It is almost 100 percent effective but you should still use caution especially if you are particularly allergic to poison ivy or poison oak. As soon as possible after any contact wash yourself off with soap and water. And you really need to do it with in 15 minutes if at all possible.

Be sure that you wash any clothing , gloves etc that come in contact with poison ivy or poison oak as soon as possible. The poison ivy or poison oak oils will stay active for a long time and if you touch something later that touched either poison ivy or poison oak you can still catch it even weeks later.

There are many over the counter products available for poison ivy rash or poison oak rash but if you have a severe rash my best advise is to go to your family doctor or the local emergency room.

The really best thing to do is avoid any and all contact with either poison ivy or poison oak and be sure to educate yourself and your children to be able to recognize the plants on sight. This is really the only way to be 100 percent sure that you don't get poison ivy or poison oak.

Learn To Recognize The Early Warning Signs Of Poison Ivy Or Poison Oak Rash.

Six to eight hours after exposure you may develop little bumps that look like insect bites. If you see this you really should go to see your doctor or go to the local emergency room and tell them you may have been exposed to either poison ivy or poison oak.

Poison Ivy especially does not respond to over the counter treatments. So if you have a poison ivy rash or suspect you do then you need to seek medical care at once.

You can take cool showers and lukewarm baths to help relieve the itch. If you add oatmeal or baking soda to the water it will help to dry up any oozing blisters. Ice compresses can also be soothing to your itching.

But keep in mind the best thing is to avoid all contact with poison ivy or poison oak. Thats the best way to keep from being exposed and getting the rash.