View Full Version : good remedies for chiggers and poison ivy
LongWire
07-28-2007, 06:33
okay just back in from the field and I'm dying over here........
Bad Chiggers Bites and some poison ivy........Anything to help both for itching?
BMT (RIP)
07-28-2007, 07:01
Drug store and get a small bottle of distilled turpentine.
Fill bath tub with water as HOT as you can stand! Add 6 or 7 drops of turpentine and soak. Chiggers (aka Red Bugs) itching will stop, those buggers are dead.
BMT
Ambush Master
07-28-2007, 07:19
Itch relief = Benadryl Lotion!!! Also take some tablets orally (Wal-Mart or Sam's store brand Diphenhydramine are MUCH cheaper than the Benadryl Brand).
The Reaper
07-28-2007, 07:43
A search here would have revealed that this has been discused before. In detail.
Benadryl or diphenhydramine tabs will make you drowsy, so don't plan on taking them before class or driving.
Next time, carry a bottle of Chigga-way with you and use it. Make sure you get plenty around your boot tops.
Liquid Benadryl or calamine lotion for the poison. Don't scratch it or even touch it, if you can avoid it.
I always put a couple of drops of clear nail polish on the chigger bites to seal them up. Stops the itching and kills bugs dead.
Good luck.
TR
We found that when I was a kid that just burning brush and not even physically contacting poison ivy would cause me to catch a hell of a rash.
Conventional wisdom tells you that you should let it weep and dry out. I had a small town doctor (pop. 758) see me one weekend and recommended a steroid cream. If none is available use cortizone cream. Apply either one you get and cover it in saran wrap. Tape it and leave it alone. The reason it worked for me so well is that regardless of being awake or asleep, I'd still scratch the crap out of it. It keeps the cream on site and from getting rubbed off, and keeps your hands from spreading it elsewhere since you cannot contact it. If you have it on your hands, wear rubber gloves with that above mentioned method. If you have kids or a spouse, you unconsciously do things like touch without thinking too much about it. Not that nice for the kiddies.
Take it from a person that grew up in Missouri (Poison Ivy Capitol of the Midwest) and use to get it so bad that I would bleed, it works. May not sound like that great of an idea but it's worked for me.
Chiggers, use clear nail polish to snuff them out. Cover the spots with the nail polish and they will eventually starve out of oxygen. Turpentine works really well too. :D I had an uncle that would rub us down with acetone after picking blackberries just as a precaution. Shameful thing about my heritage and family is, this is the same uncle that would smoke and do it at the same time. Not the brightest of bulbs in the box.
Hope this helps
Jack Moroney (RIP)
07-28-2007, 09:50
Never had poison ivy. Don't know why as I certainly have romped around in it. I was told we mesomorphic-nordic types seem to have some sort of immunity. Agree with TR on the clear nail polish-works great. Make sure you take all your clothing and have it washed seperate from everything else. The little critters are trained guerrillas, they will go to "ground" in your clothing and emerge as soon as you put them on again. I used to dump dog flea and tick shampoo in the mix and all the little critters bobbed right up to the surface seriously dead.
Eagle5US
07-28-2007, 09:56
The reaction is generated by the oils of the plant. It will not "spread" from the weeping, but as you scratch one affected area it draws the offending oils from point A to point B. Relapses in the rash are usually due to recontacting the oil in your contaminating clothing. The oils generally do not come out in a single washing unless you use dish washing liquid. Anything that you use in your sink to "cut grease or oil" will work on your clothes.
Good luck-
Eagle
CPTAUSRET
07-28-2007, 10:27
Nancy came down with a bout of Poison Ivy, she seems to be extremely sensitive...Ended up titrating Prednizone. This should not be tried at home w/out medical supervision!
Tecnu is something I just purchased, haven't tried it yet, but have heard good things about it.
The Reaper
07-28-2007, 10:39
Never had poison ivy. Don't know why as I certainly have romped around in it. I was told we mesomorphic-nordic types seem to have some sort of immunity.
Me neither, and I have been in a lot of it on the farm and in the woods.
Ironically, my brother gets it if the wind blows right, it seems.
Whatever the reason, I am thankful.:D
TR
Me neither, and I have been in a lot of it on the farm and in the woods.
Ironically, my brother gets it if the wind blows right, it seems.
Whatever the reason, I am thankful.:D
TR
I think one in the litter is destined to be bigger, uglier and more sensitive to environmental phenomenon.........I was the runt, look like Buddy Hackett, and can't figure out what influence causes my problem of the day. :p
The older brother is 6'2" 250lbs and not fat in the least. I'm 5'8" 170. I think mom was tired by the time she got to me.
The oldest brother is immune to any of the plants in the Sumac family. I get them all. I have however built up some immunity to it. I grew up running cattle in Missouri and cleared lots of fenceline, and cut lots of wood. I learned to deal with it.
