Itch Relief!  Home Remedies from Our Readers

I always use just plain apple cider vinegar for relieving the "itchies".  Especially for mosquito bites.  Just dab a little on. -- LaWana from VA

An article was in our local paper just last week giving a "natural" remedy for poison oak/ivy.  Just break open the stem of the jewelweed "Touch-Me-Not" plant and rub the liquid on the poison oak/ivy. -- Joy from VA

Domboro (astringent) sold in most drug stores and some grocery stores is a GREAT way to get rid of poison ivy.  Little dries it out and keeps you from scratching.  Hope this helps! -- Kendra from MD

I overheard a pharmacist recommend spermicidal jelly for poison ivy.  She said that it would keep it from spreading since poison ivy is an oil.  The instructions were to wash with soap and warm water then apply jelly as needed.  Then use any type of cortizone cream for itching. -- Marnie from MN

I have not personally tried this but a friend of mine just told me a week ago that the cure is 1 cup of Clorox bleach to a full bathtub of water.  Sit it in for awhile and the poison ivy will not itch and go away almost overnight.  She had it recently and got this tip from a friend of hers. -- Darlene from MN

Take a wash cloth with lots of peroxide, allow it to sit on infected area for 3-5 minutes. Let area air dry then take oatmeal and make a paste, put it on the area 5-10 minutes.. for some bizarre reason it works... -- Vanessa from UT

If you rub a moist bar of dial soap across the area and let it dry, this will "seal" the oils and dry out the poison ivy.  My mother swears by this remedy. -- Emily from OH

I think Kelly Rippa uses Mylanta on itches. She recommended it to Regis when he had a rash and he was impressed. The minty flavor makes it tingle. I haven't tried it yet, but it seems a good alternative to Calimine lotion. -- Kerri from ID

Hot water, as hot as you can stand it.  It releases natural anti-itch histamines in your body.  This works for mosquito bites.  We had a couple of cases of poison ivy this year and this has been very effective.  I don't think kids will like it, so we buy Benadryl lotion for mosquito bites.  Check with your dr. to see if it is ok for your aged child. -- Alicia from MN

For Poison Ivy: Use plain old every day "white" shoe polish, the kind you get with the sponge applicator bottle. -- Stacey from OK

When I was younger, we had a BIG patch of poison ivy in our front yard.  Needless to say, within a week of moving into our house, my brother and I were covered from head to toe in scratchy rashes!  My mom took us to the dr. and he said to make a paste of powdered Tide laundry detergent and water, and put the paste on the itchy spots and let it sit for a bit.  It seemed to help us,  I hope it helps you, too!  :) -- Angela from ME

After spending over $15 for over-the-counter medications and even trying a prescription cream, I've found that the ONLY relief from poison ivy itch is to take an extremely hot shower.  The shower had to be so hot that my skin would turn bright red, and I looked like a lobster, but the itching was relieved for several hours afterward.  Taking a hot shower before bedtime was the only way I could sleep for almost a month. -- Susan from NY

For itching, make a paste and apply/bathe in baking soda.  Oatmeal works well also.  Rub down [gently] after with aloe vera.  I've heard that cider vinegar works also, but haven't tried it. -- Tina from FL

Fels-Naptha laundry soap helps clear up poison ivy. Scrub arms legs etc with it...I wouldn't use on face or other *soft* parts. This soap will dry up the poison ivy fast. It removes the oils from your skin. I have used it on my son before. I have found this soap at Cub Foods in MN. -- Becky from MN

Indian Soap Root is a good poison oak/ivy remedy.  You will usually find it growing close to the poison oak/ivy patch. We dig up the bulb and peel off a couple layers, rub them together to create what resembles a soapy lather, then smear it over the infected area and let it dry.  It helps to dry up the rash and also relieves the itching.  -- Kelly from OR

