TTMA Poison Oak

[boxerific]

I think DS1 has it. Behind my neighbors' house is a hill of bushes & weeds, and neighbor was out there over the weekend pulling weeds and thinks she made contact with some back there. (It's a weird area... not her property but faces their backyard so she was taking care of it.) She is very allergic so she went to her doctor right away and got a steroid to handle it.

Monday night, DS was playing with neighbors' kids and threw something in the bushes and then retrieved it before the kids could stop him. (Otherwise the kids never even go near these bushes.) I had him come right home, bagged up his clothes and shoes to wash them and he took a shower. This morning, after I left for work, he woke up and babysitter sent me a picture of his face with a small rash on it which he says is itchy. She sprayed some Benadryl cooling spray on it but I'm thinking of Amazon Prime Now ordering some calamine lotion. But from quick googling, it appears that it (a) cannot be spread from scratching and (b) can't spread from person to person. Does this seem accurate? Anyone have any experience with it that has helpful hints? Good luck to me telling the 8-year-old not to scratch.

[oldbaylover1024]

Ugh, that sucks. The best thing to do is keep it clean and dry. I don't *think* he can pass it to anyone else, but I'm not sure.

We like Ivy Dry spray. It's probably not something you'd want to use on his face, but if you see it on his legs or arms, this may be a good option for you. Warning: It stings a bit when you initially put it on, but after that it really helps relieve the itching.

Calamine lotion is good. We like the clear kind - it tends to dry faster and doesn't leave the pink residue.

Good luck. I'm extremely sensitive to anything poison, so I'm totally commiserating with your neighbor and son.

[boxerific]

Thanks for both of those recs. Of course, nothing is available via Prime Now so I guess I'll stop at Walgreens on the way home. I sent him off to VBS so I hope that was not a terrible parenting decision. FX FX FX.

[oldbaylover1024]

I don't think it was a bad decision. Sometimes sweat can irritate it, so maybe call and ask them to keep his face cool with a washcloth or something.

You can get both these products at CVS. I'm sure Walgreens has them, too.

[gratefulgirl]

I used to get horrible poison ivy as a child. Benadryl was the only thing that kept me from scratching. I had some awful rash that my doc thought was poison sumac this year and she gave me a high powered steroid cream.

[chknma]

I'm very allergic...the plant oils cause the reaction so if you have washed off the oil then you can't spread it (to yourself or someone else) pets can spread it...if it gets in their coat and hey rub on you....My DH isn't allergic so doesn't think about it so I've gotten it from him or from handling his clothes if he's been doing work in the woods

Hope your son is feeling better!

[boxerific]

Thanks, all! We must have done something right because the initial spot on his jawline didn't spread and didn't seem to be bothering him much last night. We used that Benadryl spray several times and this morning he was okay. Shew! I suppose my germaphobe tendencies translated well when I freaked out the other night at the idea of him catching it.