Best of luck and a speedy recovery LW
Tecnu and Ivy Dry scrub seem to work really well. I've used it on my kids and it seems to cut the oils from the plants and also dry out the inflammation. Be careful using benadryl (diphenhydramine) cream and capsules together---too much and you can be "OD-ing" on the stuff. Not bad to get a little too much if you weigh 200 lbs--- but if you try that on a 50 lb kid it could be trouble.
Next time, carry a bottle of Chigga-way with you and use it. Make sure you get plenty around your boot tops.
Liquid Benadryl or calamine lotion for the poison. Don't scratch it or even touch it, if you can avoid it.
I always put a couple of drops of clear nail polish on the chigger bites to seal them up. Stops the itching and kills bugs dead.
Good luck.
TR
TR is dead on. Your just going to have to bear with the Ivy. They also have Gels that go on as the ivy sores scab and make application easier.
This is going to date me and it is Pre Chigga-way:D but what we used to do prior to going on Opns we would chew a few of the match tips from the C-Rats (6-8) and do 1-2 twice a day during the Opn. They are not that bad. The Sulfur in the match heads would be sweat out and would keep the Chiggers off us. Had a Medic that found Sulfur Tab's and started taking 1/2 of one once a day and never got a single chigger bite. Oh as a boy scout we did the same thing. Guess Great minds think alike. :p This is good if you run out of Chigga-way. The only down side is you get sweat stains of Sulfur on your uniform, they come out in the wash but look funny the first time you see them.
There is also another product that I like to use because I am in the jungle a lot is a product called "Duranon tick Repellent" It is applied to clothes, tents, mosquito nets and gear. It dries orderless and repels and Kills Ticks, Chiggers and Mosquito's. It works great here in the Jungles of South America and in the Woods of NC and KY. I get it from Brigade Quartermaster. It is a spray can and they can mail it USPS. It is active for up to 6 weeks which is good.
The Reaper
07-29-2007, 12:40
SF_BHT:
The matches (and chiggers) have already been discussed on another thread. If you Search for chiggers, you will find it easily.
The matches work, but put a lot of other chemicals into your body, most of which are not good for you.
Sulfur tabs are a good idea, as long as the dose is not toxic.
Will have to get some of the tick repellent to try.
TR
SF_BHT:
The matches (and chiggers) have already been discussed on another thread. If you Search for chiggers, you will find it easily.
The matches work, but put a lot of other chemicals into your body, most of which are not good for you.
Sulfur tabs are a good idea, as long as the dose is not toxic.
Will have to get some of the tick repellent to try.
TR
I Did, just figured Longwire might want the info.. The repellent works great. I prep gear and go out and never need to carry the can.
LongWire
07-29-2007, 15:37
Thanks for the Info guys........
First time beating brush in years, never had this problem before....currently using benadryl and cortizone 10, and chigarid............trying not to scratch
The companion product to "Tecnu" is "Cal-a-gel" (sp?). It's basically an updated version of that pink calamine lotion that you put on poison ivy (once you know you have it) to dry it out and stop the itching. It is thicker than the traditional pink stuff so it stays in place better. It goes on and dries clear, so you don't walk around with pink spotches all over your body. The bottle also has one of those pop-top lids that allows you to dispense the product on the area that you need it and not have to worry about dumping half the bottle out by accident.
I've got poison ivy from clearing brush around my house and have been using the stuff since last week and like it so far.
YMMV.
kachingchingpow
08-06-2007, 16:00
I was down at the hunting club in S. GA over the weekend putting a big tree stand under a solitary water oak on one corner of a huge peanut field. Of course it was chock full of poison ivy, and my mouth was flapping about how I'm no longer really allergic to it. Anyhow, I noticed some bumps coming up on the inside of one arm. Stopped at RiteAid on the way home, to pickup some Zanfil... I'ved used in the past with success. Tecnu was on down the shelf so I decided to try it. It's far cheaper than Zanfil. I'll let everyone know how it turns out.
CPTAUSRET
08-07-2007, 10:27
Slight change of topic, but I have found that insects which feast on your blood do not care for the taste B-Vitamins. I encountered a hell of a lot of the aforementioned critters in VN, after I started taking B-Vitamins on a regular basis I wouldn't have nearly as many of the critters on me as the other guys did!
I never figured out which "B" did the trick, so I used B-Multi's, still do!
Doczilla
08-08-2007, 15:52
The product kachingpow is referring to is called Zanfel. The active ingredient (no shit) is Nonoxynol-9, famously a spermicide used in condoms, foam, jelly, etc. It supposedly works by binding the urushiol in the poison ivy sap. It's expensive at about $40 at tube and is available over the counter. We've recommended it for patients with results ranging from no improvement to almost miraculous resolution of the rash.
This may be a certain amount of voodoo, as clinical trials are lacking.
'zilla
I am sorry for bumping up this thread, but I have been lurking around the medical sections a lot recently, and was hoping that I could provide some input in case anyone would like to reference this thread at a later time.