Baking Soda mixed with water to a paste is suppose to help itching.  Poison Ivy can be really itchy so hope this economical and inexpensive home remedy helps. -- Anita from OK

My husband recently had poison oak, and they have this wonderful stuff called Tecnu that works wonders.  The prednisone he was taking wasn't working at all, but as soon as he started washing with this stuff, it started going away fast.  And he had it in his bloodstream! (all over his body) It dissipates the oils of the poison oak/ivy and after the oils are gone, it heals fast.  It's made in Albany, Oregon, and we get it at Walmart.  Another tip I read online recently was that you can apply rubbing alcohol to break up the oils.  I told my sister about that last month, and she said in two days the poison oak on her feet was all gone.  Good luck!  -- Amy from OR

Poison ivy -- HATE IT -- always get it EVERY YEAR!!! Horrible STUFF!!!!! There is this stuff called "Ivy Dry"!!! I couldn't find it this time. Good luck on curing it -- I usually have to go to the dr.!!! -- Maureen from NJ

We always use a baking soda paste - that seems to take the sting out and heal the rash. Whenever we go camping, we take a box of baking soda along.  If we need it, we mix a little water into it until we have a paste about the consistency of thick gravy.  Then, we just spread that
paste over rash for a couple of days.  It seems to work for us. -- Lisa from WI

The best remedy for poison ivy isn't necessarily "home-made", but it's natural and very effective.  Simply dab some tea tree oil on the affected areas.  It cuts down on the itch, and dries up the poison ivy quicker than most other OTC remedies.  It costs around $10 for a small bottle, but it lasts a long time.  It's also great for insect bites, burns, itches, and infection. -- Trudie from NE

Tip for poison ivy - use white shoe polish- dries it up. -- Jane from AK

For the itch from poison ivy, use milk of magnesia on the rash. It will stop the itching. -- Patty from MI

The best thing that I know of for itch relief is ice.  Just rub an ice cube on the affected area and let the water that melts run over it; this will relieve the itching and keep swelling down.  The only downside to it is that you will get a little bit wet and you have to repeat the process every few hours. -- Kelly from VA

In response to your poison ivy dilemma--just use an alcohol rub (part alcohol and part water).  The alcohol will dry the blisters out which not only will make it go away quicker, but it will also relieve your itching.  Hope everything works out for y'all. -- Juanita from TX

For poison ivy: Try bathing in oatmeal.  It helps to dry up the blisters. -- Laura from GA

When I was 15, I walked through a field and became covered in chiggers. I discovered that hair mousse stops the itching. Just put the mousse on like lotion. This may work for poison ivy but I have never tried. -- Jennifer from IN

I used to get poison badly as a child, my mom would always take some regular oatmeal and grind it up in the blender  and put in my bath water, then after my bath she would put toothpaste on my patches of poison the paste kind and let it dry before going to bed. It sounds nasty but it really worked. The oatmeal and the toothpaste dried out the poison and fast. -- Dana from VA

The one remedy that I have always used was a nice soak in the tub with oatmeal mixed in.  If you don't want to use regular oatmeal, you may use Aveeno, which is a tablet you let melt in the bath water. -- Theresa from NJ

Have you tried making a paste from cool water and baking soda.  (The type used in cooking not washing)  Apply it to the rash.  I used to get poison ivy rashes a lot when I was a kid and my mother used to make up this recipe.  It helped a lot. -- Marion from Alberta

I have a home remedies book and here is what they say: Baking soda always does the trick. I forgot about that. When I was young I got the chicken pox and remember my mom bathing me in baking soda. You can even use as a paste and dab it on spots. I also read that oatmeal soothes the skin. Which make sense because I work for a veterinarian and most of all itchy shampoo for dogs use oatmeal. Put regular Quaker oatmeal in a fine netting, suspended it in the bathtub, and soaked in the tub for at least a half-hour. -- Janice from CA

Wild Ferns boiled in water. Let them cool then use the liquid to put on the poison ivy. -- Carole from NH

