On a quick trip to New Jersey about 2 weeks ago, I managed to pull all the English ivy off of one of my sister's oak trees out front. I threw all the vines around the base of the tree and picked them up when I finished.
I noticed one little 3-leaf sprig of poison ivy under the big pile after I picked it up. I was not wearing gloves, but had long-sleeve jacket and long pants, so I figured I would be okay.
Came inside and washed my hands for a very long time and thought I was good.
It all went downhill from there. Apparently there was plenty of poison oil on the jacket and pants that I did not realize. Put pants in the suitcase and wore the jacket after I got home. Duh.
Since May 19 I have been fighting what started as a little rash on my arms only. I did a video visit (twice) with a Prime Care nurse who gave me a script for several things, including prednisone. She recommended Sarna lotion to stop the itch.
What I didn't think about, since the rash didn't start until the day after I got home, was that I also slept in my bed, and still had the jacket and pants unwashed, like me until the day after.
It's over 2 weeks since I was there. Once I realized what was going on, again I thought I was doing everything right. But no. Sarna lotion felt so good that I used it too often and burned my arms but good. Stopped the lotion and continued with Benadryl, and was doing really well until I accidentally wore that pair of pants yesterday. Not sure if they had been washed once with the jacket, but even so now I have spread this over my body. At least my legs are clear. Yay!
I would like to say I learned a lesson, but I didn't really. I did wash the sheets and affected clothing 4 or 5 times today. Not sure that that's a lesson.
Happy birthday to me.
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