Poison Ivy (or contact dermatitis) is a Type IV hypersensitivity reaction. T-Cells and cytokines, not mast cells and histamine, are responsible for most of the damage. Your best friend when dealing with Poison Ivy is the almighty steroid. OTC Hydrocortisone cream is usually not strong enough, go to your physician and he/she will give you the good stuff (trialmcinolone or betamethasone), or, if it is extensive, will probably give you some oral Prednisone. Take on a full stomach, trust me. Some people swear by the Medrol Dosepak, but for the most part, I would get the doctor to prescribe prednisone, there are many cases of rebound inflammation with the Medrol dosepak.
if I remember correctly, the three golden rules of dermatology are if it's wet, dry it, if it's dry, wet it, and if it is not supposed to be there, cut it off. Poison Ivy is usually wet, so I would go with a Domeboro soak, Aveeno bath, or some calamine lotion. If you detect exposure quickly (within 10 minutes) use rubbing alcohol, after that use water WITHOUT soap. Please don't use soap. Water can dissolve the oil, soap may carry and spread the oil to other places that you may not want blistering.
Finally, a word of warning abour Benadryl. Since this is not an antibody/histamine related reaction, Benadryl will not do much good against poison ivy. You may notice oral Benadryl helping some, but this is due to the sedation, not by any immunologic mechanism. Topical benadryl will do even less good, you probably won't even get the sedative effects out of it. It MAY help just due to the effect the gel has drying the skin, but there are much better products for that. If you want to take Benadryl, and it helps you, by all means, I am not condemning it, but with the number of side effects you may see: sedation, urinary retention, constipation, delerium/confusion, I would steer in the topical steroid / Domeboro direction for someone who is treatment-naive.
I hope I could be of some help.
G Wheeler II
09-13-2015, 05:35
My field days are over and I now just go out afield hunting and fooling around, but I still get chigger bitten now and then. Pre treating with bug juice is the key to chigger prevention, on those occasions when I get bit I treat the bites with a dab of maalox antacid. After washing my hands and the areas bitten ( ahhh the rough buffy pads feels so good on a chigger bite) just dab a bit of the maalox on it and it will stop itching in a few minutes (5-15min). My Doc told me the itch is caused by the substance in the chiggers enzymes used to break down the tissue and the maalox will change the PH and stop the tissue breakdown and subsequently the itch.
Now this may all be a bunch of Hooey, but last week I got bitten about 50X and I used the maalox and it worked like a champ for me...
I second the fingernail polish remedy. Have used it for decades. Took some grief when the rest of the team saw me packing it in my aid bag, at least until they got bit up!http://www.professionalsoldiers.com/forums/images/smilies/smile.gif
Santo Tomas
09-15-2015, 14:06
Baking soda and some water. Mix into a paste and cover the affected area. Let it dry and flak off. It will pull our the poisons. You will feel it.
I found the best antidote was moving to Arizona.
The Reaper
09-15-2015, 16:52
I found the best antidote was moving to Arizona.
I suspect that none of these remedies will be effective on a snakebite. :D
TR
I suspect that none of these remedies will be effective on a snakebite. :D
TR
Hey, they just keep you on your toes.....
I suspect that none of these remedies will be effective on a snakebite. :D
TR
Believe it or not, Reaper, I was bitten by a poisonous spider a few years back - swelled up my hand pretty bad. I used a salt poultice on it. (My sister, who was an RN, reminded me that "salt sucks", so I tried it.) I used two separate applications of 1/2 hr. each. Worked like a charm!
Had to do this also when I was stung by a nasty hornet. Didn't know what it was; but I was loading scrap wood & kindling onto a pile. I thought I had been pierced by one of the branches, so I swatted at it with my other hand. Then I saw something big, black and ugly fly off. Turns out the sucker still had its stinger in me when I swatted it! The stinger stayed in my arm. Didn't realize that was what happened. Put up with about 12 hrs. of pain that nothing would ease. That was when I tried the salt poultice application for the first time. Double application. Took all of the pain away so that I was able to go to sleep.
Next morning the entire area was completely numb. I looked at the site of the sting and saw something black still under the (puffed up) skin. Was able to sterilize a razor and cut out the stinger. Bandaged it with Neosporin. No problems. (My sister also used to call me Dr. Killpatient.) :D Hey, it worked. Just thought I would pass this along FWIW.
(While I might use the salt poultice technique on a snake bite, I would still definitely get my butt to a hospital!)
x SF med
09-16-2015, 11:15
For most cases of contact dermatitis/insect bite.... mix baking soda and vinegar (I tend to use white vinegar) into a paste/poultice and use a cotton ball to swab it onto the affected area(s) - a light carbolic acid paste is what you're essentially making. Another method for relief is using warm Epsom salt solution soaks (essentially a topical hypertonic treatment).
And don't forget your Anti-Monkey Butt powder. It has a small amount of calamine in it and will alleviate some of the itching.