I recently had a very bad case of poison ivy mixed with poison oak.  After a few days I got tired of it and started doing some research about it all.  This is what I came up with, in short,:  The plants, which are not poisonous themselves, contain an oil which excretes when the plant is broken, bruised or damaged.  The oily substance gets on the skin and starts to soak in after about 15-20 seconds.  It could take anywhere from 15 minutes to 8 days for your body to have a reaction and start to fight.  This is when you see the bumps and start to itch.  Your body is naturally trying to eliminate the problem.  When you scratch you are spreading the oils that your body is pushing out.  You carry that oil on your fingers to other parts of your body therefore spreading it around.  It can live for days under your fingernails if you do not intentionally remove it.   This oil is very thick and can not be separated easily.  (If you put water in a can of WD40 what happens? not much.)  The same with this stuff.  The idea is to put enough water on it to wash it off.  And use a grease cutter. I took a shower in dawn dish soap and washed my hands in it ever 30 minutes or so.  It was gone within a day.  DO NOT use lotions, or just a little bit of water, or even a non-grease cutting soap, it will only aid in spreading it.  Even the popular lotions on the market do not do the trick.  You can also pour (DO NOT RUB or and anyway spread) alcohol to keep the itching to a minimum.  DO NOT take a bath!  That will spread it also. -- Cindy from IN

Clorox is good for poison ivy. Just pat it on a few times a day and it will clear it right up. Also, Pepto Bismol is also good to use. (just rub it on the area). I've also heard that Mylanta is good for bites (for the itching) so if it stops the itching of bites, then it might work too. -- Christie from AL

Poison Ivy Itch Relief: Relieve itchy skin by patting on apple cider vinegar. If the itch is near the eyes or other delicate areas dilute the vinegar, 4 parts water to one part vinegar. For a full body treatment, put 2 or 3 cups in the bath water. A handful of thyme can help, too. One reason vinegar is so very helpful in treating skin disorders is that a ph which is nearly the same as healthy skin. So, applying vinegar helps to normalize the ph of the skin's surface.  Out of "The Vinegar Book" by Emily Thacker, Tresco Publishers. I found a copy at the local library. Hope this helps. It also works wonders on sunburn. -- Brigitte from OR/Germany

To cure poison ivy, dab the rashy areas with bleach a couple of times a day until healed. Don't do this if the rash is on the face or other tender areas. It may sting a little, but the rash dries and heals quickly. -- Terra from TN

The best tip I have for poison ivy is to bathe in a tub of warm water with 1/2 cup of baking soda. This dries it up quiet nicely. -- Theresa from SC

For Poison Ivy itch: Make a paste of baking soda and a little water and rub it on. It dries to a visible film. BUT, it feels good. Also try a half box of baking soda in a bath and soak for 20 minutes.  TIP: Don't ever go near a burning off of land with poison ivy on it. The smoke can cause a rash!
 -- Carla from OH

Poison Ivy is a relative condition, and for those who are highly allergic, calamine lotion, and most kitchen stuff is just not enough.  I absolutely must use DOMEBORRO. I have no interest in this unless I am ill with the dreaded plague of poison ivy on my person. Pricey, but worth it to those who suffer with it. Follow boxed directions, and make the strongest solution.  I am an experienced expert having tried everything else at age 67.  -- P. Jean from OH

It may be a little too late to help with the poison Ivy now, But when you come in contact with Poison Ivy or Poison Oak, Just cut an orange in half and rub it over the area affected, squeezing the juice all over it too.  My grandfather taught us this and we never broke out or had to worry about itching when we used the orange.  I don't know why it works, but it does. -- Tina from FL

For poison ivy try one of the over the counter medications for athlete's foot such as Tinactin.  Since poison ivy is a moist rash you need something like this to dry it out.  I hope this helps.  Oh and by the way, don't scratch...lol. -- Kate from TX

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